The Darts World Years 1997: WDF Reject WDC Offer.

By CJ Harris-Hulme 27/07/2020

Efforts were still being made to resolve the ongoing, and increasingly bitter, battles in 'The Code Wars'.

Here the WDC attempted to persuade the WDF to allow their players into Open - often another term for non TV- events:


Although this idea was defeated, the arguments offered by the USA and Canadian organisations show why many had chosen not to enforce the ban. American laws on 'restraint of trade' and similar simply would not stand for such a measure.

The revival of the News of the World and its being open to all seems to have been quite influential. Incidentally, the two finalists in that event, Ian White and Phil Taylor, in effect represented the BDO and WDC respectively.