The World Darts Federation (WDF) is a sport governing body[1][2] and (along with the PDC) a tournament organiser for the game of darts. It was formed in 1974 by representatives of the original fourteen founding members.[2] Membership is open to the national organising body for darts in all nations. The WDF encourages the promotion of the sport of darts among and between those bodies, in an effort to gain international recognition for darts as a major sport. The WDF was a full member of Global Association of International Sports Federations, which was the governing body for international sports federations, until dissolution in 2023.
The WDF stages a world championship (called the WDF World Cup), as well as continental championships such as the WDF Americas Cup, the WDF Asia-Pacific Cup and the WDF Europe Cup. The country that is first in the overall leader board (overall best result in the two events, singles, pairs, teams) becomes the world champion. Winners of any of the events can also call themselves the official World Champion. Winners of continental championships can call themselves the official champion of their own areas.
The WDF Rankings, as defined by the World Darts Federation, are the "objective merit-based method used for determining qualification for entry and seeding in all of its tournaments for both male and female singles, pairs and team". The rankings tables are "rolling tables", and points from an event are counted until that event occurs the following year. If a particular event does not occur in the following year, points are deleted after a calendar year.[6]
Para Darts
World ParaDarts is also an associate member of the WDF.
Tournament levels and points allocation
A player's WDF Ranking is based on the points they have accrued from their best 10 performances over the previous 12 month rolling period.[7] The eligible tournaments include a selection of Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze level tournaments with decreasing points at each level.
Since the formation of the WDF rankings in 1974 the method used to calculate a player's ranking points has changed several times. Notes: The WDF international tournaments have six categories for both men and women (singles, pairs and teams)
The rankings are based on a cumulative points system similar to ATP rankings in tennis they are done on a rolling one year basis. When a tournament is played, the previous year's results are removed from the rankings. This list is used to determine seeds for some of the WDF Opens. The World Darts Federation also have a ranking system designed to provide a measure of the global activities of darts players in every WDF recognised darts event. It used to be very similar to the BDO system but was revised in January 2007 to include categories by country and by events, and the distribution of ranking points reflect the levels of prize money on offer and the numbers of entries in a tournament. Therefore, the WDF World Rankings give a better reflection on BDO player world ranking. The leading players gain points in different levels of categorised events and prize money and at the end of the season the leading players receive monetary bonus rewards from the WDF.[9]
In 2025, in response to a motion put forth by England and seconded by Scotland and Wales, the WDF voted to implement an immediate ban on transgender women from competing as women.[10] In accordance with the change in policy, the WDF renamed its "Men's" and "Boys'" events to "Open" and "Open Youth" events.[11]
WDF Open World Rankings as of 7 December 2025.[12]
The rankings show Deta Hedman and Trina Gulliver as consistently being the leading women's player's, having been number one on a record ten or more occasions each. No male player has held the number one position as many years Gulliver and Hedman, although Eric Bristow has held the top position for a record six times. The rankings for the men has become even more complex since the inception of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) formerly the World Darts Council (WDC). The leading ranked players in 1993/94 split from the BDO and they have their own world ranking system known as the Order of Merit. The players from the PDC are not included in the rankings because the BDO, the former British governing body of amateur darts, was the one recognised by the WDF.
Kramer, Anne (2013). The Ultimate Book of Darts A Complete Guide to Games, Gear, Terms, and Rules. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. ISBN9781626365261.
editors, John Nauright, Charles Parrish (2012). Sports around the world: history, culture, and practice. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. ISBN9781598843002.{{cite book}}: |last1= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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