How Ally Pally became the spiritual home of world darts.

Every December, tens of thousands of fans make the famous trek up Muswell Hill in North London. Fancy dress is the new Christmas tradition for a large cohort of the country. Alexandra Palace, "Ally Pally" to anyone who follows the sport, has become something much bigger than just a large venue hall. It is where modern darts got a new identity.

Before Ally Pally, it was the Circus Tavern. A pub venue in Purfleet, Essex, which held 800 spectators and hosted the PDC World Championship from 1994 to 2007. It has real character and held a cult status, but it had a ceiling. And the sport was growing fast.

The PDC moved in 2008. John Part became the first world champion at Alexandra Palace, a stunning Grade II listed Victorian landmark that opened as the People's Palace in 1873, having since served as a wartime refugee camp and the birthplace of BBC television. But over the following years, the event got title sponsorships that reflected its growing commercial weight, including a long-running partnership with William Hill. This was darts announcing itself, and this time, it was to the entire nation.

There's something about the timing that does it. The championship crosses Christmas and New Year, slotting into the festive calendar with other sports like the packed Prem calendar and World’s Strongest Man. 

As the tournament grew into a primetime fixture on Sky Sports and ITV, the numbers grew bigger than anyone expected. More than 4.8 million people watched the 2024 final, Sky Sports' highest ever non-football peak audience. Does that make it the country’s second sport? Nobody would have even asked the question 20 years ago.

Millions more follow from home, having a flutter on the outright markets through online betting platforms. For a growing number of fans, it is most evenings, at least on in the background.

There are some criticisms from the hardcore darts fans, that Ally Pally has become too boisterous. Too much about the costumes and singing, making it less about the darts. But, most people see it about all of the above, and it was undoubtedly an important part of growing the sport. 

Ally Pally built the memories and great night classics quickly. Raymond van Barneveld threw the first-ever nine-darter at the championship in 2009. Rob Cross, who barely known outside the pub circuit, stunned the darts world in 2018 by defeating Phil Taylor 7-2 in the final on his debut. Taylor had already won three world titles at the Palace before retiring that same year. Michael van Gerwen secured a third crown there in 2019. And then came January 2025, when Luke Littler, aged just 17, became the youngest world champion in the sport's history. Luke was the catalyst that pushed Ally Pally from being a growing sport to a household staple. 

The story is far from over though. In December 2025, the PDC confirmed a new deal securing the World Championship at Ally Pally until at least 2031. Better still, from 2027, the tournament moves from the West Hall to the venue's Great Hall, boosting per-session capacity to over 5,200 and total tournament attendance to 180,000. That's up from 1,600 at the very first PDC edition here.

Ally Pally and the PDC World Championship have grown up together, a bit like Sky Sports and the Premier League. And neither shows any sign of stopping.