Since the splitting of the famous British Darts Organisation (BDO) into another of its segment known as the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), there have been numerous controversies surrounding the two.
Even though BDO is an older organization, PDC has also been in the limelight since its introduction. While the two share some similarities somewhere, they also vary somewhere else.
Key Takeaways
- BDO stands for Bank Draft Order, while PDC stands for Post Dated Cheque.
- BDO is a written order from one bank to another, while PDC is a check with a future date.
- BDO is used for a one-time transaction, while PDC is used for instalment payments.
BDO vs PDC
BDO darts is British Darts Council and is an organization which works and supports darts in the United Kingdom and hosts many tournaments. PDC darts is Professional Darts Council that is a organization which hosts many prestigious dart competitions and dart professionals from around the world.
BDO stands for British Darts Organization. Olly Craft formed this organization in 1973 to conduct professional darts competitions in Britain. It recognized professional, semi-professional, and amateur darts competitions as well.
BDO also organized the first World Professional Darts Championship in 1978.
PDC stands for Professional Darts Corporation. This organization was formed in 1992 by a group of players.
Following the dispute between Olly Craft and the top players of BDO caused a split in BDO, thereby forming PDC as a separate organization. PDC was originally known as World Darts Council (WDC).
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | BDO | PDC |
|---|---|---|
| Stands for | British Darts Organization. | Professional Darts Corporation. |
| Origin | Formed by Olly Croft in 1973. | Formed in 1992 by a group of players. |
| Tournaments | U.K. Open, Las Vegas Desert Classic, Sky Poker, etc. | Lakeside World Darts Professional Championship, Winmau World Masters, Topic International, etc. |
| Quality of Players | Mostly includes rookie players looking for big opportunities. | Highly professional and world-class players. |
| Sponsorship | Sponsored by only a few companies because of less popularity. | Abundant sponsors in every tournament. |
What is BDO?
BDO stands for British Darts Organization. It was officially founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Craft. BDO replaced the then-existing National Darts Association of Great Britain (NDAGB), which had been the governing body of darts since 1954.
BDO being the original organization, used to set the rules for professional darts, which organizations, including PDC globally, recognized.
By the year 1984, darts had lost much of their popularity, which caused a decline in TV coverage. As a result, many core sponsors stopped sponsoring the game.
There was a lack of opportunity for even world-class players, and darts as a full-time profession were being questioned.
This caused a dispute between Olly Craft and a group of 19 darts players, and hence, this group created World Darts Council (WDC).
The BDO organized the first-ever professional World Professional Darts Championship in 1978. This championship continued for the next 26 years till 2003.
In 2004, the championship was recognized as Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship and continued till 2019.
Over the years, the overall quality of BDO championships substantially degraded, and therefore, professional players prefer PDC over BDO.
In December 2019, the World Darts Federation (WDF) announced that it would no longer recognize the BDO as the ruling body of darts in Britain.
What is PDC?
PDC stands for Professional Darts Championship. It was officially launched in 1992 when a group of 19 players split from the BDO to form a new organization.
The organization they formed was initially named World Darts Council (WDC) before being renamed.
Immediately after PDC was formed, the emerging players recognized BDO as inferior to PDC because of the unhealthy and unprofessional practices that BDO had been following.
Due to this, the best dart players grouped against BDO and formed PDC, which included better players from day one. This trend continued to follow, and with a decline in the popularity of BDO, sponsors shifted their investment toward PDC.
Better sponsorships meant better opportunities and better incomes for professional dart players. As a result, all the new emerging stars of the game wanted to play in PDC.
PDC tournaments are now one of the most hyped and telecasted darts tournaments throughout the world. In 1992, PDC started telecasting only on Sky Sports in the UK.
But with its growing popularity every year, PDC is now telecasted all over the world through many TV channels, including Sky Sports, BBC, One World Sports, etc. Sky Sports itself telecasts a total of six tournaments of PDC.
Main Differences Between BDO and PDC
- BDO had set the rules for professional darts until 2019, whereas PDC never had this authority.
- BDO is not nearly as popular as PDC due to a lack of opportunities for professionals.
- The quality of players in BDO is also not comparable to PDC players. PDC players are better than BDO’s.
- BDO matches are streamed on YouTube live, whereas PDC does not live telecast on YouTube but only on subscribed TV channels.
- BDO liquidated in the first quarter of 2020. On the other hand, PDC is at its all-time highest popularity.
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23750472.2020.1782251
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17460263.2018.1511462
Last Updated : 13 July, 2023
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
The rise of PDC is quite impressive. This article gives a great overview of its journey.
Absolutely, Colin. A very well-written article.
Yes, I’m glad I came across this piece. Insightful and well-detailed.
Excellent work! Thank you for summarizing such complex information.
I completely agree, Tara. It’s very informative.
I have truly learned a lot from this. Thanks for sharing.
The split really made it clear which organization is better. Great read!
Yes, Stefan, the comparison is quite clear. I’d follow PDC anytime.
Absolutely agree, Stefan. The PDC is on another level.
The decline of BDO over the years is quite unfortunate.
Agreed, Faye. They lost their hold on the game.
Indeed, it’s sad to see the downfall of such an organization.
I enjoyed reading this article. Well done!
The comparison of BDO and PDC presented here is quite enlightening.
This is a commendable comparison. It’s clear that PDC has dominated.
Indeed, Jason. Great piece of content.
This is fascinating. I never knew there was so much behind the world of darts.