Leicester to host 2019 Paddy Power Champions League of Darts
Leicester’s Morningside Arena will host the fourth staging of the Paddy Power Champions League of Darts, from October 19-20, as the tournament takes on a third different venue after establishing in 2016.
The world’s top eight throwers will travel to Leicester as the West Midlands hosts a major darting tournament for the first time, with £100,000 not only on offer to the eventual champion, but also spectators if a nine-darter is pinned during the tournament.
Gary Anderson will be the defending champion at the Morningside Arena, after he lifted the £100,000 title last year, following Mensur Suljovic and Phil Taylor’s success in previous years.
Leicester is a city famous for its sporting achievements, with Leicester City famously winning the Premier League back in 2016, and Leicester Riders being four-time BBL champions.
The tournament consists of two groups, with the eight competitors being split into two groups, with the top two in each group progressing to Sunday evening’s semi-finals, prior to the final.
Matthew Porter, the PDC’s Chief Executive, told pdc.tv: “The Paddy Power Champions League of Darts has been a popular addition to the PDC calendar in the past three years and the Morningside Arena promises to be an excellent host venue.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to see the world’s eight leading players competing in a quick-fire format across two days. We had great drama in last year’s tournament and expect another high-quality Champions League in October.”
Morningside Arena manager, Dave Clayton, said: “Leicester has been a hotbed of sport for a number of years with successes across football, rugby and our own Leicester Riders basketball team, so to add an elite darts tournament to that list of top-level sport is huge.
“Darts is a sport that anybody can get involved with and to be able to bring this to a sports-loving Leicester audience for the first time will be a ground-breaking and historic occasion.
Clayton added: “We are proud to be welcoming the Paddy Power Champions League of Darts and look forward to welcoming the top eight players, whoever they may be, come October.”