DARTSLIVE The World (stylized as THE WORLD) is a series of soft-tip darts tournaments held annually in various venues around the world since 1985.
Overview
editThe World is a tournament series organized by Japanese soft-tip darts company Dartslive.[1] It is also referenced as the Soft-Tip World Championship, although several other organisations have held tournaments with that name. Typically, a season consists of five to nine tournaments, called stages, which are broadcast via dartslive.tv. Usually, one stage is held in Europe and North America each, with the other tournaments set throughout East Asia. An annual ranking is composed of stage results during the season. In 2011–13, 2016, and 2018, a Grand Final has been held at the end of the year, with players being invited according to their ranking position,[2] as well as, since 2016, a wild card tournament.[3]
The World stages are open to both men and women, with a special award being given to the best female player at every event, the only exception being the 2016 (unranked) Premium Stage, where a separate women's event was staged. Matches are played in the formats 701-Master Out and Cricket.
The most recent Grand Final champion is Royden Lam, whereas the 2019 annual ranking has been won by Boris Krcmar. Previous seasons have been won by Ronald L. Briones (2011), Lourence Ilagan (2012), Paul Lim (2013, 2016–17), and Krcmar (2014–15, 2018).[4]
The four best-placed players in the ranking are invited to the biannual Super Darts event in Japan[5]
Grand Final champion Lim has been invited to the 2013 PDC World Darts Championship as part of a partnership between Dartslive and the Professional Darts Corporation.[6] Lim also qualified to the 2014 PDC Worlds through the annual ranking.[7]
Two steel tip World Champions have also won stages at The World: three-time World Champion John Part, and 2014 BDO World Champion Stephen Bunting. Many other PDC and BDO players have participated in The World events.
The 2019 stage in Hong Kong had been cancelled due to the 2019-20 Hong Kong protests.[8]
Dartslive announced that in 2020, for the first time a stage would be held in Spain.[9] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was cancelled in its entirety.[10]
Once travel and visitation restrictions were lifted in Japan in August 2022, DARTSLIVE announced a Premium Stage to be held later that month in Tokyo, and soon after a second premium stage to be held in Singapore at the end of November.[11]
For 2023 DARTSLIVE announced there would be three events under ”The World” banner, but as stand alone events rather than having an annual ranking. The first stage was announced to be played on June 11, 2023, in Taichung, Taiwan. The second stage was announced to be in Tokyo, Japan on August 19, 2023. The third stage was announced to take place in Malaysia on October 22, 2023.[12] On March 22, 2023, it was announced that SUPERDARTS 2024 would include 4 “The World” stage winners from 2023, hinting at a possible 4th stage for 2023 or the possibility of the Japan stage once again having a separate men’s and women’s stage.
For the 2024 season, “The World” stages were replaced with qualifiers for DARTSLIVE Superdarts 2025, and were held at “DARTSLIVE Open” events across various countries. Additional qualifiers have been announced for 2025 which reflects that these qualifiers could replace “The World” stages for the foreseeable future.
List of stage finals
edit| Year | Stage | Champion | Runner-Up | Prize Money | Location | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Ch. | R.-Up | |||||
| 2011 | 1 |  Lourence Ilagan
|
Jaypee Detablan
|
N/A | HKD 100,000 | HKD 30,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2011 | 2 |  John Part
|
Ronald L. Briones
|
N/A | HKD 100,000 | HKD 30,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2011 | 3 |  Royden Lam
|
Lourence Ilagan
|
N/A | HKD 100,000 | HKD 30,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2011 | 4 | Ronald L. Briones
|
 Randy van Deursen
|
N/A | HKD 100,000 | HKD 30,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2011 | 5 | Ray Carver
|
 Amin Abdul Ghani
|
N/A | HKD 100,000 | HKD 30,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2011 | 6 |  Paul Lim
|
Benjamin Dersch
|
N/A | HKD 100,000 | HKD 30,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2011 | 7 | Ray Carver
|
 Watanyu Charoonroj
|
N/A | HKD 100,000 | HKD 30,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2011 | 8 | David Fatum
|
John Kuczynski
|
N/A | HKD 100,000 | HKD 30,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2011 | Grand Final | Paul Lim
|
 Sho Katsumi
|
HKD 1,900,000 | HKD 1,000,000 | HKD 300,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2012 | 1 | Paul Lim
|
Scott Kirchner
|
HKD 200,000 | HKD 100,000 | HKD 32,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2012 | 2 | Sho Katsumi
|
Ronald L. Briones
|
HKD 200,000 | HKD 100,000 | HKD 32,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2012 | 3 | Keita Ono
|
Lourence Ilagan
|
HKD 200,000 | HKD 100,000 | HKD 32,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2012 | 4 | Royden Lam
|
Haruki Muramatsu
|
HKD 200,000 | HKD 100,000 | HKD 32,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2012 | 5 | Lourence Ilagan
|
Paul Lim
|
HKD 200,000 | HKD 100,000 | HKD 32,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2012 | 6 | Royden Lam
|
Paul Lim
|
HKD 200,000 | HKD 100,000 | HKD 32,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2012 | 7 | Lourence Ilagan
|
Scott Miller
|
HKD 200,000 | HKD 100,000 | HKD 32,000 | Las Vegas |
| 2012 | 8 | Ray Carver
|
Paul Lim
|
HKD 200,000 | HKD 100,000 | HKD 32,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2012 | Grand Final | Takehiro Suzuki
|
Christian Perez
|
HKD 2,284,000 | HKD 1,000,000 | HKD 300,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2013 | 1 | Ronald L. Briones
|
Takehiro Suzuki
|
HKD 200,000 | HKD 100,000 | HKD 32,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2013 | 2 | Scott Kirchner
|
Paul Lim
|
HKD 200,000 | HKD 100,000 | HKD 32,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2013 | 3 |  Stephen Bunting
|
Benjamin Dersch
|
HKD 200,000 | HKD 100,000 | HKD 32,000 | France |
| 2013 | 4 | Ronald L. Briones
|
Ray Carver
|
HKD 200,000 | HKD 100,000 | HKD 32,000 | Korea |
| 2013 | 5 | Lourence Ilagan
|
Paul Lim
|
HKD 200,000 | HKD 100,000 | HKD 32,000 | China |
| 2013 | 6 | Lourence Ilagan
|
Yuri Eguchi
|
HKD 200,000 | HKD 100,000 | HKD 32,000 | Las Vegas |
| 2013 | 7 | Christian Perez
|
Lourence Ilagan
|
HKD 200,000 | HKD 100,000 | HKD 32,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2013 | 8 | Stephen Bunting
|
Royden Lam
|
HKD 200,000 | HKD 100,000 | HKD 32,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2013 | Grand Final | Lourence Ilagan
|
Christian Perez
|
HKD 2,316,000 | HKD 1,000,000 | HKD 300,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2014 | 1 | Adrian Gray
|
Yuri Eguchi
|
$55,400 | $15,000 | $6,000 | Macau |
| 2014 | 2 | Haruki Muramatsu
|
Shaun Narain
|
$55,400 | $15,000 | $6,000 | France |
| 2014 | 3 |  Boris Krcmar
|
Shaun Narain
|
$55,400 | $15,000 | $6,000 | China |
| 2014 | 4 | Darin Young
|
Shintao Inoue
|
$55,400 | $15,000 | $6,000 | Japan |
| 2014 | 5 | Boris Krcmar
|
Darin Young
|
$55,400 | $15,000 | $6,000 | Las Vegas |
| 2015 | 1 | Lourence Ilagan
|
 Hyungchul Park
|
$33,600 | $10,000 | $5,000 | Macau |
| 2015 | 2 | Adrian Gray
|
Hyungchul Park
|
$33,600 | $10,000 | $5,000 | Singapore |
| 2015 | 3 | Leonard Gates
|
Paul Lim
|
$33,600 | $10,000 | $5,000 | France |
| 2015 | 4 | Sho Katsumi
|
Jeremiah Millar
|
$33,600 | $10,000 | $5,000 | Canada |
| 2015 | 5 | Shintaro Inoue
|
Norhisame
|
$33,600 | $10,000 | $5,000 | Malaysia |
| 2015 | 6 | Randy van Deursen
|
Boris Krcmar
|
$33,600 | $10,000 | $5,000 | China |
| 2015 | 7 | Boris Krcmar
|
Kenichi Ajiki
|
$33,600 | $10,000 | $5,000 | Taipeh |
| 2016 | 1 | Boris Krcmar
|
Hyungchul Park
|
$31,400 | $12,000 | $5,000 | Las Vegas |
| 2016 | 2 | Alex Reyes
|
Leonard Gates
|
$31,400 | $12,000 | $5,000 | France |
| 2016 | 3 | Paul Lim
|
Mitsumasa Hoshino
|
$31,400 | $12,000 | $5,000 | Taipeh |
| 2016 | Premium Stage (Men) | Keita Ono
|
Boris Krcmar
|
N/A | N/A | N/A | Japan |
| 2016 | Premium Stage (Women) | Mana Kawakami
|
Sayuri Nishiguchi
|
N/A | N/A | N/A | Japan |
| 2016 | 4 | Paul Lim
|
Boris Krcmar
|
$31,400 | $12,000 | $5,000 | South Korea |
| 2016 | 5 | Tengku Shah
|
 Howei Tsai
|
$31,400 | $12,000 | $5,000 | Malaysia |
| 2016 | Grand Final | Boris Krcmar
|
Hyungchul Park
|
$122,000 | $50,000 | $20,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2017 | 1 | Alex Reyes
|
Harith Lim
|
$36,200 | $15,000 | $6,000 | Las Vegas |
| 2017 | 2 | Paul Lim
|
 Francis Emonts
|
$36,200 | $15,000 | $6,000 | France |
| 2017 | 3 | Prussian Arceno
|
Kenichi Ajiki
|
$36,200 | $15,000 | $6,000 | Taichung |
| 2017 | 4 | Leonard Gates
|
Lourence Ilagan
|
$36,200 | $15,000 | $6,000 | Japan |
| 2017 | 5 | Chris Lim
|
Boris Krcmar
|
$36,200 | $15,000 | $6,000 | Malaysia |
| 2017 | 6 | Paul Lim
|
Alex Reyes
|
$36,200 | $15,000 | $6,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2018 | 1 | Leonard Gates
|
Paul Lim
|
$36,200 | $15,000 | $6,000 | Las Vegas |
| 2018 | 2 | Boris Krcmar
|
Royden Lam
|
$36,200 | $15,000 | $6,000 | France |
| 2018 | 3 | Boris Krcmar
|
Paul Lim
|
$36,200 | $15,000 | $6,000 | Japan |
| 2018 | 4 | Lourence Ilagan
|
Royden Lam
|
$36,200 | $15,000 | $6,000 | Taichung |
| 2018 | 5 | Boris Krcmar
|
Royden Lam
|
$36,200 | $15,000 | $6,000 | Malaysia |
| 2018 | Grand Final | Royden Lam
|
Boris Krcmar
|
$62,000 | $30,000 | $10,000 | Hong Kong |
| 2019 | 1 | Royden Lam
|
Owen Williams
|
$36,200 | $15,000 | $6,000 | France |
| 2019 | 2 | OWEN WILLIAMS
|
 Michael Rasztovits
|
$36,200 | $15,000 | $6,000 | France |
| 2019 | 3 | Paul Lim
|
James Law
|
$36,200 | $15,000 | $6,000 | Japan |
| 2019 | 4 | Kai Fan Leung
|
M Tatsunami
|
$36,200 | $15,000 | $6,000 | Taichung |
| 2022 | 1 (Men) | Jun Matsuda
|
Toru Suzuki
|
¥1,200,000 | ¥600,000 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| 2022 | 1 (Women) | Kosuzu Iwao
|
Natsumi Iwata
|
¥600,000 | ¥300,000 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| 2022 | 2 | Keita Ono
|
Boris Krcmar
|
$22,200 | $10,000 | $4,000 | Singapore |
| 2023 | 1 | Tetsuya Fujiwara
|
Seigo Asada
|
$22,200 | $10,000 | $4,000 | Taiwan |
| 2023 | 2 (Men) | Teppei Nishi
|
Susumu Kasuya
|
$22,200 | $10,000 | $4,000 | Tokyo, Japan |
| 2023 | 2 (Women) | Natsumi Iwata
|
Miyu Miyawaki
|
$14,600 | $5,000 | $2,000 | Tokyo, Japan |
| 2023 | 3 | Tomoya Goto
|
Yuta Hayashi
|
$22,200 | $10,000 | $4,000 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
Records and statistics
edit- As of 27 November 2022.
(Players with minimum two The World stage titles)
| Rank | Player | Nationality | Won | Runner-up | Finals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boris Krcmar | Croatia |
9 | 8 | 17 |
| 2 | Paul Lim | Singapore |
8 | 8 | 16 |
| 3 | Lourence Ilagan | Philippines |
8 | 4 | 12 |
| 4 | Royden Lam | Hong Kong |
5 | 4 | 9 |
| 5 | Ronald Briones | Philippines |
3 | 2 | 5 |
| 6 | Leonard Gates | United States |
3 | 1 | 4 |
| Ray Carver | United States |
3 | 1 | 4 | |
| 8 | Keita Ono | Japan |
3 | 1 | 4 |
| 9 | Sho Katsumi | Japan |
2 | 1 | 3 |
| Alex Reyes | United States |
2 | 1 | 3 | |
| 11 | |||||
| Stephen Bunting | England |
2 | 0 | 2 | |
| Adrian Gray | England |
2 | 0 | 2 |
References
edit- ^ Dartslive History, Dartslive.com
- ^ Players decided for THE WORLD 2013 GRAND FINAL!, Dartslive.com
- ^ Grand Final, darts-theworld.com
- ^ Annual Ranking, darts-theworld.com
- ^ Super Darts Information, dartslive.com
- ^ PDC in DARTSLIVE link-up, pdc.tv
- ^ Current World Championship Field, pdc.tv
- ^ Cancellation Announcement of THE WORLD STAGE 5 HONG KONG, darts-theworld.com
- ^ THE WORLD 2020 Dates Confirmed! First Spain STAGE in history to take place!, darts-theworld.com
- ^ THE WORLD 2020 season cancellation notice, darts-theworld.com
- ^ THE WORLD 2022 Singapore stage
- ^ The World 2023 announcement
- ^ Stage Results, darts-theworld.com