The Professional Darts Corporation was initially formed as the World Darts Council in January 1992, and is now the leading professional body in the sport.

The WDC was formed after 16 top professional players, along with managers Dick Allix, Tommy Cox and John Markovic, decided to break away from the British Darts Organisation to take the sport to a new level.

The first WDC event, the UK Masters, took place nine months later and the first World Championship was played over the 1993-94 festive period, establishing the partnership with Sky Sports which remains to this day.

In July 2001, the Board who had carried the PDC forward since its inception decided to step down in favour of a specialist team, headed by Promoter Barry Hearn, who came in as Chairman.

The PDC has built up a reputation as the leading innovator in terms of staging professional darts tournaments and as such is constantly looking towards the future and improving the organisation in every area.

Five ranking tournaments are staged live on Sky Sports each year, broadcasting to a global audience of more than 300 million viewers, and 2005 saw the introduction of the Premier League Darts to great success.

That tournament featured seven of the top players facing each other twice in a league format over ten nights around the country, with the top four then taking part in the Play-Offs, and that event has expanded to be staged in the country's biggest arenas in front of crowds up to 8,000 fans.

The PDC's commitment to spreading professional darts worldwide led to the Las Vegas Desert Classic being introduced to the calendar in 2002.

The first professional tournament in China was staged two years later, and the worldwide development has continued with the inclusion of more international qualifiers taking part in the PDC World Championship.

2007 saw the PDC introduce the ground-breaking Grand Slam of Darts competition, which features 32 players who have reached the final of major PDC and BDO tournaments competing in Wolverhampton.

The continued expansion of the PDC led to an announcement that prize money from 2009 onwards will be above £5 million, and the innovative internet-streamed Championship League Darts was launched in the autumn of 2008.

The PDC continues to go from strength to strength with its central aim to ensure the sport receives the recognition and respect professional darts deserves.