Darts was once a humble game that began in the pubs of Britain, but it has now grown into a world-wide sport with professional tournaments that attract millions of fans.
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This evolution has led to the emergence of several legendary venues that have played a crucial role in the history of darts. In this article, we take you through the ten most famous venues that host darts tournaments today.
Alexandra Palace (Ally Pally) - London
Alexandra Palace, popularly known as "Ally Pally," is today arguably the most iconic darts venue in the world. Since 2008, it has been home to the PDC World Darts Championships, the largest and most prestigious tournament in the darts world.
The historic venue, with its impressive architecture and capacity of more than 3,000 spectators, offers an unforgettable atmosphere. Fans from all over the world gather here to enjoy top darts and the festive atmosphere.
John Part became the first-ever world champion at Alexandra Palace in 2008, while Phil Taylor managed to win three of his 16 world titles there. Famous names of this era such as Adrian Lewis, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, Rob Cross, Peter Wright, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith and Luke Humphries have also won their world titles in Ally Pally.
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Winter Gardens - Blackpool
The Winter Gardens in Blackpool is another legendary venue, best known as the site of the annual World Matchplay. This beautiful, historic venue offers a unique blend of glamour and intensity.
With a seating capacity of about 2,000, the crowd feels close to the action, creating an energetic atmosphere. Many top players cite the Winter Gardens as their favourite place to play darts.
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Lakeside Country Club - Frimley Green
Lakeside Country Club is inextricably linked to the BDO World Darts Championship, which was held here from 1986 to 2019. Lakeside's intimate setting, with a seating capacity of approximately 1,000, has contributed to the historic status of this tournament.
This venue is often considered the spiritual home of darts, where many legendary players began their careers. Such darts icons as Eric Bristow, Phil Taylor, John Part, Steve Beaton, Raymond van Barneveld, Andy Fordham and Martin Adams, among others, have become world champions at Lakeside.
Today, Lakeside Country Club is used as the home of the WDF World Championship. In 2024, the third edition of the WDF World Championship will be played there.
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Circus Tavern - Purfleet
Before the World Darts Championship ended up in Ally Pally, the battle for the PDC world title took place at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet. This venue, with a modest capacity of 700 spectators, offered an unparalleled atmosphere where fans literally sat on the shoulders of their heroes.
The Circus Tavern is known for its intimate and intense atmosphere, and many legendary matches took place here. The most legendary match at Circus Tavern was the cracker between Raymond van Barneveld and Phil Taylor in the 2007 World Cup final. After a sudden-death leg, Van Barneveld captured his fifth world title.
Meanwhile, the Circus Tavern has hosted the World Seniors Darts Championship for several years. Well-known and lesser-known darters over the age of 50 compete in that event.
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O2 Arena - London
The O2 Arena is a modern and prestigious venue that hosts the finals of the Premier League Darts. With a capacity of 14,000 spectators, it is one of the largest venues in the world of darts.
Every participant in the Premier League Darts eventually wants to be in the O2 Arena. After 16 weeks of play, the final night will decide who takes the Premier League title.
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Ahoy - Rotterdam
Rotterdam Ahoy is home to the annual visit of the Premier League Darts in the Netherlands. This venue is one of the largest and most impressive sports arenas in Europe, with a seating capacity of 12,000.
Ahoy is known for its passionate and noisy Dutch fans, who make for a huge atmosphere in the venue during matches. The fans are mostly dressed in orange, which makes for a great picture on TV of a sea of orange people.
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Butlins Resort - Minehead
The Butlins Resort in Minehead was first introduced in 2013, where a Euro Tour tournament was played at the time. Today, the venue, with a capacity of 6,000 fans, serves as home to two major tournaments.
Every year, the UK Open and Players Championship Finals are played in Minehead. The Butlins Resort is the ideal place for fans looking for a weekend getaway. The vacation park on the English coast offers a range of accommodation options, from simple chalets to luxury apartments.
Several restaurants, bars and cafes ensure that visitors can enjoy a variety of culinary options. In addition to darts, visitors can enjoy other recreational activities such as swimming, bowling and other live entertainment.
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Madison Square Garden - New York
Madison Square Garden (MSG), located in the heart of New York City, is one of the most legendary and iconic sports and entertainment venues in the world. Major events in basketball, boxing, wrestling and ice hockey have taken place here, and numerous famous artists have also performed there.
Since 2022, however, darts has also been held at Madison Square Garden. In one of the halls of this sports temple, the US Darts Masters is held every year. This tournament is part of the World Series of Darts. It is the chance for darts fans from the United States and Canada to see the best darts players in the world live at work. In 2024, the event was attended by more than 7,500 frenzied fans.
Robin Park Tennis Centre - Wigan
Many PDC darters have been here over the years. It is where many Players Championship tournaments are played each year. The Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan also used to host the Q-School, the annual event where Tour Cards are distributed. Many players started their careers in Wigan, or just saw their careers broken there.
The sports complex is part of the larger Robin Park Arena and Sports Centre. Although originally designed for tennis and other indoor sports, the Robin Park Tennis Centre has gained a prominent place in darts history.
Halle 39 - Hildesheim
We close this list with another venue that has been used for more than a decade. Halle 39 in Hildesheim was originally built as an industrial hall, but has been transformed over the years into a modern event venue
Since 2013, the Halle 39 in Hildesheim has hosted the German Darts Championship, one of the Euro Tour tournaments. Nowadays, Players Championship tournaments, Challenge Tour tournaments, Development Tour tournaments and Women's Series tournaments are also regularly played there.
Kieran WoodDarts Journalist
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026