THE Professional Darts Corporation has received two nominations in the 2017 Sports Business Awards for the success of the William Hill World Darts Championship.
Recognising both the business units within sports responsible for commercial success alongside those professional services and businesses dedicated to supporting the sport itself, The Sports Business Awards finalists are representatives from a number of sporting disciplines, including football, motorsport, rugby, cricket, cycling, tennis, hockey, darts, long-distance running, table tennis, basketball, canoeing and rowing.
The World Darts Championship has received nominations in the following categories:
Best Sports Event of the Year
Best Match (or Game) Day Experience
The judging panel includes five-time Olympic rowing champion Sir Steve Redgrave, Sport England chairman Nick Bitel and Head of BBC TV Sport Philip Bernie.
"This is a great recognition for the William Hill World Darts Championship to be nominated in two categories at the Sports Business Awards," said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.
"To be nominated alongside so many prestigious events and organisations is a testament to the continued growth of the World Championship, the global importance of the event and the way that this has become such a huge part of the festive sporting calendar.
"The 2016/2017 tournament was arguably the best-ever, as we saw some incredible matches, a fantastic standard and the fittingly superb final between Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson."
Simon Burton, Co-founder of the Sports Business Awards, said: "The infrastructure, behind-the-scenes teams, professional services and products provided by businesses are integral to any sport.
"Without those businesses, not a single sport in the way that we know it would exist. Congratulations to all the finalists."
The finalists in the categories which the William Hill World Darts Championship have been nominated in are:
Best Sports Event of the Year
- British Cycling – 2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships
- EA SPORTS – EA SPORTS FIFA 17 Launch
- Harlequins – Harlequins Big Game 9
- ONE Championship
- Premiership Rugby – Aviva Premiership Rugby Final 2016
- Professional Darts Corporation – World Darts Championship
- Sepang International Circuit Sdn. Bhd. – Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix 2016
Best Match (or Game) Day Experience
- Cardiff City Football Club
- Chelsea Football Club
- Manchester City Football Club
- NTT DATA / The Open Championship
- Premiership Rugby – The Aviva Premiership Rugby Final 2016
- Professional Darts Corporation – World Darts Championship
- Sepang International Circuit Sdn. Dhd. – 2016 Formula 1 PETRONAS Malaysia Grand Prix
Broadcaster Sky Sports previously scooped the "Best Sports or Live Event Coverage" category at the 2015 Broadcast Digital Awards, recognising their coverage of the tournament through the dedicated Sky Sports Darts channel.
The 2017 Sports Business Awards will be presented at a ceremony to be held in London on Friday June 2. For a full list of judges, categories and for further details, visit www.SportsBusinessAwards.co.uk.