World Masters (darts)
The World Masters is one of the longest-running and most prestigious of the BDO/WDF tournaments, which began in 1974. The tournament was originally sponsored by Phonogram before changing its sponsor in 1975 to darts board manufacturer, Winmau. The World Masters was originally contested as the best of 5 legs (first to 3) before later transitioning to the set format.
| Founded | 1974 |
|---|---|
| Inaugural season | 1974 |
| Organising body | WDF category Major |
| Country | England |
| Venue(s) | Bridlington Spa, Bridlington |
| Most recent champion(s) | Wesley Plaisier Beau Greaves (2022) |
| Tournament format | Sets |
It was previously the final leg of the BDO's Grand Slam title of televised majors, along with the BDO World Darts Championship, International Darts League and World Darts Trophy, until the latter two tournaments were axed in 2008. The champion is referred to as the World Master.
The tournament was unseeded for most of its history and all players entered the main draw in the first round. Seedings were introduced for the first time in 2007 at the behest of the BBC to ensure the top players were present for the televised stages of the event. Thus, the top eight ranked players received a bye to the last-16.
After the collapse of the British Darts Organisation in September 2020, the World Darts Federation announced plans to launch the WDF World Masters. In December 2020, it was announced that the 2021 tournament will be held at De Bonte Wever in Assen, Netherlands. This was then pushed back to 2022 due to ongoing coronavirus restrictions. The new WDF version of the event changed the format from setplay to legplay for the first time, with significantly shorter matches. The 2023 edition was also cancelled.