'Hopeful permission is granted or not needed': World Seniors chief hopes Raymond van Barneveld is start of PDC player involvement

Tomorrow the Champion of Champions will take place in Portsmouth, part of the World Seniors Darts Tour (WSDT). Defending champion is Richie Howson, but it is especially looking forward to the performance of Raymond van Barneveld, who received special permission from the PDC to participate in this tournament.

Normally, only players aged 45 and over who do not have a PDC Tour Card are eligible to participate in tournaments the WSDT. However, Van Barneveld exceptionally requested and received permission from the PDC to compete in Portsmouth and will take on the winner of the duel between Martin Adams and Neil Duff in the quarterfinals.

For now, the Champion of Champions is the last scheduled major on the WSDT's 2025 calendar, but that is about to change, President Jason Francis confirmed. "Matchplay we will announce next Sunday, that will happen in 2025. The Masters again we want to see how Portsmouth goes, clearly everywhere's a challenge for the tickets. The Matchplay venue is agreed and the broadcast partner is agreed. You'll hear about that in due course," he said to the Weekly Dartscast.

"The one thing I can promise everyone is that just because we go quiet, it doesn't mean we are not working hard. But it is so challenging out there. I feel sometimes we're a mechanic with half the tools in the box. I feel we should have the full tools."