Darts players are spoilt for choice and action after two years of severe restriction and even longer of grassroots neglect. The latest batch of opportunity comes from the WDF:
As the build-up continues towards the Lakeside World Championship in April, the WDF calendar for 2022 is starting to take shape, with 70 ranked tournaments across 25 member nations already scheduled and in the diary.
Alongside the three ‘Platinum’ graded major events at the Lakeside and in the Netherlands, six ‘Gold’ events are confirmed and will take place in the Isle of Man, Scotland, Denmark, Wales, England, and the Republic of Ireland.
With travel restrictions gradually being eased around the globe, WDF ranking events have already taken place in Russia, USA and Iceland and the first European ‘Silver’ event takes place in Slovakia on the weekend of 25-27 February.
March sees events scheduled in Australia, Hungary and the Faroe Islands, as well as the first ‘Gold’ graded tournament of 2022, the Isle of Man Open, played alongside the ‘Silver’ ranked Isle of Man Classic, from Thursday 10 to Sunday 13 March.
All eyes will then be on the return to “the Home of World Darts” in early April, as the Lakeside World Championships sees 48 men, 24 women and 6 youth players competing for a total prize fund of £300,000.
Players will then have their sights set on the 2023 WDF World Championships, with plenty of ranking points on offer in the weeks that follow Lakeside.
Three successive weekends will see ‘Gold’ graded ranking tournaments taking place, which grant both men’s and women’s champions automatic qualification for Lakeside 2023.
- The Scottish Open (April 22-24)
- The Denmark Open/Masters (April 29-May 1)
- The Welsh Open/Classic (May 6-8)
The eagerly anticipated return of the Dutch Open is scheduled for June 10-12 in Assen, with ‘Platinum’ points on offer for the biggest open competition in world darts. That’s followed by two more rearranged tournament weekends, with the Romanian Open in Bucharest (June 24-26) and the England Open at Brean Sands (July 8-10).
Four more of Europe’s well established WDF ranking events take place once again in 2022, with the Belgium Open, Swedish Open, Catalonia Open and German Open scheduled for August and September and there’s a return to Bridlington for the ‘Gold’ graded British Open and ‘Silver’ graded British Classic (September 16-18).
The autumn calendar is filled with WDF ranking tournaments across Europe – Northern Ireland, Latvia, Hungary, Malta, and the Czech Republic, plus the Irish Open (Gold) and Irish Classic (Silver) in Killarney on the weekend of November 11-13.
As always, the WDF regions around the world will play their part in 2022. Over 20 ranking events in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA are already confirmed, with darts in Asia set to return to the WDF system this year and more tournaments sure to be announced in the coming weeks.
Youth darts is fundamental to the WDF circuit, with over 50 tournaments already published on the 2022 calendar for the stars of the future all around the world and the WDF Europe Cup Youth in Hungary being scheduled for July 13-17.
You can view the full youth WDF calendar HERE
WDF darts in 2022 will conclude with the Winmau World Masters in Assen on December 8-11. Further details on what is sure to be a true festival of darts in the Netherlands will follow in due course.
FORTHCOMING DATES/INFORMATION
25-27 February: Slovak Open/Masters INFO
25-27 February: Camellia Classic INFO
10-13 March: Isle of Man Open/Classic INFO
2-10 April: Lakeside WDF World Championships TICKETS
22-24 April: Scottish Open INFO
29 April-1 May: Denmark Open/Masters INFO
29 April-1 May: Cleveland Extravaganza INFO
6-8 May: Welsh Open/Masters INFO
10-12 June: Dutch Open INFO
24-26 June: Romanian Open/Classic INFO
Further WDF ranking events and details will be added to the calendar over the coming weeks, as tournament applications continue to be made by our member nations.
The full WDF Calendar as it stands can be viewed HERE
—–ENDS—–
Words: WDF, Lead Image:
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