Neil Duff became WDF world champion in 2022. The now 52-year-old Northern Irishman also took part in the recent WDF World Championships at the iconic stadium Lake Country Club, but was stuck in the quarterfinals after a 4-3 loss to American Jason Brandon.
After the prize money for the 2024 tournament was cut, Duff received just £4,000 for his quarter-finals finish. Partly for this reason, Duff is now calling for changes to prize money at the WDF World Championships. “Whenever it was released it didn’t bother me one bit because I was hoping for £50,000. I didn’t think about taking second place.” Duff starts a conversation with Online Darts. “But looking back, I think five or six Australian players had come to us almost a week earlier for just £750 for the preliminary round. And this is taxed! Foreign players are also taxed on this.”
“Two years ago, every time I stayed at Lakeside I paid £50 a night and the money was taken from the prize money. Last year it was £70, this year it was £99. So players who stay there for 10/12 nights, that means it costs them two or three thousand to stay there,” continues the Northern Irishman. “For the guys who qualified in Australia or Canada and came to play them in the qualifiers, it’s not financially viable.”
Neil Duff, WDF World Champion 2022
As a result, Duff is urging the WDF to change something regarding the World Championships. “I say take it down. Lower the numbers again, remove the first weekend and play from Tuesday or Wednesday. Then increase the prize money so that the loser in the first round is worth his while across the board,” he explains of his potential solution. “The other side of this coin is that at least there is a World Cup that you know. They could just turn around and say, “It’s too hard to get the money for this,” and just wipe it off the calendar. That means it happened before, so at least there’s something to play for.”
“But you have to spread the money a little better. If you go on tour for 12 months to get a qualifying position for Lakeside, come out in the preliminary round and get paid £750 compared to the money I spent to get points for them, it’s not justifiable,” he concludes. “If you don’t finish in the top four at Lakeside, you’ll be at a loss.”
