Darts News, Tournaments and the Biggest Nights on the PDC Calendar

Darts News and Tournament Coverage From the PDC Calendar

Darts has grown from a pub-game staple into one of the most-watched live sports in the UK. Alexandra Palace sells out in hours. Premier League nights fill arenas from Aberdeen to Brighton. The crowds are loud, the atmospheres are genuinely electric, and the players have become household names in a way that nobody predicted two decades ago.

Here at 101 Great Goals, we cover the sport end to end — match results, tournament previews, player news and everything in between. If something is happening in darts, you will find it here.

The PDC World Darts Championship

Nothing in darts compares to the World Championship. Held every December and January at Alexandra Palace in north London, the PDC Worlds draws the best players on the planet across more than two weeks of competition, culminating in a final that has produced some of the most memorable moments the sport has seen.

The tournament’s Ally Pally setting is a big part of what makes it special. The crowd, the fancy dress, the noise when a player hits a nine-darter — it is an experience that casual observers and diehard fans both get swept up in. Tickets sell out well in advance, but the coverage on Sky Sports and DAZN means you do not need to be in the building to feel it.

Luke Littler became the youngest Ally Pally champion in history when he won the title as a teenager, defeating Michael van Gerwen in the final. That result set the tone for what has followed — a sport that now has a generational story to tell alongside its established stars.

Premier League Darts

If the World Championship is the jewel, Premier League Darts is the sustained proof that the sport can fill venues week after week. The tournament runs from late winter through to the spring play-offs, with matches staged in cities across the UK and Ireland. Each night is its own event — different arena, different crowd, same intensity.

The format keeps every match meaningful. A select group of players competes in a round-robin league over several months, with the bottom player eliminated each week. By the time the play-offs arrive, the stakes are clear and the remaining contenders are genuinely the best performers over the full campaign.

Who Competes in the Premier League

The PDC selects a fixed group of players at the start of each year, typically eight, drawn from the world rankings and recent form. Past participants have included van Gerwen, Peter Wright, Gerwyn Price, Gary Anderson and Littler, though the lineup changes from year to year. A spot in the Premier League is considered one of the most coveted invitations in the sport.

The World Matchplay

Held at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool every July, the World Matchplay is one of the PDC’s oldest and most respected events. Unlike most PDC tournaments, it uses a leg-play format rather than sets, which makes every visit to the oche feel more immediate. There is no safety net of winning a set — every leg counts from the first throw.

The Winter Gardens crowd is famously partisan and knowledgeable. Blackpool week has a reputation for producing some of the finest darts of the calendar year, with the venue’s atmosphere pushing players to perform at their very best.

The UK Open

The UK Open has been nicknamed the FA Cup of Darts for good reason. Held at Butlin’s in Minehead, it uses an open-draw format in which every round is played from scratch rather than seeded. That means a lower-ranked player can find themselves up against the world number one in the early rounds, with no protective bracket to ease them in.

The result is upsets, drama and genuinely unpredictable darts from the very first session. Players who might not otherwise challenge for a major title have won the UK Open precisely because the format rewards form on the day rather than accumulated ranking points.

The Grand Slam of Darts

The Grand Slam, held in Wolverhampton, is the one tournament that brings together players from multiple governing bodies under a single roof. For most of the PDC calendar, the top professionals on the tour only face each other. The Grand Slam opens that up, which historically has produced some rare and compelling matchups.

The group-stage format means every player gets at least a few matches before the knockout rounds begin, giving fans the chance to see a wider range of competitors than they would in a standard PDC draw. For those wanting to understand the full breadth of elite darts, the Grand Slam is worth your attention.

Follow All the Latest Darts News

Whether you are keeping tabs on the world rankings, looking for a preview before a big night at the oche, or catching up on a result you missed, 101 Great Goals covers it. Check our darts news section for the latest stories, and head to our sports news hub for broader coverage across boxing, tennis, golf and more.