Would a Ryder Cup of Darts style event be popular?

The Ryder Cup of Darts? If fans and players like the World Cup so much, do we need another team event on the PDC calendar?

By Chris Hammer

Darts

Thu December 07, 2023 · 11M ago

If the World Cup of Darts teaches us anything – especially during this year’s edition – it’s that fans and players not only love pairs matches but also the concept of getting behind a team.

Those watching at home welcome seeing something different from the usual singles format that dominates the darting calendar while the competitors on the oche relish an opportunity to represent their nation and get that unique feeling of sharing the agony and ecstasy with a teammate.

Team darts is woven into the fabric of the amateur ranks as thousands of players around the country represent their pubs, Super League sides or counties and although matches are still largely individual, pairs is still common at these local levels.

But when it comes to the professional elite in the PDC, it’s dog eat dog. There’s nobody to carry you during a bad run of form and nobody to share your glory with – although that at least means keeping the prize money to yourself (and the taxman).

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So at the risk of sounding like Alan Partridge’s view of popular regional detective series, if people like team events so much, shall we not make more of them?

Or is a once-a-year weekend the perfect formula in a calendar that’s already packed with televised majors, the Premier League, World Series and the bread and butter ranking tournaments on the Pro Tour and European Tour?

Paul Nicholson has previously written a column here at Sporting Life on the various different types of tournaments he’d like to see in the PDC – even on an invitational basis – including 1001 one-leg shoot-outs, a ‘Royal Rumble’ and ‘cricket’ while he’s also discussed how to make room on the calendar, even if that’s at the expense of existing events.

However, here's another idea to throw into the mix that already has the enthusiastic support of World Cup winner Jonny Clayton, who I briefly mentioned this to during an interview about his latest World Cup success with Gerwyn Price.

The Ryder Cup of Darts.

Well, sort of…

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Ryder Cup of Darts: Who’s it between?

There are realistically two options here.

When looking at the currently nationalities occupying the higher echelons of the PDC rankings, if the event was hypothetically to be staged next year then Great Britain and Ireland v mainland Europe makes perfect sense. A bit like the Hero Cup (formerly the Seve Trophy) in golf.

But as standards around the globe continue to rise as the game expands, then it wouldn’t be too long before Europe v Rest of the World becomes a viable battle. That’s similar to what’s happened with the Laver Cup in tennis over the years.

How many players would be involved?

To keep it as simple and understandable as possible, let’s go down the Ryder Cup route of having 12 players per team.

The top eight British and Irish players in the PDC rankings at the selection cut-off get automatic picks and then the captain chooses his four wildcards.

Just to give you an idea of how the teams would line-up tomorrow, here are the highest ranked 12 British & Irish players on the Order of Merit and the highest in mainland Europe.

Team GB & Ireland

Michael Smith
Peter Wright
Gerwyn Price
Rob Cross
Luke Humphries
Jonny Clayton
Nathan Aspinall
Dave Chisnall
Joe Cullen
Ryan Searle
James Wade
Ross Smith

Team Europe

Michael van Gerwen
Danny Noppert
Dimitri Van den Bergh
Dirk van Duijvenbode
Jose de Sousa
Krzysztof Ratajski
Gabriel Clemens
Martin Schindler
Kim Huybrechts
Raymond van Barneveld
Vincent van der Voort
Mensur Suljovic

If the PDC went down the GB & Ireland vs the Rest of the World route then currently Damon Heta would be included in the above line-up at the expense of Mensur Suljovic.

Sure, based on the rankings Britain would be very strong favourites as all of their players are in the top 17, but this might not be the case when the event is finally staged. Besides, that European side looks very competitive.

Who would be the captains?

The first staging would have to see Phil Taylor captaining Team GB and Ireland, with Raymond van Barneveld leading the Europeans. Imagine that! At the moment Barney is in the team but let’s assume he’s properly retired again by the time this happens.

Their job would be to pick the wildcards and then decide the pairings and how many sessions each player is involved in.

What would the format be?

Day One: Friday afternoon session (1300 BST)

Four Pairs matches (best of 15 legs)

Friday Evening session (1900 BST)

Four double-start Pairs matches (best of 15 legs)

I’ve made it ‘double start’ for the second batch of pairs matches just to give a slight variation like we get in fourballs and foursomes at the Ryder Cup. And, as with golf’s two formats, this would add a tactical dimension – captains would need to identify which players are most effective in which format.

Whatever format is chosen, having a point of difference like this feels important.

Day Two: Saturday afternoon session (1300 BST)

Four Pairs matches (best of 15 legs)

Saturday evening session (1900 BST)

Four double start Pairs matches (best of 15 legs)

Day Three: Sunday (1300 BST start)

12 singles matches (best of 19 legs)

We could have each match following on from each other or have them split across two stages to add to the drama. If the winning point is sealed before some matches get played then so be it!

When would it be staged?

If it was biennial, then holding it in early January after the World Championship instead of a World Series event such as the Bahrain Darts Masters would be preferable as the perfect way to pick everyone up from the post-Ally Pally blues.

Or find a weekend in one of the quieter months like August which tends to be saved for World Series tournaments.

Would the players welcome it?

I’d be pretty sure the fans would lap this up. And judging by Jonny Clayton’s response, plenty of players would get behind it, especially the English players who struggle to get a spot in the World Cup.

He said: “I like the sound of the Ryder Cup idea, you’ll have to put that through to the PDC and see what they think of it! But I’d be up for that!

“I’m not sure where the PDC fit it in the calendar but it would be good, I’m really up for that!”

“I’d want to be paired up with Gezzy obviously. He’s had a few bad backs carrying me in the past but as a team-mate and captain, he’s great. Brilliant player and a good guy, which is why we bond so well.”

I also asked rising Irish star Keane Barry about it to get a perspective from the younger generation and he said: “It’s definitely interesting the more you think about it and personally really like how it would bring a lot of players together in a team format.

“It would also be another incentive to climb the rankings and be part of the team and the tournament.”

Barry did suggest his own idea on Britain’s team selection criteria guaranteeing players from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland but at the rate his career is going, he could end up in the top 12 anyway.

What would it be called?

Well, as much as it would be nice to have it named after Sporting Life, we’d need a legendary ambassador of the sport to put their name to it.

Unfortunately for Phil Taylor, he’s already got his name on the World Matchplay trophy, so it’ll be a scrap between which retired superstar can get behind this the most.

Let the battle commence…