BDO & PDC Organisations
The sport of darts has been split into two main organisations that both have several competitions that take place across a calendar year, offering professional players the potential to earn a significant amount of prize money on an annual basis. Those two organisations are the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and the British Darts Organisation, otherwise known as the BDO.
The BDO are the oldest organisation to have been involved in the sport as they were the founding members of the World Darts Federation back in 1976. They have a number of tournaments that are played all over the world, although there is an argument that they are not as successful as their counterparts.
The PDC was formed in 1992 after a number of players decided to break away from the BDO as many had become disillusioned with what the organisation was doing in regards to the money involved in the sport as sponsorships from television coverage dwindled significantly.
With Barry Hearn at the helm as chairman, the association has gone from strength to strength since their formative years and have been able to secure a number of TV deals for their tournaments, with prize money for winners having risen to astronomical amounts for certain wins. This move also could be considered to leave the BDO trailing way behind, as a number of the best players in the professional game have since joined them.
Men such as Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld, Gary Anderson, Rob Cross and Michael van Gerwen have all played for the BDO, before switching allegiances to the PDC, where they have subsequently raised their profiles and have been some of the best professionals to have taken to the oche.
Best tournaments to place bets on
There are a number of tournaments that are worth betting on, with some of them offering the very best action each time they come around on the schedule.
Top BDO offerings
In regards to the BDOs offering, there are two ‘Major’ competitions that are worth having a bet on, with the BDO World Championships one of those.
The tournament has been played every year since 1978 in Lakeside and has versions for Men, Women and Youth. It has seen a number of top players win the competition over the years, with men like Ted Hankey and Martin Adams having won multiple titles and still two of just a few to remain with the corporation having won the biggest prize.
The World Masters is also one of the top competitions the organisation offers in their calendar of events, with the tournament taking place between September and December every year since 1974. Both of these competitions are played with sets being used as the format, which provides punters with an additional market to bet on, other than just legs.
The best PDC tournaments to bet on
The PDC, arguably, has the bigger tournaments on the darts circuit, whilst they also offer plenty of variety and the worlds best players, which makes each competition slightly different when betting on. Their main tournament is the PDC World Championships, which takes place between December and the beginning of January. This tournament has the biggest amount of prize money available each year and continues to rise in an astronomical way as TV sponsorship deals and crowds continue to increase.
Fallon Sherrock created headlines in the 2020 edition of the tournament, as she became the first female player in the sport to beat a male counterpart on TV. In fact, she continued to rack up the wins, as she recorded a further two. Phil Taylor, though, is perhaps the most famous name to be associated with the competition, as he won it 16 times throughout his storied career.
The World MatchPlay is another iconic PDC event that has become hugely popular each year as well when played in July, with a format that is played by legs, however, winners can only be declared if they are two clear of their opponents when hitting the minimum number required. A classic between Gary Anderson and Mensur Suljovic at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens was played out in 2018 final, with the game finally being won by the Scotsman 21-19, reaching an impressive 40 legs.
The World Grand Prix is one of the most unique tournaments on the PDC schedule, as players need to hit a double or a bullseye to get their scoring started. The competition is played in Ireland every September and offers something incredibly different to what is normally witnessed. Despite the unique method of starting, there have been three nine-darters, with James Wade and Robert Thornton both recording one each in the same match back in 2014, whilst Brendan Dolan created a special moment as he hit the first nine-dart finish to be recorded in the tournament in 2011.
Whilst all tournaments are worthy of betting on, some truly do not compare to the Premier League of Darts. This format is completely unique to any other tournament on the schedule, as it is played over a period of four months, with matches taking place each Thursday for several weeks in a League format, with a best of 12 legs system determining winners before the top four compete it out over a day where the semi-finals and final all take place. Usually composed of the best ten players on the PDC Circuit, there is plenty of top action to get behind. Men like Gary Anderson, Michael van Gerwen, Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis have all featured.
There have been nine nine-dart finishes since the tournament was created in 2005, with Van Barneveld, Taylor, Lewis hitting two each.
