New York's arrival as a new destination on the World Series tour represents further growth for darts, which has become the biggest indoor sport in the UK over the past 20 years
Friday 22 November 2019 10:09, UK
The iconic Madison Square Garden is to host top-class darts for the first time when the stars of the sport visit New York on the World Series of Darts tour in 2020.
The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden will host the US Darts Masters and North American Championship on June 5-6, bringing the likes of current world No 1 Michael van Gerwen to New York.
PDC chief Barry Hearn said: "This is a fantastic development for darts to be bringing the glitz and glamour of the World Series of Darts to the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden.
"This is a world-renowned venue and 20 years ago it would have been a pipedream for darts players to take to the stage in such an iconic arena - but this is another exciting move for us as the World Series continues to grow.
"Not only will this be special for the players competing, but this is a fantastic chance for fans to see the cream of the world's darting talent under one roof on June 5-6."
The World Series of Darts incorporates six worldwide tournaments throughout, allowing local prospects their chance to challenge the biggest names in darts.
The 2019 US Darts Masters had seen England's Nathan Aspinall - one of the new stars making his breakthrough at the top level - take victory on his World Series debut in Las Vegas.
Reigning world champion Van Gerwen won events in Melbourne and New Zealand, flamboyant Peter Wright - famed for his colourful mohawk hairstyle - took victory in Germany and Australian qualifier Damon Heta claimed a stunning triumph in Brisbane.
Florida's Danny Baggish was the 2019 North American Championship winner, and will now go on to represent the US in the World Championship in London in December before heading to New York to defend his title in 2020.
Eight American and Canadian players will get their chance to take to the Hulu Theater stage in the events, which begin on Friday June 5 with the first round of the US Darts Masters.
The action on Saturday June 6 will be held across two sessions, with the North American Championship in the afternoon ahead of the US Darts Masters quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in the evening.
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Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that the World Series will return to Hamilton's Claudelands Arena on August 21-22 2020, following the success of the NZ Darts Masters earlier this year.
World number one Michael van Gerwen took victory when the World Series made its Hamilton debut in 2019 as part of the international circuit of events held annually.
"The World Series of Darts continues to go from strength to strength and the NZ Darts Masters will be our last of six worldwide events in 2020 as our top stars compete globally against the best local talent," noted PDC chief executive Matthew Porter.
"It's been great to see the progression of darts in New Zealand in recent years as more players make their mark at the top level, and this will be another great opportunity for them to play against the sport's top names in front of their home fans."
Check out daily Darts news on skysports.com/darts, our app for mobile devices and our Twitter account @skysportsdarts - the action is back on your Sky Sports screens in December with the World Championship from Alexandra Palace. It all gets underway on Friday, December 13.
