Preview Poland Darts Masters 2023: Who will triumph at historic first in Warsaw?

A historic event this weekend on the PDC calendar. For the first time, the PDC is hosting a tournament in Poland, hosting the Poland Darts Masters.

After a Euro Tour tournament in Hungary, Poland is the new location in Eastern Europe where the PDC is trying to tap into a new darts market. With success, because within a day the World Series tournament in Warsaw was sold out. Over nine thousand Polish fans secured a ticket for this tournament.

No doubt they are all hoping that their Polish pride Krzysztof Ratajski can ensure success in the Polish capital. 'The Polish Eagle' has become an outstanding sub-topper on the darts stage in recent years. After his title at the Winmau World Masters in 2017, he made the move to the PDC. In recent years, the 46-year-old Ratajski already managed to win nine ranking tournaments. Also, Ratajski was in the semifinals of the World Matchplay in 2021.

The Pole is one of eight Eastern European players who will compete against eight of the PDC's finest. Eastern European players also include Krzysztof Kciuk, Radoslaw Szaganski, Boris Krcmar, Karel Sedlacek, Adam Gawlas, Nandor Major and Lukasz Waclawski.

On behalf of the PDC, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith, Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross, Luke Humphries, Danny Noppert, Dimitri van den Bergh and Nathan Aspinall will be in action.

The Poland Darts Masters will take place at the Arena COS Torwar, a playing venue that was completed in 1953 and can accommodate over 5,000 spectators.

The arena is normally regularly used for popular music concerts, ice hockey games and other indoor sports. In addition, it is home to local field hockey club UHKS Mazowsze.

On Friday, delayed coverage of the first round in the UK will be on ITV4 from 9 pm to 1 am. The rest of the tournament will also be available through ITV4 on Saturday at the same time, from 9 pm to 1 am. There the quarterfinals are scheduled first, followed by the semifinals and finals.

The prize pool for this event contains a total of £60,000. However, the prize money won does not count toward the PDC Order of Merit or other money rankings.

All participants are guaranteed £1,250 in prize money. This amount could eventually rise to a sum of £20,000 in prize money for the winner.

World Series tournaments are PDC international events organized to promote the sport beyond its (Western) European borders.

Earlier this year, tournaments also took place in Bahrain, Denmark and the United States, and after the tournament in Poland, tournaments in Australia and New Zealand will also be completed.

Past World Series tournaments have included Dubai, Singapore, Japan, Scotland, China, Germany and Austria.