BDO Players Rights
Posted on February 10th, 2007
An out of court settlement securing the rights of BDO/WDF players in the two top Dutch tournaments – the Topic International Darts League and World Darts Trophy – was finalised yesterday by the British Darts Organisation
This follows the BDO decision to issue a writ in the District Court of Amsterdam against promoter Maximum Score BV and broadcaster SBS Broadcasting BV requiring them to abide by their obligations in the Participation Agreement that the BDO signed with them in August 2006.
The Participation Agreement guaranteed that at least 28 BDO/WDF players will participate in the 2007 IDL and WDT events, but up until yesterday (April 12) afternoon such participation remained in jeopardy.
The settlement that has now been agreed (in consultation with the IDPA) guarantees the participation of 28 BDO/WDF players and 28 PDC players in the 2007 and 2008 IDL and WDT events, and sets out a long-term framework for the participation in these events beyond 2008.
The 2007 IDL event will start on Friday, May 4th, with a preliminary round robin between 16 BDO/WDF players and 16 PDC players. The players invited to participate in the preliminary round will comprise: those ranked 13 to 28 in the BDO/WDF IDL Final Invitation Table; those placed 13 to 16 in the PDC Order of Merit at April 3rd; the four players given promoters’ wild cards, and eight PDC qualifiers from an event in Birmingham on April 21st.
The 32 players in the preliminary round robin will be divided into eight groups of four players, with the eight group winners progressing to the main event commencing on Saturday, May 5th.
The main draw will comprise: The top 12 BDO/WDF players in the BDO rankings (8 of whom will be seeded), and the top 12 players in the PDC Order of Merit (8 of whom will also be seeded).
Overall prize money for the 2007 IDL will be as follows:
WINNER: 30,000 EUROS
R/up: 15,000 EUROS
S/Finalists: 7,500 EUROS
Q/Finalists: 4,500 EUROS
9TH-17TH: 3,000 EUROS
1ST Rd: 2,000 EUROS
Highest Checkout: 1,000 EUROS
Olly Croft, Managing Director of BDO Enterprises Ltd says:
“During these unfortunate proceedings our main priority has been to protect the livelihood of our players. The 28 who have (and will) earn the right to compete in the 2007 IDL and WDT, will now take their rightful place in these events, and we are delighted for them and for the fact that common sense and fairness has prevailed. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who took part in negotiating the settlement just 24 hours before we were due in court”.
The 2007 Topic International Darts League will be played from Friday, May 4th to Sunday, May 13th in the Triavium, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, and the 2007 WDT will be played from Friday, August 31st to Sunday, September 9th. Both events will be broadcast by SBS.
Filed under BDO-WDF |
