Run a darts tournament withtwenty players and six boards
The difference between finishing at eleven and at half past one sits in the schedule, and you make that up front. PlayTour spreads the field across the boards you have, legs go in at the board, and the table moves while people are still throwing.
What a darts tournament looks like
Four groups of four, the table on legs won, the top two into the knockout. It is played on boards rather than courts, and PlayTour schedules onto those just as well.
- Counting down to exactly zero, with bust and revert
- Legs and sets set per category
- Boards as a resource in the schedule, as courts are elsewhere
Darts counts the other way, and the system knows it
Most sports count up. Darts counts down, and a leg is not over until the last dart lands in a double.
Nobody keeps score on paper any more
A leg ends on zero with a legal finish. Throw too much and it is a bust: the score goes back to where it was. PlayTour reads a leg that way, so an impossible result does not get through.
- 501, 301, 701 for pairs and 1001 for teams
- Best of three, five, seven or nine legs
- 501 over sets when the final is allowed to run longer
- Legs entered at the board, the table keeps up
Singles, pairs and teams in one night
Singles 501 and singles 301 for an open night, pairs 501 when you throw two to a board, and teams of three to eight for a league night between clubs or pubs.
- Singles 501 and singles 301
- Pairs 501, with your partner confirming themselves
- Teams of three to eight throwers, reserves included
- Its own entry fee and capacity per event
Done at eleven, not at half past one
You say which boards are in play and in which round they are used. The schedule stays inside that, so nobody waits while two boards stand empty, and you see in advance whether the night fits.
- A board allocation per stage, pool or round
- Pools first, knockout after, on the same evening
- Double elimination, so one bad leg does not end the night
- Everybody sees on their phone which board they are due at
Set a darts tournament up between two rounds
- 1
Pick the event and the format
Singles 501 best of five legs for a club night, pairs 701 for the annual one. Price, places and closing date go in at the same time.
- 2
Let them enter in advance
No envelope at the door and no list on the bar. Entrants register in advance, so you know who is throwing before the night starts. Collecting entry fees online is coming soon.
- 3
Draw and share out the boards
Press draw and the field is spread across your boards, with who throws where in each round. If somebody fails to show, you record it and the schedule carries on.
- 4
Throw and close
Legs are entered at the board. The pool table and the bracket are right all evening, and the final result is done the moment the last double goes in.
Darts tournament questions
Why is a straight knockout rarely the right call in darts?+
Because everybody who walks in wants to throw more than one match. Double elimination keeps everybody in after one defeat, and pools followed by a bracket give every entrant three or four matches first. You pick per event, and while scheduling you see straight away what it does to the finish time.
Can I run 301 and 501 on the same night?+
Yes. Those are two events inside one tournament, each with its own format. 301 comes set at best of five legs and 501 can be as short or as long as you like.
Who enters the legs?+
That is your call: the desk behind the bar, or the players at the board. A result is visible in the standings immediately. If something is wrong the desk corrects it, and the change stays visible in the log.
How long does a 32-player tournament take?+
That depends on your format and the number of boards, which are exactly the two things you enter. While scheduling you see whether the night fits. If it runs over, shorten the legs or add a board and it is recalculated.
We throw in teams between pubs, does that work?+
It does. A team event takes three to eight throwers per team, with a wider squad around it for whoever turns up. The captain invites their people and each one confirms for themselves.
Your next darts night can run itself
Put the darts tournament up, drop the link in the group and let everybody enter before they arrive. Publishing and taking entries are part of the free plan; the draw, the playing schedule and live results come with a paid plan.