With just 8 weeks to go before the long awaited return to "the Home of World Darts", the Lakeside Country Club, 12 world ranked events are still to be played before the invitation list is finalised for the 2022 WDF World Championships.
Following the completion of the season on Saturday 4th December, 44 men and 22 women will have qualified by right via the WDF world rankings tables, the eight regional rankings tables, or by virtue of winning one of the Platinum/Gold graded events.
The Lakeside qualification competitions, including the WDF World Youth Championships will take place on Sunday 5th December in Assen, where a further 4 men, 2 women, 4 boys and 2 girls will win their places upon the Lakeside stage.
The 'Race to Lakeside' rankings tables are provided by @WeeklyDartscast and can be viewed here MEN & WOMEN
With direct qualification places already award to the 2020 World Champions, Dutch Open & Scottish Open winners, a further seven 'Gold' events were scheduled for 2021. The England Open, Denmark Open, British Open & Welsh Open have already taken place, with the USA's Seacoast Open, the Irish Open and the season finale at the WDF World Open in the Netherlands also set to provide 'golden tickets' to Lakeside for their champions.
Despite the New Zealand Darts Council's best efforts in both 2020 and 2021 to run a full calendar of ranking events, the Covid-19 pandemic has severely effected opportunities for tournament play in the region. With 4 events completed in 2021, the World Darts Federation can confirm that the top two eligible men and the top placed woman in the New Zealand regional rankings table will qualify for Lakeside 2022.
The Canada regional rankings are also complete for 2020/2021 and the men's table sees players placed in equal second place. With no further Canadian events scheduled, the WDF can also confirm that all eligible players tied in second will be invited to Lakeside.
There are still places to be finalised in the Australia, USA, UK/Ireland, North Europe, East Europe and West Europe regional tables in the coming weeks and we look forward to confirming those invitations in due course.
Here is a summary of WDF world ranking events still to be played over the next 4 weeks. Details for each of the 12 remaining WDF world ranking tournaments (3 Gold, 4 Silver, 5 Bronze) can be found in our calendar section by selecting the appropriate event for more information. HERE
Should players not be successful in qualifying for Lakeside through the WDF world/regional rankings tables, there will be one final opportunity to do so on Sunday 5th December in Assen, the Netherlands, via the qualification competition.
This event is open to all and costs €25 to enter for men and women. In addition, the WDF World Youth Championships for both Boys and Girls will also be taking place, with entry at just €10.
For full information and links to enter, please visit the NDB's tournament page HERE
