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THE PDC can announce that London's Alexandra Palace will be the new host for the 2008
Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship - with the prize money for the tournament increasing to £1 million over the next three years.
The sport's biggest event will leave the Circus Tavern following 14 successful years to move
to the north London venue this December.
The 2008 tournament, which will again feature 64 players and have an increased prize fund of
£600,000 as a result of a new, three-year sponsorship deal with Ladbrokes.com, begins on Monday 17 December.
Play will conclude for the Christmas break on Saturday 22 December before resuming on Boxing
Day. The final will be held on Tuesday 1 January 2008, with the semi-finals being played on Sunday 30 December.
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PDC Chairman Barry Hearn with current World Darts Champion Raymond van
Barneveld and 13-time World Champion Phil Taylor outside the Alexandra Palace. Photo By: Lawrence Lustig / PDC”
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The move to Alexandra Palace will see the session capacity for the World Championship
increase to over 2,500 fans, giving a total World Championship capacity of 50,000 darts fans.
The increase to £600,000 – up by £68,000 year-on-year - in prize money for the 2008
Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship will be eclipsed in the following two years.
The 2008-2009 tournament will have a £735,000 prize fund and include a new record £125,000
for the winner, and the magical £1 million barrier will be broken in 2009-2010 when the first prize will lift to £200,000.
"This tournament is now firmly established as the biggest and most exciting
in darts,” said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.
”The final between Raymond van Barneveld and Phil Taylor is widely
acknowledged as one of the finest in the history of the sport and it was seen by a record worldwide audience.
“We could have sold out the Circus Tavern four or five times over for that
game, and for most of the sessions during the last couple of World Championships.
“The Circus Tavern has created a unique atmosphere for players and fans and
become something of a Mecca for darts supporters around the world – but the simple fact is that we have to move to Alexandra Palace if we are to
continue growing.
“There will be the opportunity for greater crowds and this in turn allows us to
make the historic increases in prize money over the next three years to take the tournament to the £1 million mark.”
Hearn continued: “I'd like to acknowledge the enormous part that the Circus
Tavern has played in the development of the PDC and the World Championship. It is a unique venue and so many people have wonderful
memories from the past 14 years.”
Alexandra Palace famously hosted the finals of the News of the World
competition until the late 1970s, and it will return to staging high-profile darts events when the Holsten Premier League Darts visits the West Hall on
Thursday 26 April.
Hearn added: “Alexandra Palace is one of London’s most beautiful and
historic buildings, and it also has great darting history after playing host to the old News of the World knockouts.
“I’m sure that it will quickly become a favourite venue for darts enthusiasts
looking to see the world’s best players battling for the biggest prize in the sport.”
The PDC can also confirm that Ladbrokes.com have signed a new, three-year
contract to continue as the title sponsor of the PDC World Darts Championship.
“We are delighted to extend our partnership with the Professional Darts
Corporation and the World Championship,” said Paul Corson, Marketing Director for Ladbrokes.com.
“It is an honour to be associated with darts’ flagship tournament and we are
greatly excited by the future of this event, both with the move to Alexandra Palace and the increase in prize fund.
“The Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship has gone from strength to
strength in recent years and we can’t wait for this year’s tournament to come around in December.”
Tickets for the tournament will go on sale in June.
The Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship Prize Fund for the next three
years will be as follows:
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PRIZE FUNDS
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2007-2008
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2008-2009
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2009-2010
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Winner
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£100,000
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£125,000
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£200,000
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Runner-Up
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£50,000
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£60,000
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£80,000
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3-4th
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£22,500
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£30,000
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£40,000
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5-8th
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£15,000
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£20,000
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£30,000
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9-16th
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£10,500
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£12,000
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£15,000
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17-32nd
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£7,000
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£8,000
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£10,000
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33-64th
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£4,000
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£5,000
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£6,000
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Prelim
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£2,500 x2
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£2,500 x4
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£4,000 x6
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Qualifying Round
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£16,000
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£16,000
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£24,000
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Total
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£600,000
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£735,000
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£1,000,000
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ENDS
FURTHER INFORMATION
The first PDC World Championship was held over the festive period of 1993
-1994 at the Circus Tavern, Purfleet.
The first winner was Dennis Priestley, with Phil Taylor (11 times), John Part
(in 2003) and current champion Raymond van Barneveld the other champions.
The tournament is screened in its entirety on Sky Sports, and syndicated
around the world to countries such as Holland, Germany, India and Malaysia in live packages and to over 30 countries in a highlights format.
PREVIOUS FINALS
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1994
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Dennis Priestley 6-1 Phil Taylor
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1995
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Phil Taylor 6-2 Rod Harrington
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1996
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Phil Taylor 6-4 Dennis Priestley
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1997
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Phil Taylor 6-3 Dennis Priestley
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1998
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Phil Taylor 6-0 Dennis Priestley
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1999
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Phil Taylor 6-2 Peter Manley
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2000
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Phil Taylor 7-3 Dennis Priestley
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2001
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Phil Taylor 7-0 John Part
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2002
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Phil Taylor 7-0 Peter Manley
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2003
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John Part 7-6 Phil Taylor
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2004
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Phil Taylor 7-6 Kevin Painter
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2005
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Phil Taylor 7-4 Mark Dudbridge
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2006
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Phil Taylor 7-0 Peter Manley
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2007
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Raymond van Barneveld 7-6 Phil Taylor
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ALEXANDRA PALACE VENUE INFORMATION
Alexandra Palace was originally opened as “The People’s Palace” in 1873,
but was destroyed by a fire only 16 days after opening. A new Alexandra Palace was opened on 1 May 1875 and covered seven acres, centred around the Great Hall.
The final stages of the News of the World Darts Championship were staged at
Alexandra Palace for 15 years from 1963-1977.
In 1980, a second fire destroyed much of the complex, which has been
restored to create a magnificent historic building set within 196 acres of delightful parkland, offering breathtaking panoramic views of London.
The selection of impressive halls and elegant rooms totalling 13,000sqm can
accommodate from 10–7,250 offering exceptionally stylish, versatile and flexible facilities. Catering for luxurious banquets, major conferences, large
-scale exhibitions, concerts, product launches, presentations, themed hospitality events, seminars, meetings, corporate entertainment plus team
-building events in the grounds.
Alexandra Palace is easily accessible via all forms of transport with 2,000
free on-site car parking spaces.
LADBROKES.COM WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP – LATEST ODDS
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5/4
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Phil Taylor
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7/4
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Raymond van Barneveld
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10/1
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Michael van Gerwen
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20/1
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Adrian Lewis
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25/1
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Andy Hamilton
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25/1
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Colin Lloyd
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25/1
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Terry Jenkins
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33/1
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James Wade
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40/1
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Mervyn King
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Selected Others
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50/1
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Dennis Priestley
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50/1
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John Part
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50/1
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Wayne Mardle
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66/1
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Jelle Klaasen
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Odds courtesy Ladbrokes.com |
