UKTV channel Dave has linked up with the British Darts Organisation to bring darts fans live coverage of the 2016 BDO World Trophy at Lakeside Country Club.

Taking place over the May Bank Holiday weekend (May 28-30) at the spiritual home of BDO darts, Dave will broadcast ten hours of live free-to-air coverage of the World Trophy each day, starting daily from 12.00pm, featuring all of the organisation’s top male and female players.

The tournament marks the channel’s first foray into darts coverage and follows on from its recent successful live boxing debut, when a record-breaking peak audience of 3.2 million watched David Haye’s comeback fight in January.

The agreement is separate from the BDO World Darts Championship, which had been covered by the BBC until the corporation axed its coverage following the 2016 tournament.

A number of broadcasters, including UKTV, Channel 4 and BT Sport, are thought to be interested in taking over the rights after the BBC walked away from the event following 38 years of coverage, deciding instead to cover the new Champions League of Darts tournament organised by the BDO’s rivals, the Professional Darts Corporation.