With only a few months left in the year the darting calendar is really starting to hot up with a flurry of events in the winter months to watch as the players attempt to build up some momentum towards the Worlds in December. There’s sure to be an excellent standard of darts at the remaining events, and I’d be surprised if we don’t see a televised 9 darter at some stage in the coming months with 5 ranking events still to come in the year.

September:

European Tour Event 8: 19th-21st

The end of September sees the culmination of the European Tour events in Leipzig, Germany. With 7 different winners from 7 different events this year’s European Tour has shown the strength and depth of the talent in the PDC, with Mervyn King winning the most recent event last weekend in Sindelfingen. If you fancy a last-minute Euro-dash, I suggest you head to Leipzig between the 19-21st of September to catch the finale of the European Tour events.

As usual the action will be streamed live on various bookmakers for viewers in the UK and Europe, as well as featuring on the Live PDC for viewers outside of Europe.

October

World Grand Prix: 6th-12th

The next event to shown on Sky Sports is the always-entertaining, double-in, double-out format World Grand Prix in Dublin. An event fondly remembered for the Brendan Dolan’s incredible 9-darter in 2011, the World Grand Prix sees 32 players pitted against each other in the only event on the circuit that players start and finish on a double. Last year’s champion Phil Taylor will be looking to claim the title for an amazing 11th time.

The World Grand Prix is the first event to be shown live on Sky since the World Matchplay in July and the event is on Sky Sports 1 for every session, with the exception of Saturday 11th which will be Sky Sports 2.

European Championship: 24th-26th

The PDC’s European events culminate in the European Championships in Mülheim in the east of Germany. Last year’s winner Adrian Lewis will be hoping to retain his title for a second year running at the £250,000 event that gives the opportunity to seven European qualifiers that compete on the PDC Pro Tour to test their skills against the world’s best players.

The European Championship is broadcast on ITV 4, with the first session commencing on the afternoon of Friday 24th.

November

The Unibet Masters : 1st & 2nd

Early November sees the top 16 ranked players in the PDC World Order of Merit battle it out in the Highland Centre in Edinburgh. The non-ranking event, which takes place for the just the second time in its history will feature 3 different players from last year, with Gary Anderson, Ian White and Brendan Dolan all competing for the first time, providing the rankings remain the same.

The Unibet Masters will be shown live on ITV 4 from the afternoon of Saturday 1st November.

Grand Slam: 8th-16th

Next on the calendar is the ever-popular Grand Slam event which sees 32 finalists from across the PDC and BDO/ WDF darts organisations vie for the title across 9 days. The event, which takes place in Wolverhampton Civic is sure to pull in the crowds as fans of both sides of the darting world are sure to take an interest in the prestigious event.

The Grand Slam is to be shown live on Sky Sports and the event will be on Sky Sports 3 on Saturday 8th before moving over to Sky Sports 1 for the remainder of the tournament.

Players Championship Finals: 28th-30th

The final event to be show on ITV 4 is the Players Championship Finals in Minehead at the end of November. The Butlins-based event will see the top 32 players from the PDC Pro Tour compete for a share of £300,000 in prize money. Dutch maestro Michael van Gerwen will be looking to claim £65,000 of that share and retain the title he won last year at this event.

The Players Championship Finals is the last event of the year to be broadcast on ITV 4 and starts on the afternoon of Friday 28th.

December

The World Championship: Dec 18th-Jan 4th

The final event of the year, and it’s the big one! Once again Michael van Gerwen will be defending his title in the biggest tournament of the darting calendar. The Ally Pally is sure round off the year perfectly with this blockbuster 72 –player, 14 day event eventually crowning the World Champion on January 4th.

The World Championship will be shown live on Sky Sports across 14 days between December 18th and January 4th.