The World Darts Federation (WDF) have announced the return of darts to the famous Lakeside in Frimley Green with their World Championship set to be held at the venue.
Set to feature the best WDF players from around the world in Men's, Women's and World Youth, it will take place between Saturday 1 - Sunday 9 January 2022.
They have also announced their TV deal with more than 50 markets across Europe being given the opportunity to watch live and on-demand through Eurosport as well as their Discovery + service.
From 1986 up until 2019 when the tournament under the BDO guise was moved to the Indigo at the O2 until their demise, the Lakeside was the iconic venue behind the product. Names such as Eric Bristow, Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld, Trina Gulliver and Martin Adams all lifted the trophy on the famous stage.
This time with the implementation of the new WDF ranking system including regional tables for both men and women as well as the grading include Gold which sees players directly qualify. It will see 48 men and 24 women involved.
For 2020 World Champions, Wayne Warren and Mikuru Suzuki, they will be given direct invitations to be part of the line-up at the Lakeside. They will be joined by Dutch Open and Scottish Open winners Ross Montgomery, Aileen de Graaf, Jim Williams and Beau Greaves who have had their WDF points protected from 2020.
Now though, with over 50 ranking tournaments left in 2021, the race to Lakeside 2022 will hot up after this latest piece of major news.