Edward Hankey is an English former professional darts player. Nicknamed "The Count", he won the BDO World Darts Championship in 2000, was runner-up in 2001, and won the title for a second time in 2009. He moved to the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tour in 2012, but suffered a stroke while playing Michael van Gerwen at the 2012 Grand Slam of Darts, and took three months away from the sport to recuperate. He lost his PDC tour card in 2014, when he was 94th in the world rankings, and returned to the BDO, where he failed to impress in the latter years of his playing career. In 2016, he made his last appearance in the BDO World Darts Championship, exiting after a 3–0 first-round defeat.
The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 when a group of leading players split from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form what was initially called the World Darts Council (WDC). Sports promoter Eddie Hearn is the PDC chairman.
Mervyn King is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tournaments. Nicknamed The King, he has reached seven PDC major finals and reached a peak of No. 4 in the PDC Order of Merit.
Chris Mason is an English former professional darts player. He used the nickname Mace the Ace.
This is a list of some of the major events and competitions in the sport of darts in 2007. Raymond van Barneveld proved to be the most successful player with ten professional tournament wins across the PDC and BDO, including four majors.
The Grand Slam of Darts is a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation and is known as the Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts for sponsorship purposes. The PDC also invited the best performing players from its rival, the British Darts Organisation. There have been two previous head-to-head matches between the champions of the two organisations and a few overseas tournaments have also featured BDO v PDC clashes, but this tournament is the first of its kind to be held in the United Kingdom. This arrangement lasted until the BDO's collapse into liquidation in 2020 and it is unclear whether any other organisation will be invited in future.
The split in darts refers to the acrimonious dispute between top professional darts players and the game's governing body, the British Darts Organisation (BDO). In 1993, 16 top players, disillusioned by the BDO's running of the sport and its inability to reverse the decline in television coverage and sponsorship, left the BDO and created a breakaway darts circuit under the banner of the World Darts Council (WDC).
The 2007 PartyBets.com Grand Slam of Darts was the inaugural staging of the darts tournament, the Grand Slam of Darts, held by the Professional Darts Corporation. The tournament invited the best performing players from the PDC and its rival the British Darts Organisation. There had been two previous head-to-head matches between the champions of the two organisations and a few tournaments have also featured BDO v PDC clashes. This tournament was the first of its kind to be held in the United Kingdom.
The 2008 PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts was the second staging of the darts tournament, the Grand Slam of Darts organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The event took place from 15 to 23 November 2008 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England. As with 2007, the tournament included players from both the PDC and BDO organisations.
The 2008 PartyPoker.com European Championship was the inaugural edition of the Professional Darts Corporation tournament, which thereafter was promoted as the annual European Championship, matching top European players qualifying to play against the highest ranked players from the PDC Order of Merit.
The 2010 Daily Mirror Grand Slam of Darts was the fourth staging of the darts tournament, the Grand Slam of Darts organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The event took place from 13–21 November 2010 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England. Television coverage of the tournament was covered by ITV Sport, with live coverage on ITV4. It would prove to be the final time a Grand Slam tournament would be broadcast on ITV Sport, as Sky Sports took over broadcasting rights the following year.
The 2011 William Hill Grand Slam of Darts, was the fifth staging of the darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The event took place from 12–20 November 2011 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England.
The 2012 William Hill Grand Slam of Darts, was the sixth staging of the tournament, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The event took place from 10–18 November 2012 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England.
The 2013 William Hill Grand Slam of Darts, was the seventh staging of the tournament, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The event took place from 9–17 November 2013 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England.
The 2014 Singha Beer Grand Slam of Darts, was the eighth staging of the tournament, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The event took place from 8–16 November 2014 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England.
The 2015 Singha Beer Grand Slam of Darts, was the ninth staging of the tournament, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The event took take place from 7–15 November 2015 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England.
The 2016 Singha Beer Grand Slam of Darts, was the tenth staging of the tournament, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The event took place from 12 to 20 November 2016 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England.
The 2017 Grand Slam of Darts, was the eleventh staging of the tournament, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The event took place from 11–19 November 2017 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England.
The 2018 bwin Grand Slam of Darts was the twelfth staging of the tournament, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The event took place from 10–18 November 2018 in Wolverhampton, England, but for the first time in the event's history, it was not at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, as it is undergoing a two-year renovation. The 2018 tournament was held at Aldersley Leisure Village. Beginning with this tournament, the winner of the title would receive "The Eric Bristow Trophy", named after the legendary player who died in April 2018.
The 2019 BoyleSports Grand Slam of Darts was the thirteenth staging of the tournament, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The event took place from 9–17 November 2019 in Wolverhampton, England, and like in 2018, it took place at Aldersley Leisure Village.
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