World Darts Federation

Last updated

World Darts Federation
AbbreviationWDF
Formation1974;50 years ago (1974)
Type Darts organisation
Website www.dartswdf.com

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 is a full member of Global Association of International Sports Federations, which is the governing body for international sports federations.

Contents

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.

After the collapse of the British Darts Organisation in September 2020, the WDF announced plans to launch the WDF World Championship and WDF World Masters. [3] Both competitions took place for the first time in 2022, starting with the 2022 WDF World Darts Championship in April. [4]

Members

76 national full members plus 3 interim nembers (Mauritania, Yemen, Papua New Guinea) : [5]

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]

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)

Current points distribution

Points are currently awarded as follows: [8]

Tournament categoryWFSFQFR16R32R64
WDF Platinum tournaments 27016710364392613
WDF Gold tournaments 180111684326179
WDF Silver tournaments 90563421139
WDF Bronze tournaments 452817116

Current WDF World Rankings

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]

WDF Men's World Rankings as of 14 November 2023. [10]
RankChangePlayerPoints
1Increase2.svg 6 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg   Andy Baetens 1221
2Steady2.svg Ulster Banner.svg   Neil Duff 970
3Increase2.svg 2 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Jelle Klaasen 948
4Steady2.svg Flag of New Zealand.svg   Haupai Puha 904
5Decrease2.svg 4 Flag of England.svg   James Hurrell 673
6Decrease2.svg 3 Flag of England.svg   Luke Littler 667
7Increase2.svg 49 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Wesley Plaisier 666
8Increase2.svg 2 Flag of New Zealand.svg   Ben Robb 664
9New.png Flag of the United States.svg   Danny Lauby 565
10Decrease2.svg 1 Flag of Australia (converted).svg   Raymond Smith 563
11Increase2.svg 17 Flag of Hong Kong.svg   Kai Fan Leung 531
12Decrease2.svg 6 Flag of Scotland.svg   Mark Barilli 516
13Steady2.svg Flag of England.svg   Darren Johnson 492
14Decrease2.svg 6 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Chris Landman 487
15Increase2.svg 11 Ulster Banner.svg  Barry Copeland485
16Increase2.svg 8 Flag of France.svg   Thibault Tricole 458
17Steady2.svg Flag of Australia (converted).svg   Peter Machin 458
18Increase2.svg 2 Flag of England.svg  Martyn Turner449
19Decrease2.svg 1 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Alexander Merkx 446
20Increase2.svg 12 Flag of the United States.svg   Leonard Gates 444
21New.png Flag of Scotland.svg   Gary Stone 444
22New.png Flag of Germany.svg  Liam Maendl-Lawrance425
23Decrease2.svg 12 Flag of England.svg   James Richardson 416
24New.png Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Danny Porter416
25Decrease2.svg 3 Flag of Romania.svg   László Kádár 411
26Increase2.svg 1 Flag of Hungary.svg  Patrik Kovács409
27New.png Flag of New Zealand.svg  Jonny Tata402
28Decrease2.svg 9 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Moreno Blom 391
29Decrease2.svg 8 Flag of England.svg  Antony Allen388
30Increase2.svg 17 Flag of Slovenia.svg   Benjamin Pratnemer 385
WDF Women's World Rankings as of 5 September 2022. [11]
RankChangePlayerPoints
1Increase2.svg 4 Flag of England.svg   Beau Greaves 1641
2Decrease2.svg 1 Flag of England.svg   Deta Hedman 1190
3Increase2.svg 9 Flag of England.svg   Kirsty Hutchinson 784
4Steady2.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Anca Zijlstra 710
5Increase2.svg 9 Flag of England.svg  Suzanne Smith625
6Steady2.svg Flag of Russia.svg   Anastasia Dobromyslova 594
7Increase2.svg 17 Flag of England.svg  Jo Clements565
8Decrease2.svg 6 Flag of England.svg   Fallon Sherrock 560
9Decrease2.svg 2 Flag of England.svg   Lorraine Winstanley 508
10Decrease2.svg 7 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Aileen de Graaf 504
11New.png Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Rhian O'Sullivan 502
12Decrease2.svg 3 Flag of England.svg   Laura Turner 482
13Increase2.svg 25 Flag of Scotland.svg   Lorraine Hyde 455
14Decrease2.svg 3 Flag of New Zealand.svg  Wendy Harper443
15Decrease2.svg 5 Flag of England.svg   Paula Jacklin 427
16Increase2.svg 1 Flag of the United States.svg  Paula Murphy386
17Increase2.svg 4 Flag of New Zealand.svg  Nicole Regnaud373
18Increase2.svg 22 Flag of Sweden.svg   Vicky Pruim 371
19Increase2.svg 18 Flag of Australia (converted).svg   Corrine Hammond 355
20New.png Flag of Japan.svg   Mikuru Suzuki 354
21Increase2.svg 102 Flag of Sweden.svg  Anna Forsmark348
22Decrease2.svg 6 Flag of Australia (converted).svg   Tori Kewish 319
23Increase2.svg 9 Flag of Hungary.svg   Veronika Ihász 318
24Decrease2.svg 16 Flag of England.svg   Maria O'Brien 316
25Decrease2.svg 7 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Priscilla Steenbergen 312
26Increase2.svg 19 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Jitka Cisarova307
27Increase2.svg 184 Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Aletta Wajer283
28Increase2.svg 43 Flag of England.svg  Natalie Gilbert283
29Decrease2.svg 6 Flag of England.svg  Margaret Sutton268
30Decrease2.svg 15 Flag of Russia.svg  Elena Shulgina253

WDF World No1 men's and women's players (1976–current)

[12]

YearMenWomen
1976 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Alan Evans No rankings
1977 Flag of England.svg John Lowe No rankings
1978 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Leighton Rees No rankings
1979 Flag of England.svg John Lowe (2)No rankings
1980 Flag of England.svg Eric Bristow No rankings
1981 Flag of England.svg Eric Bristow (2)No rankings
1982 Flag of Scotland.svg Jocky Wilson No rankings
1983 Flag of England.svg Eric Bristow (3)No rankings
1984 Flag of England.svg Eric Bristow (4) Flag of England.svg Sandy Reitan
1985 Flag of England.svg Eric Bristow (5) Flag of New Zealand.svg Lilian Barnett
1986 Flag of England.svg John Lowe (3) Flag of England.svg Linda Batten
1987 Flag of England.svg Bob Anderson Flag of Sweden.svg Maarit Fagerholm
1988 Flag of England.svg John Lowe (4) Flag of England.svg Jayne Kempster
1989 Flag of England.svg Bob Anderson (2) Flag of England.svg Sharon Colclough
1990 Flag of England.svg Eric Bristow (6) Flag of England.svg Sharon Colclough (2)
1991 Flag of England.svg Phil Taylor Flag of England.svg Sharon Colclough (3)
1992 Flag of England.svg Rod Harrington Flag of England.svg Mandy Solomons
1993 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Leo Laurens Flag of England.svg Mandy Solomons (2)
1994 Flag of England.svg Steve Beaton Flag of England.svg Deta Hedman
1995 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Richie Burnett Flag of England.svg Deta Hedman (2)
1996 Flag of England.svg Martin Adams Flag of England.svg Deta Hedman (3)
1997 Flag of England.svg Martin Adams (2) Flag of England.svg Deta Hedman (4)
1998 Flag of England.svg Ronnie Baxter Flag of the Netherlands.svg Francis Hoenselaar
1999 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Raymond van Barneveld Flag of England.svg Trina Gulliver
2000 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Raymond van Barneveld (2) Flag of England.svg Trina Gulliver (2)
2001 Flag of England.svg Mervyn King Flag of England.svg Trina Gulliver (3)
2002 Flag of England.svg John Walton Flag of England.svg Trina Gulliver (4)
2003 Flag of England.svg Martin Adams (3) Flag of England.svg Trina Gulliver (5)
2004 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Raymond van Barneveld (3) Flag of England.svg Trina Gulliver (6)
2005 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Raymond van Barneveld (4) Flag of England.svg Trina Gulliver (7)
2006 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Jelle Klaasen Flag of England.svg Trina Gulliver (8)
2007 Flag of Scotland.svg Gary Anderson Flag of England.svg Trina Gulliver (9)
2008 Flag of England.svg Scott Waites Flag of the Netherlands.svg Francis Hoenselaar (2)
2009 Flag of England.svg Tony O'Shea Flag of England.svg Trina Gulliver (10)
2010 Flag of England.svg Martin Adams (4) Flag of England.svg Deta Hedman (5)
2011 Flag of England.svg Scott Waites (2) Flag of England.svg Deta Hedman (6)
2012 Flag of England.svg Stephen Bunting Flag of England.svg Deta Hedman (7)
2013 Flag of England.svg James Wilson Flag of England.svg Deta Hedman (8)
2014 Flag of England.svg Alan Norris Flag of England.svg Deta Hedman (9)
2015 Flag of Lithuania.svg   Darius Labanauskas Flag of England.svg   Deta Hedman (10)
2016 Flag of Lithuania.svg   Darius Labanauskas (2) Flag of England.svg   Deta Hedman (11)
2017 Flag of England.svg   Scott Mitchell Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Aileen de Graaf
2018 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Jim Williams Flag of England.svg   Deta Hedman (12)
2019 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Nick Kenny Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Aileen de Graaf (2)
2020 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg   Wayne Warren Flag of England.svg   Deta Hedman (13)
2021 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg   Brian Raman Flag of England.svg   Deta Hedman (14)
2022 Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Jelle Klaasen (2) Flag of England.svg   Beau Greaves
2023 Flag of Belgium (civil).svg   Andy Baetens Flag of England.svg   Beau Greaves (2)

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, which is the British governing body of amateur darts, is the one that is recognised by the WDF.

WDF tournaments

Related Research Articles

The World Professional Darts Championship is one of the most important tournaments in the darts calendar. Originally held as an annual event between 1978 and 1993, players then broke off into two separate organisations after a controversial split in the game. Each organisation, the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) then arranged their own World Championships, the former in January the latter in December. As a result, there was no longer a unified world champion in the sport for nearly three decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Professional Darts Corporation</span> Professional darts organisation

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Darts Organisation</span> Former governing body of darts in Great Britain

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.

Anastasia Petrovna Dobromyslova-Martin is a professional darts player. She is a three-time Women's World Professional Darts Champion of the British Darts Organisation (BDO).

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.

The Darts World Rankings are systems designed to determine a list of the best darts players in the world based on their performances in past tournaments.

The split in darts refers to the acrimonious 1993 dispute between professional darts players and the game's governing body, the British Darts Organisation (BDO), resulting in the creation of a rival darts circuit under the banner of the World Darts Council, which eventually became the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).

Irina Armstrong née Loginova is a Russian-born German professional darts player who currently plays in the World Darts Federation (WDF) events. Her biggest achievement to date was advanced to semi-finals in the 2011 BDO World Darts Championship. She is a gold medalist in pairs competitions during the WDF World Cup and WDF Europe Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deta Hedman</span> English darts player

Deta Hedman is an English darts player who plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) events.

Rhian O'Sullivan is a Welsh female professional darts player who plays in both Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and World Darts Federation (WDF) events.

Lorraine Winstanley is an English darts player who plays in both World Darts Federation (WDF) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.

The 2012 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was the 35th BDO World Darts Championship organised by the British Darts Organisation, and the 27th staging at the Lakeside Country Club at Frimley Green. It took place from January 7th to January 15th.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aileen de Graaf</span> Dutch darts player

Aileen de Graaf is a Dutch darts player playing in events of the World Darts Federation (WDF). She is member of the Dutch national team. She also plays in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).

Mikuru Suzuki is a Japanese darts player. She was a two-time back-to-back British Darts Organisation (BDO) women's world champion. She plays in both World Darts Federation (WDF) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.

The 2019 One80 L-style World Masters was a major tournament on the BDO/WDF calendar for 2019. It took place from 23 to 28 October at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, Essex, which hosted the PDC World Darts Championship from 1994 to 2007.

Tori Kewish is an Australian professional darts player who plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) events.

Patricia De Peuter is a Belgian professional soft-tip and steel-tip darts player who plays in the World Darts Federation (WDF) events. Her biggest achievement to date was qualified for the BDO World Darts Championship and achieved a gold medal at the WDF Europe Cup and EDF European Darts Championship. She also participated in the WDF World Cup and EDU European Darts Championship.

References

  1. McNeely, Scott (10 October 2012). Ultimate Book of Sports: The Essential Collection of Rules, Stats, and Trivia for Over 250 Sports . Chronicle Books, September 14, 2012. p.  343. ISBN   9781452110592 . Retrieved 4 January 2016 via Internet Archive.
  2. 1 2 Nauright, John; Parrish, Charles (2012). Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice. ABC-CLIO. p. 70. ISBN   9781598843002 . Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  3. "Development of World Rankings Criteria For 2021 – WDF". World Darts Federation. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  4. "Lakeside WDF World Championships 2022 - Rescheduled".
  5. "Member Countries". World Darts Federation.
  6. "World Ranking Systems Criteria Seniors 38th ed" (PDF). World Darts Federation. 7.01 Points Allocation Table. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  7. "WDF Rules". WDF. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  8. "WDF Rules". WDF. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  9. "WDF Ranking Systems: 2015 Monetary Awards". WDF. 13 December 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  10. "WDF Men's Rankings Table". WDF. 14 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  11. "WDF Women's Rankings Table". WDF. 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  12. WDF Roll of Honour (previous world number ones)

Sources