Back World Masters (Darts) German Winmau World Masters Spanish ワールド・マスターズ (ダーツ) Japanese World Masters (darts) Dutch Winmau World Masters Polish
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Question_book-new.svg){kind=small} | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2009) |
| Founded | 1974 |
|---|---|
| First season | 1974 |
| Organising body | WDF category Major |
| Country | England |
| Venue(s) | Bridlington Spa, Bridlington |
| Most recent champion(s) |  Wesley Plaisier Beau Greaves (2022) |
| Tournament format | Sets |
The World Masters is one of the longest-running and most prestigious of the BDO/WDF tournaments, which began in 1974. The tournament was originally sponsored by Phonogram before changing its sponsor in 1975 to darts board manufacturer, Winmau. The World Masters was originally contested as the best of 5 legs (first to 3) before later transitioning to the set format.
It was previously the final leg of the BDO's Grand Slam title of televised majors, along with the BDO World Darts Championship, International Darts League and World Darts Trophy, until the latter two tournaments were axed in 2008. The champion is referred to as the World Master.
The tournament was unseeded for most of its history and all players entered the main draw in the first round. Seedings were introduced for the first time in 2007 at the behest of the BBC to ensure the top players were present for the televised stages of the event. Thus, the top eight ranked players received a bye to the last-16.[1]
After the collapse of the British Darts Organisation in September 2020,[2] the World Darts Federation announced plans to launch the WDF World Masters.[3] In December 2020, it was announced that the 2021 tournament will be held at De Bonte Wever in Assen, Netherlands.[4] This was then pushed back to 2022 due to ongoing coronavirus restrictions.[5] The new WDF version of the event changed the format from setplay to legplay for the first time, with significantly shorter matches.[6] The event also moved to a biennial format.[7]In 2024 a new host nation is announced as Budapest, Hungary will be the host for the 2024 WDF World Masters.[8]
- ^ Chaplin, Patrick (2012). 180! : fascinating darts facts. Stroud. p. 92. ISBN 9780752486116.
- ^ "BDO era comes to an end as counties join UKDA". Dartsnews.com. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ "Development of World Rankings Criteria For 2021 – WDF". World Darts Federation. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ "The World Darts Federation are delighted to announce the launch of the WDF World Masters, with its first edition set to take place in the Netherlands, 2–5 December 2021 – WDF". World Darts Federation. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ "World Masters Cancelled Again, New Attempt In December 2022". Darts News. 3 September 2021.
- ^ "2022 Winmau World Masters Updated Information". World Darts Federation. 1 December 2022.
- ^ "WDF World Masters to return in 2024". World Darts Federation. 3 July 2023.
- ^ "Budapest Calling – the 2024 WDF World Masters is coming to Hungary". World Darts Federation. 18 May 2024.