Very few careers have their highpoints nearer their end than their beginning. But the winner of this inaugural DartsWorld Award has never seemed to be much bothered by convention.
For a sports person to be competitive, at the elite level, in the midst of their seventh decade is incredibly rare. For that player to be in their fifth different decade of performance is rarer still. But for one to be crowned World Champion in a non age related category is surely unique?
Our winner worked her way up to the big one both over her entire career and even during last season. She started with a triumph in the North American desert – a title she has recently defended moved through claiming the England national singles crown before embarking on a series of quarter and semifinal places in most of the famed WDF opens around Europe.
Where her schedule allowed she dipped into the PDC Women’s Series and ran up a number of last eight finishes while spending an increasing percentage of her time and energy defending the very category of darts which she was travelling around the globe representing.
MORE ON WDF OR DETA HEDMAN? Check Out The DartsWorld AMATEUR Web Area
Finally, our winner returned to Lakeside where keen eyed fans thought they could see a steely glint in her eye, especially after she removed twice champion Suzuki in her opening stanza.
From then on the 66-year old’s run to the World title saw her encounter differing generations, nationalities and experience levels and met each challenge with little fuss and without even needing another deciding set.
This sporting fairy tale seemed to have an extra frisson of natural justice making the story truly eternal.
Introducing The DartsWorld Awards 2025/26
DartsWorld has a half century worth of championing darts, its players, its achievements, and its progress across the globe. For a chunk of that time we have considered some slightly more formal acknowledgments in the vein of some annual awards.
In the end, talking about a project on the sidelines can go on forever without ever progressing unless an initial effort is made there is nothing to hone into a truly useful and celebratory tradition.
Our inaugural awards showcase nine awards that cover a wide spectrum of darting endeavours from the 2025/26 season that ended with the crowning of a new World Champion in January.
FULL DETAILS WITH DARTSDATABASE: The 2025/26 season’s events in facts and stats
From the professional to the amateur, and from elite performance to charitable efforts we try to live up to our name.
In making our selection we do not lay claim to an open and democratic process, at least for the first outing. Instead we have asked those directly connected with DartsWorld. Players, writers, analysts and business leaders have chipped in nominations, award categories and eventual winners.
There are a few self imposed rules, but, somewhat like the pirates code, they are more a set of guidelines. The most important to explain any apparent outrage is that no player will be awarded more than one award each year – perhaps especially relevant with the above award.
We hope to develop the DW awards over time, they will be released earlier in each new year and may be part of an occasion, event or special issue – in the meantime we hope you enjoy the DartsWorld Awards 2025/26.
Watch closely on social media channels and here at the mothership dartsworld.com for the unveiling of the 9 inaugural winners . If you can’t wait then simply grab yourself a copy of DARTSWORLD 593 and enjoy!
—–ENDS—–
Images: DartsWorld Ltd / ADC
