From a game confined to the pubs and clubs in the early 1980’s to one that now has tournaments in the Middle East and Asia, darts has really come a long way since the 1970’s and early 1980’s! With millions of fans around the world, darts popularity and prize money is at its highest ever! Whilst darts might have a way to go to become popular in places in Africa and South America, below we discuss 7 countries where darts is popular right now!
England
Being the birthplace of modern darts and the epicenter for the major darts tournaments, the most popular country that darts is played in is the England. Home to darts royalty such as Phil “The Power” Taylor (16 time world champion), Eric “The Crafty Cockney” Bristow (5 time world champion) and Trina “Golden Girl” Gulliver (10 time women’s world champion), England is the major darts powerhouse.
England is home to the major darts organisations the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and the World Darts Federation (WDF) as well as large tournaments (and some of the 5 biggest darts tournaments worldwide) such as the respective PDC and WDF world championship, the UK Open, World Matchplay and Grand Slam of Darts to name a few.
The highest amount of darts players (both social and professional) are from England and the United Kingdom.
Netherlands
Which nation is stronger in darts, England or the Netherlands? The Dutch have the best player in the world, Michael Van Gerwen, does this mean the Dutch beat the Poms in a match play teams event? Following the trailblazing Raymond van Barneveld’s inspiration to an entire country, the sport became the second most famous after football, a phenomenon seen only in Germany after that. Michael Van Gerwen has taken all before him and will go down as one of the all time greats before his career is over. With the famous Ahoy venue hosting Dutch Premier League darts getting great crowds it’s clear that the Netherlands will be providing top class darts players for some time yet.
Scotland
Home of the Scotland Open, Scottish darts may not have the same depth as Wales, Belgium, or Australia, but with a plethora of world-class competitors, Scotland is close to the world’s top in darts.
Birthplace to one of the most popular and talented players in the history of Darts, Jocky Wilson, Scotland has always been a hotbed of talented players.
The biggest two Scottish darts stars are World Cup champions, Gary Anderson and Peter Wright.
But there are other incredible players further down the rankings. Outside of Anderson and Wright, John Henderson is one of the top 32 players in the world, and the immensely famous Aberdeen player is the best of the rest.
Other Scottish stars include the seasoned Robert Thornton, Ross Montgomery, Cameron Menzies, and Ryan Hogarth, who are fringe players in the professional system, indicating a less dominant future for Scotland.
Australia
Darts became famous in Australia after Queenslander Tony David won the BDO World Championship in 2002, defeating top thrower Mervyn King in the final. Since then, the country has been improving. Simon Whitlock, Paul Nicholson, and Kyle Anderson have gotten the most coverage, although Nicholson, who was born in Newcastle, England, has since lost his Australian citizenship.
Although Whitlock and Anderson remain Australia’s top two players, new faces have emerged in recent years, including the charismatic Damon Heta, astute campaigners Peter Machin and Justin Thompson, and the exuberant Corey Cadby, who, amid controversy, has obvious potential and may be the sport’s future star.
The United States
Home of the US Darts Masters (pre COVID) and with an estimated 17 millions players, The USA is home to one of the biggest darts playing population in the world.
The three major darts organisation in the USA are the American Darters Association (ADA), the American Darts Organisation (ADO) and the National Dart Association (NDA)
Home of the previous PDC tournaments the Las Vegas Desert Classic and the US Open, the biggest US darts tournament is the US Darts Masters which should be up and running now that entertainment venues are continuing to open up in the US.
Wales
Darts in Wales is thriving right now, and that may all be thanks to Leighton Rees, the sport’s first true winner. Rees, a Glamorgan native, won the World Championship in 1978, and Wales has since produced some outstanding athletes. Richie Burnett is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, but he has back faded from the professional ranks; Mark Webster and Martin Phillips are recent successes.
However, it is the latest crop that has earned Wales third-place standing. Gerwyn Price is making headlines at the Professional Darts Championship, while Jonny Clayton, Jamie Lewis, and Nick Kenny are joining him on the professional tour as very capable and explosive players. Wayne Warren is the World Champion of the BDO (the small brother organisation compared to the PDC) while Jim Williams is the number 1 in the BDO.
All of these significant players played in the recent BDO World Championship final and are considered the sport’s best athletes.
Belgium
While seeing players like Eric Clarys in the 1980s, it was two brothers who have been the true pioneers of Belgian darts in recent years. Since 2011, Kim and Ronny Huybrechts have shone in PDC tournaments, even reaching the World Cup final as a team in 2013.
Geert de Vos, Mario Vandenbogaerde, and Mike de Decker are among a slew of young and recent Belgian darts players, but Dimitri Van den Bergh stands head and shoulders above the rest. Van den Bergh, ranked number 29 in the world, is a gifted player who loves playing in televised tournaments. His biggest challenge in breaking into the top tier of the sport seems to be his non-televised style, where he fails to bring his best game.