OVER £5M ON OFFER IN PDC EVENTS IN 2013

(Posted: 10 Sep 2012)

Over £5 million will again be on offer on the Professional Darts Corporation circuit next year, with the announcement of the 2013 PDC calendar including the expansion of the successful European Tour.

The PDC will stage 39 ranking tournaments during next year, with the established major televised events accompanied by 18 Players Championships, eight UK Open Qualifiers and seven European Tour events being held on the PDC ProTour.

The success of the European Tour, a series of three-day tournaments which have been introduced in 2012, will see the number of events rise to seven next year, including the return of the PDC to Gibraltar in June, five events in Germany and one in the Netherlands.

The European Tour events will be staged from Friday-Sunday with the exception of the opening tournament on the Easter weekend, which will be held from Saturday March 20-Monday April 1.

Following the completion of the 2013 Ladbrokes World Darts Championship on January 1, the PDC will then hold Qualifying School at Wigan's Robin Park Tennis Centre from January 17-20.

Players inside the world's top 64 following the World Championship will all automatically earn a Tour Card alongside the 2012 Tour Card winners, with players at Qualifying School - which will be open to any player to enter via the PDPA from October 1 - bidding to join them on the PDC ProTour.

The third staging of the World Cup of Darts will be held from February 1-3 in Hamburg as England defend the title they won at the start of this year.

The McCoy's Premier League Darts season will then begin on Thursday February 7 - with the venues for the 15-week event to be announced on Friday September 7 and tickets goings on sale in October.

Alongside the Premier League, the eight UK Open Qualifiers will be held from February-May, accompanied by the first six Players Championships and three European Tour events on the PDC ProTour.

The Speedy Services UK Open televised finals will be held in Bolton from June 6-9, with the Betfair World Matchplay taking place from July 20-28 in Blackpool.

Following the summer break, the sixth European Tour event will be followed by the European Championship in September and the Championship League Darts split across September and October, which will also host the PartyPoker.com World Grand Prix.

The year will conclude with the final Players Championships in November alongside the William Hill Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship Finals before the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship returns in December at Alexandra Palace.

An initial 12 events have been confirmed for the 2013 PDC Unicorn Youth Tour, with further dates to be finalised in due course alongside details for the PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship, which will see the early rounds held during the Spring and the final take place at the McCoy's Premier League Darts Play-Offs.