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How to organize a darts tournament

Six steps, zero paper bracket. Everything you need to run a darts night — from the first sign-up to the winner's photo.

1–3: Setup

Pick a format — solo or doubles, and how many boards you actually have free. Open sign-ups — a link or QR code at the door beats a sheet of paper passed around the bar. Draw the pools — a balanced, automatic draw avoids one group getting stacked with regulars.

4–6: Game night

Play the pool stage — round robin inside each pool; an alert on each player's phone the moment their board frees up keeps people off the bar stools between throws. Run the knockout bracket — the top finishers move into single elimination, tightening round by round to the final. Share the results — a standing record gives players a reason to come back next time.

Which tournament format to choose

• Pools then knockout (FreeDarts' default) — every player gets several guaranteed matches before elimination. The best compromise for most nights, from 8 to 32 players.
• Pure single elimination — no pools, straight to the bracket. Fast, but a first-round loss sends a player back to the bar for the rest of the night.
• Double elimination — fairer (you need to lose twice), but nearly double the matches to manage. Best kept for tournaments with plenty of time to spare.
• Full round-robin — everyone plays everyone, no knockout stage. Only works with a small number of players, or the night never ends.

Organizer mistakes to avoid

• Underestimating how many boards you need: with a single board, a 16-player group stage can easily eat the whole evening.
• Making pools too large — beyond 5 or 6 players per pool, round-robin drags on long before the knockout stage even starts.
• Not announcing the checkout rule (double-out 501, or straight-out) before the first match — it avoids arguments mid-game.
• Forgetting a simple rule for latecomers — bumping them to the waitlist rather than holding everyone else up.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a 16-player tournament take?
With a single board and 15–20 minute matches, expect a full evening (3–4 hours) for pools plus knockout. Two boards running in parallel roughly halve that.

Does each pair team need a captain?
Not necessarily — FreeDarts registers both members of a pair directly, and either one can confirm the match result from their phone.

What happens on a tie in the pool standings?
Standings are ranked by number of wins; on an exact tie, a short tiebreaker match between the players involved is the simplest fix on the spot.