Following the decision, by a majority vote, of the BDO County Associations not to agree to discuss the detail of the PDC'soffer to acquire the British Darts Organisation nor to grant the PDC access to its books of accounts in order for normal due diligence to be carried out the Board of the PDC can issue the following statement:
The Board of the PDC find the decision of the BDO County Associations not to engage in discussions as to how to distribute the PDC's proposed cash injection of £2m into amateur darts contrary to the best interests of the membership they represent.
Nevertheless the PDC Board has accepted this decision and intends to move on with its plans for the expansion of the professional game of darts offering all players the opportunity to compete with the elite of world darts for prize money at a level never before experienced.
As the first stage of these new exciting plans we are proud to make a number of announcements:
1) PDC World Cup of Darts
To be screened live by Sky Sports from December 3 to December 5 2010 with 24 competing countries drawn from the PDC's Order of Merit and offering prize money of £150,000.
2) PDC Unicorn Under-21 World Championship
The PDC's official darts equipment provider Unicorn will sponsor this open competition available to any darts player over 16 but 21 or under on January 3 2011.
Regional events will be played at Rileys Dartzones with the winners playing down at a special event to the two finalists who will compete for the title live on Sky Sports at Alexandra Palace before the final of the Ladbrokes.com World Championship.
A total of £30,000 in prize money will be paid as follows:
Winner: £10,000
Runner-Up: £5,000
Semi-finalists: £2,500 each
Quarter-finalists: £1,250 each
Last 16 losers: £625 each
Additionally, the two finalists will also be invited to become PDC ProTour card holders for 2011 and 2012 and would receive sponsorship from Rileys Dartzones, the PDC's staging partners in this event.
NB - To be eligible to compete, players must be aged 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 or 21 on January 3 2011, i.e. born between 4 January 1989 and 3 January 1995.
3) PDC Unicorn Women's World Championship
The PDC's official darts equipment provider Unicorn will sponsor this open competition open competition available to any female over 18, with regional events to be played at Rileys Dartzones between May and July with the two finalists competing for the title live on Sky Sports at the Winter Gardens after the semi-finals of the World Matchplay.
Prize money and PDC ProTour card invitations will be granted on the same basis as for the Under-21 World Championship with sponsorship again provided by Rileys Dartzones, the PDC's staging partners in this event.
4) Grand Slam of Darts
The finalists of the PDC Unicorn Under-21 and Women's World Championships will be invited to compete in the Grand Slam of Darts in November 2010.
Invitations previously issued to the BDO Women's World Championship and Winmau World Masters will be withdrawn, although the four invitations from the Lakeside Championship continue to apply.
The PDC feels that with eight players seeded through to the final stages and a level of prize money below standard PDC ProTour Weekends the Winmau World Masters does not reach credible qualification criteria.
5) PDC ProTour Cards
In addition to the automatic granting of PDC ProTour cards for the finalists of the PDC Unicorn Under-21 and Women's World Championship events the PDC will grant PDC ProTour card membership to the four semi-finalists of the BDO Lakeside Championship on application.
The PDC remains totally committed to the PDC ProTour card and its instigation in January 2011 and will be looking to substantially increase PDC ProTour prize funds in 2011.
PDC ProTour Cards will be issued to the top 88 players from the PDC Order of Merit who have competed in at least ten events on January 4 2011.
The remaining 32 PDC ProTour cards will be allocated as follows:
- Top 4 from BDO Lakeside Championship (semi-finalists and finalists)
- Top 2 from PDC Unicorn Under-21 World Championship (finalists)
- Top 2 from PDC Unicorn Women's World Championship (finalists)
- Top 24 from January 2011 PDC ProTour Q School
As tournaments will be comprised of 128 players only, the remaining eight places, plus any that have been created by a deficit in entries, will be filled by players from Friday night qualifying competitions held before PDC ProTour events. These qualifying competitions will only be open to players who have competed in the January 2011 Q School.
Full details on the PDC ProTour and ProTour Cards for 2011 and beyond, including entry criteria for non-UK events, will be announced by the end of March 2011 following further consultation with the PDPA.
6) PDC UK Open
To thank the eight counties who voted in favour of at least discussing the PDC's offer to the BDO, the PDC would like to offer each of those counties one spot in to the 2010 PDC UK Open, with the qualification criteria to be discussed individually with each relevant county.
Following these announcements, PDC Chairman Barry Hearn commented:
"The aim of our offer to the BDO was to unify the sport of darts and this remains our long-term objective despite the decision by the BDO County Associations.
"To turn down £2m without even sitting down with us to discuss the details of our offer is, in my opinion unbelievable, when you consider the poor state of health financially of the amateur game.I would like to congratulate the eight counties who voted to at least consider the offer in detail by way of meeting - they have done their membership and the sport of darts proud and can hold their heads high and we are delighted to offer each of those counties one entrant into the 2010 PDC UK Open. Now we move forward with the beginning of a new era for darts.
"The PDC Unicorn Women's World Championship carries prize money of £30,000 plus £10,000 of sponsorship, compared with the Lakeside version of just £12,000 total prize fund.The PDC Unicorn Under-21 World Championship carries prize money of £30,000 plus £10,000 of sponsorship, compared with the BDO Teenage Championships prize fund of £2,000 and the World Youth Masters that carries no prize money at all.
"The PDC World Cup carries prize money of £150,000 compared with the WDF version which carries no prize money at all.
"The PDC ProTour in 2011 will see over 35 events with prize money of at least £35,000 with around a dozen weekends offering £70,000-plus in prize money - truly the basis for a proper professional tour.
"We shall continue to drive this great sport forward undismayed by the intransigencies of the amateur game which is built on inept financial management, self interest and mediocrity.
"The future is exciting for all players and I hope today's announcements show that the PDC is a vibrant, efficient and effective body well qualified to take the sport of darts to an entirely new level."
Unicorn Managing Director Edward Lowy added:
"Unicorn are delighted to support the PDC's initiatives in creating opportunities for female and youth dart players by sponsoring the PDC Unicorn Women's World Championship and the PDC Unicorn Under-21 World Championship.
"For too long, ladies and younger players have suffered from a lack of investment in competitive tournaments and a lack of prize money to enable them to develop their game. Sky televising the Finals of these tournaments live will be the vital oxygen that will start to breathe new hope and new life into aspiring - and extremely capable - lady and youth competitors.
"We applaud Rileys for their ongoing contribution to the sport of darts and look forward to partnering with them through the qualifying rounds of these two exciting PDC Unicorn tournaments."
PDPA Chairman Peter Manley said:
"The PDPA is delighted to give the PDC its full support as continues to take darts to new levels. We are excited about these new tournaments and the opportunities they will offer both our current and future membership.
"We applaud the PDC's vision and determination to continue developing darts around the world and look forward to an exciting year ahead."
ENDS