Professional darts is a very serious business. It can be an extremely fun, but also extremely expensive endeavor for those who want to become a professional player. The cost of a dart board and darts is usually the first thing that comes up in discussion with anyone thinking about playing darts as a career or at least as a part-time job. Most players agree that electronic dart boards are ultimately the best to practice with, but usually a lot more expensive. The bigger concern is that it may be difficult to get a good paying job in darts if you don’t have a world ranking or many other achievements.
With this in mind I decided to start this site for anyone who wants information related to the business of professional darts. I will try to answer whatever questions I can about what it takes to become a professional darts player. I will eventually have a list of the best places to buy darts and other dart supplies, but not just yet. I also plan to give an overview of how many players in the top 100 earn their living from playing darts. This may be helpful when deciding whether or not this is something you want to do full time or part time. Of course any ideas, comments or suggestions are welcome. So check in regularly to see what’s new and I hope you enjoy the site.
How many professional darts players make a living from playing darts?
As far as I know the official number in the PDC is that there are 65 members in their top 100 in the world. I have also read that this group consists of about 70% of all players who make a living from playing darts. This may be true, but it may also not be true since I have no way to verify it and I don’t know the exact number of people who make a living playing darts.
About 50% of those players in the PDC top 100 probably make at least $50,000 per year from playing darts and about 25% make more than $100,000 per year. These numbers are not exact and were just my best guess as to how it would look if they were to publish such statistics. This is just a guess because I have not seen any official numbers from the PDC itself.
The BDO does make a claim on their website that 80% of their players make a living from playing darts and this is probably more accurate since they elect not to include people who play in major tournaments and do not make a living from playing darts in this number. The BDO also has a larger field of players in their top 100.
The BDO top 100 consists of 226 players while the PDC top 100 consists of only 115. This gives the BDO a competitive advantage in that more people in their field have an opportunity to make a living from darting.
Because of this I assume that the BDO has more people making a decent living than in the PDC and that their top players make considerably more money than in the PDC. However, since they haven’t published any statistics about it we will probably never know for sure.
What size darts do professionals use?
Most professional players use 23 or 24 grams darts. Darts come in a variety of different weights and most professionals choose their darts based on what weight feels comfortable to them.
Some older players still play with 22g darts, but it is not very common anymore to find a player who plays with less than 21g or more than 26g darts. It is possible to find the dart weight printed on the shaft of most good quality darts, particularly those manufactured by Unicorn and Target Darts.
What brand of darts do professionals use?
Apparently there is no one brand of darts that all or most professional players use. Players generally use whatever darts they like and feel comfortable with until they can find a dart that they like better. Most people agree that Unicorn and Target make the best quality darts, but it is difficult to say which brands and models are used by most players because it is such a subjective matter.
What types of flights do professionals use?
Most players seem to prefer standard plastic flights, but I have seen quite a few who like the way metal flights fly better. There are some players who like scalloped or concave flights and some who prefer slim round flights. Some players will even cut off the shaft of the flight to make them sit lower on the shaft.
What types of shafts do professionals use?
Most professional players prefer medium or large stems, but I have seen some who use short stems. When you start seeing people using steel stem darts they are usually older players because most younger players don’t like steel stem darts because they are heavy and don’t balance well.
What tips do professionals use?
Most professional players seem to prefer medium, short round or scalloped but some players will make their own custom flights and use other types of tip styles. Most players I have seen use Kamui black soft or black super grip.
What type of flights do professionals use?
Most people agree that Unicorn and Target make the best quality darts, but it is difficult to say which brands and models are used by most players because it is such a subjective matter.
What do professional darts cost?
A set of darts generally costs between $40 and $200 dollars. Professional players typically have a set that they will use regularly, but you will find some who actually prefer to change their dart model almost daily based on how the darts feel in their grip or how the flight is shaped. This may be due to personal preference, not being able to find a “perfect” dart, or because they are sponsored by a certain company and they want to move their sponsorship logo around from one set of darts to another.
What length do professional darts have?
Most people agree that Unicorn and Target make the best quality darts, but it is difficult to say which brands and models are used by most players because it is such a subjective matter.
A set of darts generally costs between $40 and $200 dollars. Professional players typically have a set that they will use regularly, but you will find some who actually prefer to change their dart model almost daily based on how the darts feel in their grip or how the flight is shaped. This may be due to personal preference, not being able to find a “perfect” dart, or because they are sponsored by a certain company and they want to move their sponsorship logo around from one set of darts to another.
Do professional dart players drink?
Yes, most professional dart players drink while they play. Many players will drink water between points or games, but some will also have a pint or two of their favorite alcoholic beverages. Some players are sponsored by alcohol distributors, so they often drink what ever is in that company’s product line.
More articles that may interest you:
A complete guide about a dart game.
