With this years edition about to kicvk off with the Bahrain Masters we give you the skinny on how ehe PDC's World Series of Darts has developed. Long before the World Series became the globe-trotting juggernaut it is today, the Professional Darts Corporation had a simple but ambitious idea – take elite darts, put it on a plane, and let the rest of the world see what all the noise was about.
The experiment officially began in 2013, when the World Series of Darts was born and dropped straight into unfamiliar territory. Eight superstars were shipped to Dubai and unleashed inside a tennis centre, playing out what now feels like a time-capsule version of a Premier League night.
The line-up reads like a darts museum tour – Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis, James Wade, Michael van Gerwen, Simon Whitlock, Andy Hamilton, Wes Newton and Raymond van Barneveld. One winner emerged. The only man from that original octet still clocking World Series air miles today – van Gerwen. The reward? A cool $65,000 and a firm statement of intent.
WHAT IS THE PDC WORLD SERIES OF DARTS - More detail of the creation of a global shop window
Later that same year, the circus rolled on to Sydney. James Wade stayed home, Paul Nicholson stepped in, and for the first time local stars were invited to the table. That’s where Australian cult hero Tic Bridge etched his name into trivia immortality, becoming the first regional qualifier to win a match on the World Series stage by sneaking past van Barneveld in a last-leg decider. Pub-quiz gold.
It was also the launchpad for Taylor’s World Series dominance – his first title on the circuit, and ultimately the first of eight, because of course it was.
From there, the passport stamps multiplied. Singapore and Perth followed. Japan and New Zealand joined the ever-expanding map in 2015. Shanghai arrived in 2017 as China stepped onto the stage. Then came the leap across the Atlantic – Las Vegas, USA – where van Gerwen predictably claimed the first World Series title on American soil.
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Some European bankers were added and retained initially with the Dutch event but soon the Nordic and now the Poland Masters joined the team. The Middle Eastern dream was rekindled in 2023 with the entry of the Bahrain Masters and the now icon date palm trophy!
Fast forward to 2026 and the map expands once more. A fresh chapter opens as the PDC prepares to land in Saudi Arabia for the very first time, adding yet another nation to a list that continues to grow faster than anyone dared imagine back in that Dubai tennis centre.
One thing is beyond debate – the World Series has delivered, and then some. Entire continents remain untouched for now. South America. Africa. Not for long.
For more in depth coverage of everything darts, and the latest issues of their legendary publications, head on over to dartsworld.com
*Region is very loosley defined and can include Asian players in Bahrain event and Eastern European players in the Poland Masters