IDF World Trios Championship

The IDF World Trios Championship is an international professional darts team tournament organised by the International Darts Federation (IDF). The competition features 16 national teams, with each country represented by a squad of three players and one optional reserve.

The tournament is a non-ranked event, with prize money earned by players not contributing towards the IDF Order of Merit. It was introduced to provide a major international team competition within the IDF calendar and to feature match formats not ordinarily used during individual ranking tournaments.

Unlike the IDF's individual events, matches at the World Trios Championship consist of several separate contests, known as rubbers. These include singles, doubles and three-player team matches. The first edition was scheduled to take place in 2027.

History

The International Darts Federation announced the creation of the World Trios Championship in 2026 as part of an expansion of its non-ranked tournament calendar.

Before the tournament's introduction, the IDF Darts Premier League was the only major non-ranked event operated by the federation. The IDF sought to introduce additional tournaments that would feature different formats while not affecting the Order of Merit or qualification for ranked championships.

The World Trios Championship was developed as an international team event featuring three-player national squads. The format was intended to differ from traditional doubles competitions by requiring countries to demonstrate strength across an entire team rather than relying solely on their two highest-ranked players.

The inaugural tournament was announced for 2027, with 16 countries invited to participate.

Format

The tournament features 16 national teams. Each nation names a squad consisting of three starting players and one optional reserve.

The competition begins with four groups of four teams. Every team plays each of the other countries in its group once. The top two teams from each group progress to the quarter-finals.

From the quarter-finals onwards, the tournament is played as a single-elimination knockout competition.

Team match format

Each match between two countries consists of a maximum of five rubbers.

Rubber	Format	Match length
1	First singles	Best of seven legs
2	Second singles	Best of seven legs
3	Doubles	Best of seven legs
4	Trios relay	Best of seven legs
5	Deciding singles	Best of nine legs

The first country to win three rubbers wins the match. Any remaining rubbers are not played once a team has secured its third victory.

For the first two singles rubbers, each country nominates two different players. The third player must participate in the doubles rubber unless substituted before the beginning of the match.

All three starting players participate in the trios relay.

Trios relay

The trios relay is the tournament's signature format. Each team completes a standard leg of 501, but the three players must throw in a fixed rotation.

Player one throws the first visit, player two throws the second visit and player three throws the third visit. The rotation then repeats until the leg has been completed.

A player may only attempt a finishing double during their assigned visit. Teams are not permitted to alter their throwing order during a leg.

The nominated order may be changed between legs.

Deciding singles

When a match is tied at two rubbers each, a deciding singles match is played.

Each captain nominates one player after the completion of the trios relay. Any member of the starting team may be selected, including a player who has already appeared in an earlier singles rubber.

The nomination is made privately before both selections are revealed.

Group stage points

Teams receive points according to their match result.

Result	Points
Match victory	2
Match defeat	0

Group positions are determined by the following criteria:

1. Match points;
2. Matches won;
3. Rubber difference;
4. Rubbers won;
5. Leg difference;
6. Legs won;
7. Head-to-head result;
8. Team play-off.

If two teams remain level for a qualifying position, they contest a best-of-three-leg trios relay play-off.

Qualification

The tournament features 16 countries selected through a combination of automatic qualification, regional qualifiers and invitations.

The host country receives automatic entry.

The remaining places are allocated through:

• the IDF national team rankings;
• European qualification;
• Asian qualification;
• Oceanian qualification;
• African qualification;
• North American qualification;
• South American qualification; and
• an international wildcard.

The defending champions receive automatic qualification for the following tournament.

If the defending champions are also the host nation, the additional position is awarded through the IDF national team rankings.

Team selection

Each qualifying country may nominate a maximum of four players.

A squad consists of:

• three starting players; and
• one reserve player.

Countries are not required to select their three highest-ranked players. National organisations may conduct qualifying events or use their own selection criteria.

All selected players must be eligible to represent the country under IDF nationality rules.

A reserve may replace a starting player between matches. Once a match has begun, substitutions are only permitted for a verified medical reason.

A player removed during a match may not return during the same fixture.

Draw

The 16 countries are separated into four seeding pots.

The four highest-ranked nations are placed in Pot 1. The remaining countries are divided between Pots 2, 3 and 4 according to the IDF national team rankings.

Each group contains one country from each pot.

Two countries from the same regional qualifying event may not be drawn into the same group unless avoiding the draw would be mathematically impossible.

The knockout bracket is predetermined before the tournament begins.

The quarter-final draw is arranged as follows:

• Winner Group A v Runner-up Group B;
• Winner Group B v Runner-up Group A;
• Winner Group C v Runner-up Group D; and
• Winner Group D v Runner-up Group C.

Match rules

All matches use the standard 501 double-out format.

Players alternate the team throwing first at the beginning of each rubber. A bull throw is held before a deciding leg.

During doubles and trios matches, players must throw in the order submitted to tournament officials before the rubber begins.

Throwing out of order results in the player's score being removed from that visit. The opposing team then takes its normal turn.

Coaching is permitted between legs but not while a player is at the throwing line.

Team captains may be playing or non-playing members of the squad.

Prize money

As a non-ranked tournament, prize money earned at the World Trios Championship does not contribute towards the IDF Order of Merit.

Prize money is awarded to the national team and divided equally between the registered players.

The proposed prize structure for the inaugural tournament was:

Position	Teams	Prize per team
Champions	1	£75,000
Runners-up	1	£40,000
Semi-finalists	2	£20,000
Quarter-finalists	4	£10,000
Third in group	4	£5,000
Fourth in group	4	£3,000
Total		£223,000

An additional £5,000 is awarded to a team completing a televised nine-dart finish during a doubles or trios rubber.

Trophy

The winners receive the International Trios Trophy.

The trophy consists of three silver darts positioned around a central globe, representing the three players within each national team and the international nature of the competition.

Each member of the winning squad receives a miniature replica. The original trophy remains with the International Darts Federation.

Venues

The World Trios Championship is intended to rotate between host countries.

Host applications are submitted to the IDF at least two years before the tournament. Candidate venues must be able to stage simultaneous group matches and a single-arena televised knockout stage.

Year	Host country	City	Venue
2027

Finals

Year	Champions	Runners-up	Score	Host
2027

Performance by nation

Nation	Titles	Runners-up	Final appearances	Years won

Records and statistics

Most titles

Nation	Titles	Years

Most player titles

Player	Nation	Titles	Years

Nine-dart finishes

A nine-dart finish may be recorded during singles, doubles or trios competition.

In doubles and trios matches, the achievement is officially credited to the entire team rather than an individual player.

Team or player	Nation	Opponent	Format	Round	Year

Highest team average

Team averages during doubles and trios matches are calculated by combining the scoring of all participating players.

Nation	Average	Opponent	Format	Year

Broadcasting

The group stage is played across multiple boards, with selected matches broadcast live.

Every quarter-final, semi-final and the final is played on the main televised stage.

Matches are also made available through the IDF's international streaming service and regional broadcast partners.

See also

• International Darts Federation
• IDF Darts Premier League
• IDF World Championship
• IDF World Matchplay
• IDF Grand Slam
• IDF Order of Merit