Raymond van Barneveld is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Nicknamed Barney, although originally known as The Man, he is one of the most successful darts players in history. Van Barneveld is a five-time World Darts Champion, a two-time UK Open Champion and a former winner of the Las Vegas Desert Classic, the Grand Slam of Darts and the Premier League. He is also a twice-winner of the World Masters and the World Darts Trophy, and a three-time winner of the International Darts League, the Dutch Open and the WDF World Cup Singles event.
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.
The British Darts Organisation (BDO) was a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft. Made up of 66 member counties, it oversaw professional, semi-professional and amateur darts competitions in Britain. The BDO was a founder member of the World Darts Federation in 1974. It also staged a World Professional Darts Championship from 1978 to 2020.
Martin Adams is an English professional darts player who plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) events. Nicknamed "Wolfie", he is a three-time BDO World Champion and three-time World Masters champion. He represents Cambridgeshire at county darts level and was the captain of England from 1993 to 2013, the longest any player has held that role. From his debut in 1994, Adams made a record 25 consecutive World Championship appearances, before failing to qualify for the first time in 2019. Adams was diagnosed with prostate cancer in April 2016, but by the end of the year he was given the all-clear. As well as playing, he also acts as a regular pundit and commentator for televised coverage of BDO events.
The PDC World Darts Championship, known for sponsorship purposes as the Paddy Power World Darts Championship, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), is a World Professional Darts Championship held annually in the sport of darts. The PDC championship begins in December and ends in January and is held at Alexandra Palace in London and has been held there since 2008. It is the most prestigious of the PDC's tournaments, with the winner receiving the Sid Waddell Trophy, named in honour of the darts commentator Sid Waddell, who died in 2012. Along with the Premier League Darts and World Matchplay, it is considered part of the Triple Crown.
The BDO World Darts Championship was a professional darts tournament organised by the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and held annually from 1978 to 2020.
The Bullit World Darts Trophy was a professional darts tournament run by the British Darts Organisation and the World Darts Federation. Held each September from 2002 to 2007, it took place at the De Vechtsebanen in Utrecht, Netherlands. The tournament had a playing format comparable with the two World Championships. Until 2007, it formed the third leg of the BDO Grand Slam, along with the BDO World Championship, the World Masters and the International Darts League.
Darts World Rankings is a system designed to determine a list of the best darts players in the world based on their performances in tournaments. However, in 1993, a group of former world champions and other high-profile players separated from the British Darts Organisation, meaning there are now two major governing bodies.
The Finder Darts Masters was a darts tournament held in Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands, sanctioned by the British Darts Organisation and the World Darts Federation, running intermittently under several different names from 1995 to 2018.
The Masters of Darts has a unique place in darts history as it was the first televised tournament to be co-sanctioned by both the two rival organisations, the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) since they separated in 1993. There had been two "champion versus champion" matches held, and many players on both sides of the divide played on TV tournaments on the other side from 1997–2001, but the 2005 Masters of Darts was the first televised tournament to be co-sanctioned by both organizations.
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.
Jacobus Wilhelmus "Co" Stompé is a Dutch former professional darts player. He was nicknamed The Matchstick because of his almost bald head and very thin appearance, making him look like a matchstick. He was also one of very few professionals who played in longsleeved shirts.
Gary Anderson is a Scottish professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He is a former BDO and WDF world number one, and a two-time PDC World Champion, having won the title in 2015 and 2016. His nickname is "The Flying Scotsman", after a famous Scottish steam train.
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 Tropicana International Darts League was the fifth and final edition of the International Darts League. It was held at the Triavium in Nijmegen, Netherlands from 4–12 May 2007. The tournament was sponsored by Tropicana — a Dutch-based soft drink manufacturer. Raymond van Barneveld entered the tournament as three-times and defending champion. As in 2006, it was a cross-code event featuring players from both the World Darts Federation and the Professional Darts Corporation.
The 2007 Bullit World Darts Trophy was the sixth and last edition of the World Darts Trophy, a professional darts tournament held at the De Vechtsebanen in Utrecht, the Netherlands, run by the British Darts Organisation and the World Darts Federation.
This is a list of some of the major events and competitions in the sport of darts in 2008.
Ross Montgomery, nicknamed The Boss, is a Scottish professional darts player who played in World Darts Federation (WDF) tournaments and as of January 14th 2022 now plays on the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Montgomery also played American football in his native Scotland, having spent eleven years with Glasgow Diamonds. He was forced to retire through injury and took up the game of darts instead.
The Dutch Open is amongst the longest running darts tournaments having started back in 1973. The popularity of darts in the Netherlands since Raymond van Barneveld began amassing world titles has seen the number of entries for the tournament rise dramatically. The 2007 event had 2867 entries in the Men's Singles, 1179 in the Men's Pairs, 418 in the Women's Singles and 176 in the Women's Pairs. Although the tournament is classed an "Open" event, only players eligible to for the Winmau World Masters and BDO World Championship are now allowed to enter. This had ruled out PDC players from competing since 2006. Richard Kirby Hit a 9 dart finish in 1990 against Roland Scholten but was not televised.
Gary Anderson 
Richie George (youth) 
