The News of the World Individual Darts Championship was one of the first major organised darts

Darts

Darts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target fixed to a wall. Though various boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules...

 competitions, which began in 1927. It became England's first national darts competition from 1947 until its demise in 1990. There was also a brief revival of the event in 1996/97, but it is now discontinued.

Before the tournament was established, darts competitions were held in various forms around the England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 - often as friendly matches between pubs.