World Darts Federation

Governing body and tournament organiser for darts

World Darts Federation

Abbreviation| WDF
Formation| 1974; 51 years ago (1974)
Type| Darts organisation
Website| www.dartswdf.com

The World Darts Federation (WDF) is a sport governing body[1][2] and (along with the PDC) a tournament organiser for the game of darts. It was formed in 1974 by representatives of the original fourteen founding members.[2] Membership is open to the national organising body for darts in all nations. The WDF encourages the promotion of the sport of darts among and between those bodies, in an effort to gain international recognition for darts as a major sport. The WDF was a full member of Global Association of International Sports Federations, which was the governing body for international sports federations, until dissolution in 2023.

In 2025, in response to a motion put forth by England and seconded by Scotland and Wales, the WDF voted to implement an immediate ban on transgender women from competing as women.[3]

## Main Events

[edit]

The WDF stages a world championship (called the WDF World Cup), as well as continental championships such as the WDF Americas Cup, the WDF Asia-Pacific Cup and the WDF Europe Cup. The country that is first in the overall leader board (overall best result in the two events, singles, pairs, teams) becomes the world champion. Winners of any of the events can also call themselves the official World Champion. Winners of continental championships can call themselves the official champion of their own areas.

After the collapse of the British Darts Organisation in September 2020, the WDF announced plans to launch the WDF World Championship and WDF World Masters.[4] Both competitions took place for the first time in 2022, starting with the 2022 WDF World Darts Championship in April.[5]

WDF World Darts Championship since 2022.

## Members

[edit]

76 national full members plus 3 interim nembers (Mauritania, Yemen, Papua New Guinea) :[6]

* Australia
* Austria
* Bahamas
* Bahrain
* Belgium
* Brunei
* Bulgaria
* Canada
* Catalonia
* Chinese Taipei
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Egypt
* England
* Estonia
* Ethiopia
* Faroe Islands
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Gibraltar
* Greece
* Guernsey
* Hong Kong
* Hungary
* Iceland
* India
* Iran
* Isle of Man
* Italy
* Jamaica
* Japan
* Jersey
* Kenya
* Latvia
* Liechtenstein
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Macau
* Malaysia
* Malta
* Monaco
* Mongolia
* Netherlands
* New Zealand
* Nigeria
* Northern Ireland
* Norway
* Pakistan
* Palestine
* Poland
* Republic of Ireland
* Romania
* Russia
* Scotland
* Serbia
* Singapore
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* South Africa
* South Korea
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Thailand
* Trinidad & Tobago
* Tunisia
* Turkey
* Turks & Caicos
* Uganda
* Ukraine
* United Arab Emirates
* United States
* Wales

The WDF Rankings, as defined by the World Darts Federation, are the "objective merit-based method used for determining qualification for entry and seeding in all of its tournaments for both male and female singles, pairs and team". The rankings tables are "rolling tables", and points from an event are counted until that event occurs the following year. If a particular event does not occur in the following year, points are deleted after a calendar year.[7]

## Para Darts

[edit]

World ParaDarts is also an associate member of the WDF.

## Tournament levels and points allocation

[edit]

A player's WDF Ranking is based on the points they have accrued from their best 10 performances over the previous 12 month rolling period.[8] The eligible tournaments include a selection of Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze level tournaments with decreasing points at each level.

Since the formation of the WDF rankings in 1974 the method used to calculate a player's ranking points has changed several times. Notes: The WDF international tournaments have six categories for both men and women (singles, pairs and teams)

### Current points distribution

[edit]

Points are currently awarded as follows:[9]

Tournament category | W | F | SF | QF | R16 | R32 | R64

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

WDF Platinum tournaments | 270 | 167 | 103 | 64 | 39 | 26 | 13
WDF Gold tournaments | 180 | 111 | 68 | 43 | 26 | 17 | 9
WDF Silver tournaments | 90 | 56 | 34 | 21 | 13 | 9
WDF Bronze tournaments | 45 | 28 | 17 | 11 | 6

## Current WDF World Rankings

[edit]

The rankings are based on a cumulative points system similar to ATP rankings in tennis they are done on a rolling one year basis. When a tournament is played, the previous year's results are removed from the rankings. This list is used to determine seeds for some of the WDF Opens. The World Darts Federation also have a ranking system designed to provide a measure of the global activities of darts players in every WDF recognised darts event. It used to be very similar to the BDO system but was revised in January 2007 to include categories by country and by events, and the distribution of ranking points reflect the levels of prize money on offer and the numbers of entries in a tournament. Therefore, the WDF World Rankings give a better reflection on BDO player world ranking. The leading players gain points in different levels of categorised events and prize money and at the end of the season the leading players receive monetary bonus rewards from the WDF.[10]

WDF Men's World Rankings as of 6 July 2025.[11] Rank  | Change  | Player  | Points

|
|
|

1 |  |  Leonard Gates | 630
2 |  |  Jimmy van Schie | 628
3 |  |  Corné Groeneveld | 574
4 |  |  James Beeton | 496
5 |  1  |  Jason Brandon | 489
6 |  1  |  Alex Spellman | 462
7 |  1  |  Benjamin Pratnemer | 442
8 |  32  |  Jonny Tata | 403
9 |  |  Peter Machin | 400
10 |  |  David Fatum | 399
11 |  6  |  Danny Porter | 396
12 |  2  |  Andy Davidson | 387
13 |  2  |  Thomas Junghans | 376
14 |  2  |  Brian Raman | 375
15 |  2  |  Jim McEwan | 370
16 |  1  |  François Schweyen | 364
17 |  1  |  Ryan Hogarth | 342
18 |  1  |  Raymond Smith | 339
19 |  2  |  Dennis Nilsson | 332
20 |  1  |  Cliff Prior | 326
21 |  1  |  Reece Colley | 322
22 |  |  Carl Wilkinson | 309
23 |  |  Karl Schaefer | 299
24 |  |  Xanti van den Bergh | 280
25 |  |  Shane McGuirk | 279
26 |  2  |  Jeffrey Sparidaans | 270
27 |  16  |  Jeff Smith | 270
28 |  1  |  Liam Maendl-Lawrance | 270
29 |  1  |  Kai Fan Leung | 266
30 |  12  |  Ben Robb | 265
31 |  |  Johan Engstrom | 264
32 |  |  Martyn Turner | 262

WDF Women's World Rankings as of 9 July 2025.[12] Rank  | Change  | Player  | Points

|
|
|

1 |  |  Beau Greaves | 1183
2 |  |  Deta Hedman | 958
3 |  |  Rhian O'Sullivan | 926
4 |  |  Lerena Rietbergen | 885
5 |  |  Lorraine Hyde | 869
6 |  |  Nicole Regnaud | 728
7 |  |  Tracy Feiertag | 687
8 |  |  Sophie McKinlay | 677
9 |  |  Irina Armstrong | 591
10 |  |  Joanne Hadley | 557
11 |  |  Jitka Císařová | 555
12 |  5  |  Kirsi Viinikainen | 545
13 |  1  |  Aletta Wajer | 543
14 |  1  |  Aileen de Graaf | 538
15 |  1  |  Paula Murphy | 522
16 |  1  |  Desi Mercer | 484
17 |  1  |  Anca Zijlstra | 468
18 |  |  Paige Pauling | 458
19 |  |  Priscilla Steenbergen | 425
20 |  7  |  Maria Carli | 414
21 |  1  |  Maud Jansson | 410
22 |  2  |  Eve Watson | 410
23 |  2  |  Gréta Tekauer | 407
24 |  1  |  Kirsty Hutchinson | 360
25 |  1  |  Aaja Jalbert | 350
26 |  1  |  Paula Jacklin | 339
27 |  1  |  Veronika Ihász | 311
28 |  18  |  Mayumi Ouchi | 297
29 |  |  Adriana van Wijgerden-Vermaat | 282
30 |  |  Janine Cassar | 278
31 |  5  |  Wendy Harper | 264
32 |  1  |  Taylor-Marsh Kahaki | 262

## WDF World No1 men's and women's players (1976–current)

[edit]

[13]

Year  | Men  | Women

|
|

1976 |  Alan Evans | No rankings
1977 |  John Lowe | No rankings
1978 |  Leighton Rees | No rankings
1979 |  John Lowe (2) | No rankings
1980 |  Eric Bristow | No rankings
1981 |  Eric Bristow (2) | No rankings
1982 |  Jocky Wilson | No rankings
1983 |  Eric Bristow (3) | No rankings
1984 |  Eric Bristow (4) |  Sandy Reitan
1985 |  Eric Bristow (5) |  Lilian Barnett
1986 |  John Lowe (3) |  Linda Batten
1987 |  Bob Anderson |  Maarit Fagerholm
1988 |  John Lowe (4) |  Jayne Kempster
1989 |  Bob Anderson (2) |  Sharon Colclough
1990 |  Eric Bristow (6) |  Sharon Colclough (2)
1991 |  Phil Taylor |  Sharon Colclough (3)
1992 |  Rod Harrington |  Mandy Solomons
1993 |  Leo Laurens |  Mandy Solomons (2)
1994 |  Steve Beaton |  Deta Hedman
1995 |  Richie Burnett |  Deta Hedman (2)
1996 |  Martin Adams |  Deta Hedman (3)
1997 |  Martin Adams (2) |  Deta Hedman (4)
1998 |  Ronnie Baxter |  Francis Hoenselaar
1999 |  Raymond van Barneveld |  Trina Gulliver
2000 |  Raymond van Barneveld (2) |  Trina Gulliver (2)
2001 |  Mervyn King |  Trina Gulliver (3)
2002 |  John Walton |  Trina Gulliver (4)
2003 |  Martin Adams (3) |  Trina Gulliver (5)
2004 |  Raymond van Barneveld (3) |  Trina Gulliver (6)
2005 |  Raymond van Barneveld (4) |  Trina Gulliver (7)
2006 |  Jelle Klaasen |  Trina Gulliver (8)
2007 |  Gary Anderson |  Trina Gulliver (9)
2008 |  Scott Waites |  Francis Hoenselaar (2)
2009 |  Tony O'Shea |  Trina Gulliver (10)
2010 |  Martin Adams (4) |  Deta Hedman (5)
2011 |  Scott Waites (2) |  Deta Hedman (6)
2012 |  Stephen Bunting |  Deta Hedman (7)
2013 |  James Wilson |  Deta Hedman (8)
2014 |  Alan Norris |  Deta Hedman (9)
2015 |  Darius Labanauskas |  Deta Hedman (10)
2016 |  Darius Labanauskas (2) |  Deta Hedman (11)
2017 |  Scott Mitchell |  Aileen de Graaf
2018 |  Jim Williams |  Deta Hedman (12)
2019 |  Nick Kenny |  Aileen de Graaf (2)
2020 |  Wayne Warren |  Deta Hedman (13)
2021 |  Brian Raman |  Deta Hedman (14)
2022 |  Jelle Klaasen (2) |  Beau Greaves
2023 |  Andy Baetens |  Beau Greaves (2)
2024 |  Jimmy van Schie |  Beau Greaves (3)

The rankings show Deta Hedman and Trina Gulliver as consistently being the leading women's player's, having been number one on a record ten or more occasions each. No male player has held the number one position as many years Gulliver and Hedman, although Eric Bristow has held the top position for a record six times. The rankings for the men has become even more complex since the inception of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) formerly the World Darts Council (WDC). The leading ranked players in 1993/94 split from the BDO and they have their own world ranking system known as the Order of Merit. The players from the PDC are not included in the rankings because the BDO, which is the British governing body of amateur darts, is the one that is recognised by the WDF.

## WDF tournaments

[edit]

Main article: List of WDF tournaments

## See also

[edit]

* WDF World Darts Championship
* BDO World Darts Championship
* PDC World Darts Championship
* World Professional Darts Championship

## References

[edit]

1. ^ McNeely, Scott (10 October 2012). Ultimate Book of Sports: The Essential Collection of Rules, Stats, and Trivia for Over 250 Sports. Chronicle Books, September 14, 2012. p. 343. ISBN 9781452110592. Retrieved 4 January 2016 - via Internet Archive.
2. ^ a b Nauright, John; Parrish, Charles (2012). Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice. ABC-CLIO. p. 70\. ISBN 9781598843002. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
3. ^ Russell, John. "Trans darts player vows not to let new anti-trans ban ruin her love of the sport". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
4. ^ "Development of World Rankings Criteria For 2021 – WDF". World Darts Federation. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
5. ^ "Lakeside WDF World Championships 2022 - Rescheduled".
6. ^ "Member Countries". World Darts Federation.
7. ^ "World Ranking Systems Criteria Seniors 38th ed" (PDF). World Darts Federation. 7.01 Points Allocation Table. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
8. ^ "WDF Rules". WDF. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
9. ^ "WDF Rules". WDF. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
10. ^ "WDF Ranking Systems: 2015 Monetary Awards". WDF. 13 December 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
11. ^ "WDF Men's Rankings Table". WDF. 6 July 2025. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
12. ^ "WDF Women's Rankings Table". WDF. 9 July 2025. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
13. ^ WDF Roll of Honour (previous world number ones)

## Sources

[edit]

* Kramer, Anne (2013). The Ultimate Book of Darts A Complete Guide to Games, Gear, Terms, and Rules. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. ISBN 9781626365261.
* McNeely, Scott (2012). The ultimate book of sports. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN 9781452121871.
* editors, John Nauright, Charles Parrish (2012). Sports around the world : history, culture, and practice. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781598843002. `{{cite book}}`: `|last1=` has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

## External links

[edit]

* World Darts Federation (WDF)
* Professional Darts Corporation (PDC)
* Catalan Darts Federation (FCD)
* Latvia Darts Organisation (LDO)
* Polish Darts Organisation (PDO)
* Romanian Darts Organisation (BDO)

* v
* t
* e

BDO & WDF tournaments

* List of BDO ranked tournaments
* List of WDF tournaments

WDF Int'l Majors|

* World Cup
* Europe Cup
* Americas Cup
* Asia-Pacific Cup

WDF Platinum|

* Australian Darts Open
* Dutch Open
* WDF World Masters
* WDF World Darts Championship

WDF Gold|

* Scottish Open
* Denmark Open
* Welsh Open
* British Open
* England Classic
* Irish Open

WDF Silver|

* Las Vegas Open
* Slovak Open
* Isle of Man Open
* German Open
* Swiss Open
* Canadian Open
* New Zealand Masters
* Romanian Open
* Australian Grand Masters
* England Open
* New Zealand Open
* Welsh Classic
* Japan Open
* Antwerp/Belgium Open
* Pacific Masters
* Swedish Open
* British Classic
* Klondike Open
* Northern Ireland Open
* Malta Open
* Italian Grand Masters
* Czech Open

WDF Bronze|

* Quebec Open
* Mediterranean Cup
* Iceland Open
* Lithuania Open
* Oregon Open
* Canterbury Open
* Romanian Classic
* Apatin Open
* Catalonia/FCD Anniversary Open
* Bob Jones Memorial
* Latvia Open
* Hungarian Classic
* Gibraltar Open

Not WDF ranked|

* Estonia Open
* Finnish Open
* WDF Six Nations Cup
* WDF Europe Youth Cup
* French Open
* England Masters
* Auckland Open
* Malaysian Open
* Korean Open
* Hong Kong Open
* Alan King Memorial
* British Pentathlon

Former|

| Majors|

| WDF|

* Baltic Cup Open
* International Darts League
* News of the World Darts Championship
* Spring Cup
* World Darts Trophy
* Finder Darts Masters
* Jersey Open
* Jersey Masters
* Welsh Masters

|

BDO|

* BDO World Darts Championship
* British Professional Championship
* Butlins Grand Masters
* MFI World Matchplay
* BDO World Trophy
* North American Open

Other|

* BDO International Grand Prix Series
* BDO International Open
* BDO Gold Cup
* British International Championships
* Dry Blackthorn Cider Masters
* German Gold Cup
* Masters of Darts

Calendar|

* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

* v
* t
* e

International sports federations

ASOIF (30+2)
Summer Olympics Federations|

* AQUA (aquatic sports)
* WA (archery)
* WA (athletics)
* BWF (badminton)
* WBSC (baseball, softball and Baseball5) (associate)
* FIBA (basketball)
* WB2 (boxing)
* ICF (canoeing)
* UCI (cycling)
* WDSF (dance sport) (associate)
* FEI (equestrian)
* FIE (fencing)
* FIFA (football)
* IGF (golf)
* FIG (gymnastics)
* IHF (handball)
* FIH (field hockey)
* IJF (judo)
* UIPM (modern pentathlon)
* WSK (roller sports)
* FISA (rowing)
* WR (rugby union)
* WS (sailing)
* ISSF (shooting)
* IFSC (sport climbing)
* ISA (surfing)
* ITTF (table tennis)
* WT (taekwondo)
* ITF (tennis)
* TRI (triathlon)
* FIVB (volleyball)
* IWF (weightlifting)
* UWW (wrestling)

AIOWF (7)
Winter Olympics Federations|

* IBU (biathlon)
* IBSF (bobsleigh and skeleton)
* WC (curling)
* IIHF (ice hockey)
* FIL (luge)
* ISU (skating sports)
* FIS (skiing and snowboarding sports)

ARISF (39)
Others recognised by IOC|

* FAI (air sports)
* IFAF (American football)
* FIA (auto racing)
* FIB (bandy)
* WBSC (baseball, softball and Baseball5)
* FIPV (basque pelota)
* WCBS (billiards sports)
* CMSB (boules)
* IBF (bowling)
* WBF (bridge)
* ICU (cheer)
* FIDE (chess)
* ICC (cricket)
* WDSF (dance sport)
* IFF (floorball)
* WFDF (flying disc)
* IFI (ice stock sport)
* WKF (karate)
* WAKO (kickboxing)
* IKF (korfball)
* WL (lacrosse)
* ILSF (life saving)
* FIM (motorcycle sport)
* UIAA (mountaineering)
* IFMA (muaythai)
* WN (netball)
* IOF (orienteering)
* FIP (polo)
* UIM (powerboating)
* IRF (racquetball)
* FIAS (sambo)
* ISMF (ski mountaineering)
* WSF (squash)
* IFS (sumo)
* TWIF (tug-of-war)
* CMAS (underwater sports)
* FISU (university sports)
* IWWF (waterski and wakeboard)
* IWUF (wushu)

AIMS (20)
Others in SportAccord|

* IAF (aikido)
* WAF (arm wrestling)
* IFBB (bodybuilding)
* ICSF (casting)
* WDF (darts)
* IDBF (dragon boat)
* FMJD (draughts)
* IFA (fistball)
* IGF (go)
* JJIF (ju-jitsu)
* FIK (kendo)
* WMF (minigolf)
* IPF (powerlifting)
* IPSC (practical shooting)
* FISav (savate)
* ISTAF (sepak takraw)
* ISFF (sleddog)
* ISTF (soft tennis)
* CIPS (sport fishing)
* FITEQ (teqball)

former GAISF
observer members (11)|

* WDA (dodgeball)
* FIFG (footgolf)
* IJRU (jump rope)
* IUKL (kettlebell lifting)
* FISO (obstacle)
* IPF (padel)
* IFMP (poker)
* IPSF (pole dance)
* IRF (rafting)
* IRL (rugby league)
* ITSF (table football/soccer)

Others|

* WEKAF (arnis)
* AFLC (Australian rules football)
* WBGF (backgammon)
* ISBHF (ball hockey)
* IBA (bodyboarding)
* WB (bowls)
* IBA1,2 (boxing)
* SJJIF (Brazilian jiu-jitsu)
* IFBA (broomball)
* WCF (croquet)
* WDBF (dodgeball)
* ICFRA (fullbore rifle)
* IGAA (Gaelic football and hurling)
* ATSX (downhill ice cross)
* IKF2 (kabaddi)
* WK2 (kabaddi)
* IKF (kempo)
* FISLY (landsailing)
* IMMAF (mixed martial arts)
* WMRA (mountain running)
* ORSI (ocean rowing)
* IPF (pickleball)
* IQA (quad ball)
* IFMAR (radio-controlled racing)
* IRF (rogaining)
* WSSF (snowshoe running)
* ISF (skyrunning)
* WSSA (sport stacking)
* ITHF (table hockey)
* ITPF (tent pegging)
* FIT (touch football)
* ITRA (trail running)
* IAU (ultra running)

* International Olympic Committee
* International World Games Association
* SportAccord

* 1 IOC recognition withdrawn
* 2 Contested governance

* v
* t
* e

Darts

Glossary|

* Bullseye
* Dartitis
* Leg
* Nine-dart finish
* Oche
* Set
* Three-dart average

Games|

* Audio Darts
* American Darts
* Cricket
* Dartball
* Dart golf
* Halve it
* Lawn darts

Organisations|

* British Darts Organisation
* World Darts Federation
* Professional Darts Corporation

See also|

* Split in darts
* List of darts players
* who have switched organisation
* Darts world rankings
* PDC
* World Professional Darts Championship
* BDO
* PDC
* WDF
* Bullseye
* One Hundred and Eighty

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