William Hill hits the bullseye with World Darts Championship extension

UK bookmaker William Hill has agreed an extension to its current contract to remain as title sponsor of the World Darts Championship until 2020.

The agreement with the Professional Darts Corporation comes after the success of William Hill’s first year as the tournament’s title sponsor and ahead of the 2015-16 edition of the sport’s biggest event, which commences on Thursday at Alexandra Palace in London, England.

A record 66,000 tickets have been sold for this year's tournament, which runs from December 17 to January 3, and the £1.5m (€2.1m/$2.3m) event has received a £250,000 prize money boost for this edition.

The tournament’s prize fund will continue to grow through each year of the William Hill deal to over £2m in 2020, with £500,000 to the winner.