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Darts originated in Medieval England, when archery instructors shortened arrows and had their students throw them at the bottom of empty wine barrels as a means of indoor practice. When the wine barrels proved to be inconvenient or in short supply, sometimes a cross section of a tree was used. Many early players discovered that the rings on the tree helped measure the accuracy of a throw. It evolved into the modern game, with many of the rules and regulations that we use today, around in the late 1800’s.

Leagues began to form after World War I, and by 1924, the game’s growing popularity called for a need for a national governing organization. In 1927, The News of the World competition was formed, and in about half a decade it covered most of England.

During World War II, darts was popular among British soldiers as a means of both keeping up morale and passing the time. Many American soldiers shipped to the European theatre during this time took an interest in the game, which was very rarely played in America.

In the 1950s and early 1960s, darts was massively popular with the general public, in spite of the fact that the sport received little news coverage. The National Darts Association of Great Britain worked to organize tournaments, leagues, and in the 60s successfully lobbied to get darts competitions televised. Televised darts took the game out of the pub and into the international spotlight, and thanks to mass media, the game spread more quickly than ever.

In 1992, a number of great dart players felt that the sport wasn’t receiving the coverage it deserved. As a result, they left the primary darts organization of the time to form the The Professional Darts Corporation (initially named The World Darts Council) following the “great split” of 1992. The PDC went on to introduce some of the most important tournaments in darts, including the World Matchplay, Grand Prix and the World Championship.