World Darts Trophy
Encyclopedia
The World Darts Trophy was a darts tournament held each September at De Vechtsebanen in Utrecht
, Netherlands
between 2002 and 2007. The tournament has a playing format comparable with the two World Championships, the BDO World Darts Championship
and the PDC World Darts Championship
. Until 2007, it formed part of the BDO Grand Slam, along with the Lakeside World Championship, the Winmau World Masters
and the International Darts League
.
, British Darts Organisation
and the NDB (Nederlandse Darts Bond, the Dutch governing body of darts) and predominantly featured players from those organisations.
However, in 2006, following Raymond van Barneveld
's move to the PDC
, host broadcasters SBS 6, were able to grant invitations to five non-WDF affiliated players, meaning that players from the PDC would be able to compete in the event for the first time. Van Barneveld, along with Phil Taylor, Colin Lloyd
, Ronnie Baxter
and Peter Manley
were given the invitations.
In 2007, the WDT included the top 12 players in the PDC Order of Merit
and four PDC Qualifiers, giving a total of 16 PDC players who would line up alongside 12 from the WDF rankings and 4 wildcards, which were given to Jelle Klaasen
, Michael van Gerwen
, Vincent van der Voort
and Mervyn King, all of whom had left the BDO to join the PDC earlier that year..
However the tournament's came to an end when the PDC decided not to allow their players to the compete in either of the two Dutch events in 2008.
, announced that its players would not be competing in the 2008 International Darts League and World Darts Trophy events. As a result, SBS6 announced they would no longer be broadcasting the event, with their coverage relying heavily on big names such as van Barneveld, which then cast doubts over whether either tournament would go ahead.
The tournament promoters filed a lawsuit against the PDC and SBS6 claiming a contract had been agreed for the PDC players to be involved. The case ended in failure on 21 February 2008, and the International Darts League was indefinitely postponed. The future of the World Darts Trophy was also thrown into doubt as a result of the decision, and both events were confirmed defunct by the failure of an appeal on April 29, 2008.
2003 Trina Gulliver beat Francis Hoenselaar 3–1 (sets)
2004 Francis Hoenselaar beat Anastasia Dobromyslova 3–1 (sets)
2005 Karin Krappen beat Francis Hoenselaar 3–1 (sets)
2006 Women's tournament discontinued
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
between 2002 and 2007. The tournament has a playing format comparable with the two World Championships, the BDO World Darts Championship
BDO World Darts Championship
The BDO World Darts Championship is a world championship competition in darts, organised by the British Darts Organisation . It began in 1978, and was the only world championship tournament until 1994...
and the PDC World Darts Championship
PDC World Darts Championship
The PDC World Darts Championship is a world championship competition for the sport of darts, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation . It was introduced following a dispute in 1994 with the British Darts Organisation, which has run its own world championship since 1978...
. Until 2007, it formed part of the BDO Grand Slam, along with the Lakeside World Championship, the Winmau World Masters
Winmau World Masters
The Winmau World Masters is one of the longest running and most prestigious professional darts tournaments, which began in 1974 - even before the current World Professional Championship...
and the International Darts League
International Darts League
The Topic International Darts League was a darts tournament held at the Triavium in Nijmegen, Netherlands. Raymond van Barneveld dominated the tournament, held in his home country, winning it on three of the five occasions it was held...
.
Tournament history
First held in 2002, the tournament was played under the auspices of the World Darts FederationWorld Darts Federation
The World Darts Federation Is a sport governing body and tournament organiser for the game of darts. It was formed in 1976, by representatives of fifteen nations. Membership is open to the official National organizing body for Darts in all nations...
, British Darts Organisation
British Darts Organisation
The British Darts Organisation, or the BDO for short, is a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft, OBE. The BDO is a founder member of the World Darts Federation which was formed in 1976....
and the NDB (Nederlandse Darts Bond, the Dutch governing body of darts) and predominantly featured players from those organisations.
However, in 2006, following Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld , nickname Barney is a professional darts player. He is a five time World Darts Champion, and two time UK Open Champion. From January to June 2008, he was the PDC world number one ranked player...
's move to the PDC
Professional Darts Corporation
The Professional Darts Corporation is a professional darts organization, established in the United Kingdom during 1992, when a group of leading professional players split from the British Darts Organisation to form what was initially called the World Darts Council...
, host broadcasters SBS 6, were able to grant invitations to five non-WDF affiliated players, meaning that players from the PDC would be able to compete in the event for the first time. Van Barneveld, along with Phil Taylor, Colin Lloyd
Colin Lloyd
Colin Lloyd , nicknamed Jaws, is an English professional darts player on the Professional Darts Corporation circuit. He is a former world number one ranked player and he has won two major television titles in the PDC - the 2004 World Grand Prix and 2005 World Matchplay...
, Ronnie Baxter
Ronnie Baxter
Ronnie Baxter is an English darts player. He uses the nickname The Rocket for his matches. Baxter is known for his fast, robotic throwing action...
and Peter Manley
Peter Manley
Peter David Manley is an English professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He is nicknamed One Dart as he is known for hitting doubles with his first dart...
were given the invitations.
In 2007, the WDT included the top 12 players in the PDC Order of Merit
PDC order of merit
The PDC Order of Merit is a world ranking system used by one of the darts organisations, the Professional Darts Corporation . Following the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship it superseded a world ranking system based on points being awarded for performances in ranking tournaments.-Previous world...
and four PDC Qualifiers, giving a total of 16 PDC players who would line up alongside 12 from the WDF rankings and 4 wildcards, which were given to Jelle Klaasen
Jelle Klaasen
Jelle Klaasen is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation and is the youngest darts player to win the World Darts Championship. His nickname is The Matador. He lives in Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands...
, Michael van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen is a Dutch professional darts player, nicknamed Mighty Mike. He is the youngest player in history to win a major televised tournament in either the BDO or the PDC, winning the 2006 Winmau World Masters at the age of 17...
, Vincent van der Voort
Vincent van der Voort
Vincent van der Voort is a professional darts player.-Playing style:Vincent is well known for his spasmodic style and machine-gun speed of play which has gained him a reputation in both the BDO and the PDC for being one of the more erratic throwers in the darting world...
and Mervyn King, all of whom had left the BDO to join the PDC earlier that year..
However the tournament's came to an end when the PDC decided not to allow their players to the compete in either of the two Dutch events in 2008.
End of event
Towards the end of 2007, the chairman of the PDC, Barry HearnBarry Hearn
Barry Hearn is an English sporting events promoter, and the founder and chairman of promotions company Matchroom Sport. He is currently the chairman of Leyton Orient F.C., and the Professional Darts Corporation and was also until July 2010 chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker...
, announced that its players would not be competing in the 2008 International Darts League and World Darts Trophy events. As a result, SBS6 announced they would no longer be broadcasting the event, with their coverage relying heavily on big names such as van Barneveld, which then cast doubts over whether either tournament would go ahead.
The tournament promoters filed a lawsuit against the PDC and SBS6 claiming a contract had been agreed for the PDC players to be involved. The case ended in failure on 21 February 2008, and the International Darts League was indefinitely postponed. The future of the World Darts Trophy was also thrown into doubt as a result of the decision, and both events were confirmed defunct by the failure of an appeal on April 29, 2008.
Prize fund
- 2007 Prize money
- Winner €45,000
- Runner-Up €22,500
- Semi Finalists €11,250
- Quarter Finalists €6,000
- Last 16 €3,000
- First Round Losers €2,000
- Nine dart finishNine dart finishA nine-dart finish is the ultimate checkout in the game of darts, constituting a perfect game. It is notoriously difficult to achieve, even by the game's top professionals...
: Alfa Romeo BreraAlfa Romeo BreraThe Alfa Romeo Brera is a sports car produced by the Italian automaker Alfa Romeo between 2005 and 2010. The Spider roadster was produced between 2006 to 2010. Both cars were manufactured by Pininfarina. Only 12,488 units of Spider and 21,786 units of Brera were built. Production of both models...
2.4 JTDM 20V worth €50,000 - Highest Check-Out €1,000
- Total €221,000
Men's Finals
| Year | Champion (average in final) | Score (sets) | Runner-Up (average in final) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 |  Tony David Tony David is a darts player and is the only Australian player to have been a senior singles world champion. David won the 2002 Embassy World Championship. He plays under the nickname The Deadly Boomerang.-Career:David started playing darts at the age of 25 and progressed into the Queensland State... (97.80) |
6–0 |  Tony O'Shea Tony O'Shea is an English darts player who competes in British Darts Organisation events. He was born in Stockport. His squat figure has resulted in the nickname Silverback. His walk-on music is "Hey Baby" by DJ Ötzi... (90.48) |
| 2003 |  Raymond van Barneveld Raymond van Barneveld , nickname Barney is a professional darts player. He is a five time World Darts Champion, and two time UK Open Champion. From January to June 2008, he was the PDC world number one ranked player... (104.91) |
6–2 | |
| 2004 | |
6–4 | Martin Adams Martin Adams is an English international darts player. Nicknamed Wolfie or Mr BDO, he is BDO world ranked number one, three-time and reigning BDO World Champion and three-time World Masters champion... (91.50) |
| 2005 | |
6–4 | |
| 2006 | |
7–2 | |
| 2007 |  Gary Anderson (darts player) Gary Anderson is a Scottish professional darts player from Eyemouth, Scottish Borders, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation, and a former BDO and WDF world number one. His nickname is The Flying Scotsman... (103.32) |
7–3 | |
Women's Finals
2002 Mieke de Boer beat Crissy Howat (now Crissy Manley) 3–1 (sets)2003 Trina Gulliver beat Francis Hoenselaar 3–1 (sets)
2004 Francis Hoenselaar beat Anastasia Dobromyslova 3–1 (sets)
2005 Karin Krappen beat Francis Hoenselaar 3–1 (sets)
2006 Women's tournament discontinued