ANALYSIS: The fleeting rise and unexpected downfall of the World Seniors Darts Tour

Back in 1994, Circus Tavern kicked off a memorable and iconic stint as the home of the pinnacle of darts: the PDC World Championships. With a capacity of 1,100, eagerly anticipated darts fans crowded the venue located in Purfleet, Essex, to watch some world class darts. Despite it departure for bigger locations, Circus Tavern would be called back again in 2022 for the World Seniors Darts Championships.

It was designed for darters aged 50 or over. The event boasted talents of the highest caliber, featuring the likes of John Lowe, John Part, Kevin Painter, and 16-time World Champion Phil Taylor participating. Former UK Open and World Grand Prix champion Robert Thornton stormed to victory in the inaugural event, watched on by an enthusiastic crowd, with the sense of nostalgia in the air from a previous past in the sports decorated history.

Almost four years later, and the event has reached a surprising but premature closure. This breaking news was recently confirmed by Lowe, who described it as a 'blow for many'. But why had a popular tour with a decent following and support come to an abrupt end?

In February 2022, the World Senior Darts Championships drew first blood, with 24 players competing for a chance to take home the title and £30,000. In a thrilling tournament, Thornton came out on top in a dominant showing, dropping just three sets.

It was a hit with the fans, who had this rare opportunity to re-live their past and experience the iconic Circus Tavern atmosphere once more. Tickets sold in good numbers, with it also being streamed on BT Sport with strong numbers.

This would just be the start, with more events starting to be scheduled on the darts calendar, which would form together to become the World Seniors Darts Tour (WSDT). The Seniors Masters and the Seniors Matchplay arose in the same year, with similar positive results. The Masters would be held at another iconic location, Lakeside, the previous home of the BDO World Darts Championship and now the WDF World Darts Championship. Acts like this brought in viewers and made the event much more appealing to an older generation. They also got to re-live the past of darts, with Taylor reaching the final of both events, but came unstuck against qualifier David Cameron at Lakeside and Thornton in the Matchplay.

In October of that year, it was announced that a fourth tournament would be added, the Champion of Champions, organised by Modus Darts and Snooker Legends. This was around the time where the Modus Super Series started, which is still successful to this day with a variety of events. Its maiden competition took place in Blackpool, with American Leonard Gates coming out on top.

The WSDT had commenced with a bang, receiving a lofty amounts of viewers, large interest, and positive feedback. It had nostalgic names, iconic locations, and was easy to watch via streaming services. Four competitions a year showed the big step they had made in such a short time, but that would all come crashing down in 2025.

For over three years, the WSDT went smoothly. Thornton became a double Seniors World Champion, Gates and John Henderson would add titles to their arsenal, and Ross Montgomery would kick off 2025 with two convincing showing in the World Champs and the Champion of Champions. Unfortunately, the Scottish darter never had the chance to win the quadruple.

At the start of the year, there was no signs of anything wrong, with tickets being sold for upcoming tournaments after another successful Worlds, with a brand new tournament called the World Seniors Open also slotted in. It may not have looked like it at the time, but Montgomery's victory in the Champion of Champions (now held at the MODUS Live Lounge, Portsmouth) turned out to be the last seniors event held.

As 2025 progressed, the warning signs started cropping up. Promotion quietened down, the organisers were seldom at best, and tickets started to be retracted. Eventually, the five upcoming events in 2025 and 2026 were cancelled indefinitely. Their website was taken down, social media accounts have been renamed or deleted, and all tickets were refunded and removed from sale. It was a bitterly disappointing end to what looked like a promising and popular tour.

Fans and players have been left in the dark about the reasons for the cancellations, but it does come with heavy consequences. Players would rely on these competitions for income and a chance to play the sport they loved. Fans would get to witness some previous legends of the game whilst returning to extremely popular locations such as Circus Tavern and Lakeside.

What happens next is anyone's guess. This may be a premature goodbye for senior darts, but it might not be goodbye forever.