The World Darts Federation are happy to confirm that the global ranking system will recommence from June 2021 onwards, with the “Gold” graded Denmark Open in Esbjerg added to the calendar (October 1-3).
Following the launch of the new WDF ranking criteria in January 2020, only two months of competition took place before the Coronavirus pandemic brought tournament play to a halt, meaning that initial plans to hold season ending major tournaments were delayed.
(All points attained, and places awarded from the events in early 2020 have been protected)
With WDF member countries beginning to organise tournaments as things slowly open up in 2021, it remains our priority to ensure that events can be run safely, with as much opportunity as possible for players to participate. With the addition of our regional ranking tables, we aim for a compromise between the varying restrictions of overseas travel for players worldwide and the need for ranking points to be earned by players within their own regions.
June, July and August will see a gradual restart with ranking events planned in the national regions of Australia, New Zealand and USA. In addition, Hungary host a youth weekend (June 11-13) whilst Europe’s first senior ranking event takes place in Gibraltar (June 13), followed by tournaments scheduled in Serbia, Slovenia and Russia.
Gold Events
Many of the biggest WDF ranked events are set to return later in the year, with the Dutch Open and England Open weekends scheduled for September. Following the disappointment of the WDF World Cup being cancelled for 2021, we are delighted that Esbjerg will still be hosting WDF darts in October, as the Denmark Open weekend is confirmed.
With the British Open, Welsh Open and Irish Open to follow, as well as 3 more “Gold” graded tournaments worldwide, the men’s and women’s champions of the following events will qualify directly into the forthcoming WDF World Championships.
SEP 3-5 : DUTCH OPEN (Platinum)
SEP 10-12 : ENGLAND OPEN (Gold)
OCT 1-3 : DENMARK OPEN (Gold)
OCT 15-17 : BRITISH OPEN (Gold)
OCT 22-24 : WELSH OPEN (Gold)
NOV 13-14 : IRISH OPEN (Gold)
DEC 2-5 : WORLD MASTERS (Platinum)
KOREA OPEN (TBC)
AUSTRALIA (TBC)
USA (TBC)
Each of the five European “Gold” events also have a “Silver” graded tournament on the same weekend. There are also “Silver” events planned in Northern Ireland, Hungary, Malta, Czech Republic and Italy, plus “Bronze” weekends in Catalonia, Russia and Latvia.
The Hong Kong Open is scheduled for the busy autumn period, whilst play will recommence in Canada and ranking events will also continue in Australia, New Zealand and USA.
All of this means players will have the opportunity to accumulate regional and world ranking points and to win places directly into both the WDF World Masters and WDF World Championship playoffs in December.
(The Bruges/Belfry Open (Belgium) weekend has been rescheduled to December 17-19 and will be the first ranked opens of the new season, following the 2021 WDF World Masters)
All of our plans for 2021 are naturally dependent on the Covid-19 status across the globe and associated government rules, travel restrictions and health guidelines. Our objectives are clear but the WDF calendar remains subject to change during these times. As always, we continue to liaise with our member nations and any changes to tournament status will be issued as quickly as possible on the WDF Calendar.
We look forward to the launch of the new WDF website in advance of ranking tournament play recommencing in June, with further news on the WDF major tournaments and plans for 2022 to come.
