FANS of grassroots no nonsense darts will be pleased to see the return of the Red Dragon Champion of Champions. Welsh international Alec Small became the latest player to win the competition in 2023 after he beat Scott Bayliss 2-0 in last year’s Final at the Depot in Cardiff.
The winner this year will receive £10,000 as well as a place on the MODUS Super Series, where £5,000 is up for grabs each week in Portsmouth.
Small joined a remarkable club of CoC winners including Jonny Clayton, Gerwyn Price, Ryan Searle and Jim Williams most of whom won the event on their way to their major successes.
MODUS SUPER SERIES will offer a full week’s place worth a minimum £1250 to the winning player, with the opportunity to appear on TV and the chance to win a further £25,000 at Champions Week.
For the first time in the Champion of Champions we will also be holding a Pairs Event, where 8 pairs will all battle it out for a winner’s prize off £2,000.
2022 saw a record-breaking year for the Champion of Champions, with 2075 players registered across the UK, and venues taking part in the Republic of Ireland and Germany. Overall a total of 4970 players participated last year including professionals who played within the Professional Darts Corporation, such as Martin Lukeman and Connor Scutt.
The race has already begun in 2023 as players look to confirm their spots at the Depot in Cardiff for Finals Day on the 26th of August, with venues chosen across Wales, England, and Scotland.
The competition will once again be sponsored by Worthington’s with each player last year receiving a unique player only tournament shirt. This will continue in 2023 with our main sponsors providing a tournament shirt once more, but this time with a Brand-New Design!
For the likes of Chas Barstow, Martyn Turner, Sion Thomas and Vince Short, they have already secured their places at Final’s Day. 44-year-old Barstow came through victorious at selected venue Eastleigh Working Men’s Club, putting himself in contention to become only the third English winner of the event after Paul Hogan and Ryan Searle.
The Champion of Champions grew on social media, with Facebook posts reaching 1,244,400 and Tweet viewing figures hitting 202,000 people.
Wales again include the most attended qualifying competitions in relation to selected venues for Finals Day, with popular venues including the Trehafod & District Social Club which so far has a total of 47 entrants for the 21st of July.
The Rhymney Brewery Club broke the record for the highest turnout for a qualifier in 2023, with Gethyn Bennett coming through victorious from a 56-player field!
The Penydarren Social Club held its qualifying competition a week ago with a total of 45 entrants in Merthyr, Wales. 2022 WDF Irish Classic Men Semi Finalist Lee Williams secured his place at the Depot, with victory at the venue on the 12th of June.
Many more qualifying competitions are still to play before we know our final 256 player field for Final’s Day, with events scheduled for the end of June and July.
There are also events fast approaching in England as the Victory Pub in Plymouth plays its qualifier on Monday with 26 players so far registered.
Red Dragon Champion of Champions 2023:
Finals Day Qualifiers
Sean Fisher
Kevin Thomas
Clive Langford
Lee Williams
John Davey
Chris Hurds
Jesse Heal
Kevin Dale
David Summer
Morgan Rodgers
Chas Barstow
David Williams
Nathan Treadgold
Bryan Flew
Luke Cottrell
Steven Inkpen
Conor Bastable
Jeff Bass
David Lake
Ryan Jones
Martin Bolt
Connor Hopkins
Martyn Turner
Vince Short
Sion Thomas
Gethyn Bennett
Nicolas Ruizroynon
2023 Pairs Event Qualifiers:
Dennis Morgan and Scott Bishop
Keatan Fowler and Gary Miller
Mark Lewis and John Hillman
Dean Jones and Darren Evans
Sean Fisher and Rob Owen
Chris Davies and Geraint Thomas
Dewi Beynon and Craig Lewis
Tim Jones and Mark Challenger
—–ENDS—–
Images: Red Dragon
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