PDC announces significant prize money increase for 2022 darts season | Darts News
3 min read
The PDC has increased prize money on the professional darts circuit, bringing the annual total over £15m. « This reflects not only our resilience throughout the pandemic but the strength of our partnerships, and we’re hugely optimistic about the future, » says Eddie Hearn
Last Updated: 07/12/21 2:14pm
The announcement was made ahead of the PDC World Championship which starts on Wednesday, December 15
The PDC has announced a significant increase in prize money for 2022.
Among the increases, there will now be a £1m pot for the Premier League, up from £855,000 in 2021, and £100,000 for every ProTour event, up from £75,000 in 2021.
As part of over £2m of increased prize funds across the next two years, prize money for the 2022 World Matchplay will rise to £800,000 – including £200,000 to the champion.
The World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship Finals will also benefit from boosted prize funds in 2022.
In total, there will be over £15m up for grabs on next year’s circuit.
Having pushed beyond £15 million prize money for 2022, we’ve now set our sights on breaking past £20 million on the circuit in the next few years.
Hearn is eyeing further progress
« This is a massive investment in prize money of over £2m in the next two years but one that’s appropriate as part of our continued global expansion, » said PDC chairman Eddie Hearn.
« Our proactive response to the pandemic last year helped to keep the sport running and professional players active, and as a reward for the stars who stuck with us through those tough times we’re delighted to bring in these increases.
« This reflects not only our resilience throughout the pandemic but the strength of our partnerships, and we’re hugely optimistic about the future.
« Having pushed beyond £15m prize money for 2022, we’ve now set our sights on breaking past £20m on the circuit in the next few years.
Gerwyn Price will be aiming to defend his world title
« All players will play a part in our growth as we move forward, and injecting £750,000 into Players Championship prize money alone in 2022 shows the importance of these tournaments now on the ProTour and is a huge incentive for all Tour Card Holders – especially those who come through Qualifying School each January with the dream of emulating Gerwyn Price.
« We’re also keen to continue rewarding the elite stars for the success they achieve in our biggest TV events, and it’s another milestone for us that the Premier League will have a £1m prize fund next year.
« Allied to the increased prize money across our other Premier events from the second half of 2022 onwards, this is an extremely exciting time.
« We’re continuing to look at the addition of further global events, supporting our investment in affiliated tours around the world, Challenge and Development Tours and the Women’s Series to enhance the production line of players which will be showcased at the William Hill World Darts Championship in the coming weeks. »
The announcement means that of £15m in prize money available to players during 2022, increased prize funds will include:
Premier League – £1m (was £855,000 in 2021)
World Matchplay – £800,000 (was £700,000 in 2021)
World Grand Prix – £550,000 (was £450,000 in 2021)
Grand Slam of Darts – £650,000 (was £550,000 in 2021)
Players Championship Finals – £600,000 (was £500,000 in 2021)
Players Championship Events – £100,000 per event x 30 events (was £75,000 per event in 2021)
Women’s Series – expanding to 20x events worth £5,000 per event (was 12 events in 2021)
It’s not long to wait until the darts returns to your screens and it’s the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace – join us on Sky Sports for every arrow from every session across 16 days which gets under way on Wednesday, December 15. Check out daily Darts news on skysports.com/darts, our app for mobile devices and our Twitter account @skysportsdarts
