Winmau has announced that it is to sponsor the World Darts Federation ranking system for the next three years ©Winmau

Winmau has announced that it is to sponsor the World Darts Federation (WDF) ranking system for the next three years.

The world leading darts brand will have their name against the rankings for men, women, boys and girls.

Created in 1974, the rankings provide the clearest picture of the world’s leading players in the WDF system.

The WDF categorises tournaments around the world with ranking points then awarded to players according to where they finish and the category of the event.

These are used to determine seeds for key WDF events.

Like ranking systems used by many other global sports, the WDF system is based on a cumulative points system on a rolling-year basis.

When a tournament is played, any points players earned from the same event a year earlier are discounted.

Lithuania’s Darius Labanauskas is the current WDF men’s number one, while The Netherlands’ Aileen de Graaf tops the women’s list.

Lithuania’s Darius Labanauskas is the current WDF men’s number one ©Getty Images
Lithuania’s Darius Labanauskas is the current WDF men’s number one ©Getty Images

As part of its sponsorship, Winmau will enable the WDF to present monetary awards to the top five players in the men’s and women’s overall rankings, as well as the top three finishers from the men’s, women’s, boys’ and girls’ categories in Europe, the Americas and Asia/Pacific regions.

The company will also award darts equipment prizes to youth winners.

"The WDF is the sport’s global organising body and we are delighted to be able to partner with them in this unique initiative that will allow the top-ranked WDF players to benefit from monetary awards and the best equipment," Ian Flack, Winmau’s sales and marketing director, said.  

"We share a common desire to see players continue to push the boundaries, and the rankings provide a very clear and impartial way of seeing who is at the top of the game over an extended period of time."

Last month’s British Darts Organisation (BDO) World Championship saw England’s Glen Durrant claim the men’s title for the first time in his career and compatriot Lisa Ashton secure her third women’s crown.

A bid for darts to be included in the Olympic Games was made for the 2020 cycle, but the application was not chosen by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for inclusion when the shortlist was cut down in 2013.