William Hill backs darts championship

UK's largest bookmaker has become the title sponsor of what will now be named the William Hill World Darts Championship.

After sponsoring Wolverhampton's Grand Slam of Darts for three years, Hills has signed a two-year, seven-figure deal with the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) to back the tournament, which will crown its next global champion in early 2015.

Barry Hearn, PDC chairman, said: "It gives me great pleasure to welcome William Hill as the new title sponsor for the WDC.

"Since first being staged in 1993-94 this tournament has grown into the biggest in darts, not only in terms of prize money and stature but also with the fantastic crowds who flock to Alexandra Palace every year.”

He noted that in addition to the 50,000-strong live audience "hundreds of millions more" will be watching on Sky Sports across the globe, giving the William Hill WDC an "amazing global reach".

Andy Lee, managing director of William Hill Online, said the firm was "delighted" to announce a sponsorship that would help further the "strong growth" they've seen in recent years.

Emma Rumney