Online Darts Arena (ODA) — Tournament Rules

Version: 1.7.3 Last updated: 18 October 2026

These rules cover individually advertised ODA tournaments, not the separately sold Matchplay monthly membership. Read them with the Terms of Service, Fair Play Policy and the relevant tournament page. Before paying, check your category, platform, UK start time, check-in window, entry fee and published prize structure. Mandatory consumer rights always remain protected.

1. Entry and Acceptance

To enter a paid Tournament, a player must use an ODA account and complete the required registration process.

Before payment, the player must actively accept the current:

• ODA Terms of Service; and
• Tournament Rules.

For an average-restricted Tournament, the player must also actively confirm the required eligibility declaration for that specific Tournament.

Restricted event example:

"I confirm I meet the Below 60 eligibility requirements and have not manipulated my statistics."

The category name may be adjusted dynamically.

Open or unrestricted Tournaments do not require the restricted-category eligibility declaration.

2. Registration and Payment Status

Creating a registration does not guarantee entry.

A player is confirmed only after all applicable requirements are satisfied, including payment and any eligibility review.

Opening an external payment page does not automatically mean payment has been received.

ODA may reject or remove an entry where registration is closed, capacity is reached, payment is not confirmed, eligibility is not met, the player is restricted, or a legitimate fair-play or security review is required.

3. Tournament Information

The Tournament page may specify:

• category;
• date and UK start time;
• entry fee;
• player limit;
• game format;
• external platform;
• camera requirement;
• registration / check-in deadline;
• prize structure;
• Season Ranking contribution; and
• official Tournament link.

Players are responsible for reviewing this information before entering.

4. Categories and Eligibility

Current ODA tournament categories are:

• Below 50;
• Below 60;
• Below 75; and
• 170 Double Out.

Retired categories remain only in historical records.

A restricted-category player must enter a category consistent with their actual playing level.

A displayed third-party average is evidence, but does not automatically guarantee eligibility.

ODA may review recent competition history and overall playing standard under the ODA Fair Play Policy.

A single strong leg, match or Tournament does not automatically make a player ineligible.

ODA may reclassify a player for future events where their genuine playing level has improved.

4.1 Payment Does Not Override Eligibility

Payment does not override eligibility. A player who enters or pays for a restricted-category competition while ineligible under the applicable ODA Eligibility Rules may be refused entry or removed where the evidence supports that decision. Payment does not establish eligibility, but an ordinary eligibility rejection does not itself justify automatic forfeiture of the fee. Refund consequences must follow the disclosed booking terms and mandatory law.

4.2 Entry fees and fair decisions

Where deliberate circumvention or intentional misrepresentation is established, ODA may apply only the financial consequences clearly disclosed before purchase and permitted by law. A genuine mistake, natural improvement or unproven allegation must not automatically be treated as intentional deception. A legally owed monetary refund is not replaced by credit without a lawful basis or agreement.

4.3 Automated Classification

The ODA Recent Average system provides the standard automated category classification. Relevant recent performance data from the scoring platform used for ODA competitions (e.g. DartCounter) may also be considered where necessary to protect the integrity of restricted-category events.

4.4 Performance Review

ODA may review significant or unusual changes in a player's recent performance level where those changes raise reasonable concerns about continued eligibility for a restricted category. Outcomes may include category adjustment, promotion, removal from the restricted category, or tournament disqualification.

4.5 Manipulation / Sandbagging

Deliberately lowering or falsifying statistics to gain entry is prohibited. Supported findings may lead to proportionate disqualification or restrictions under the Fair Play Policy. Any entry-fee consequence is assessed separately under Section 4.2 and mandatory law.

4.6 Current Category Eligibility (oda_v2)

Current tournaments and new Season Rankings use Below 50 (U50), Below 60 (U60), Below 75 (U75) and the separate 170 Double Out format. U45, U55, U65 and Open remain available only in historical records; their original results, points, category names and payouts are not converted. League history and previously published Division conditions remain unchanged.

There is one global ODA Recent Average across DartCounter, Autodarts and Nakka / N01. It is the arithmetic mean of up to the latest five eligible recorded 501 Double Out event performances, including eligible League Events. No data is displayed as no data; fewer than five performances are provisional and five are confirmed. Older performances remain in history but do not contribute to the current value. 170 Double Out never affects Recent Average, its count, category eligibility or promotion.

Automated entry limits are strictly below the following values (reaching the limit makes a player ineligible):

• U50: 1 event — 55.00; 2 events — 54.00; 3 or more events — 52.50.
• U60: 1 event — 65.00; 2 events — 64.00; 3 or more events — 62.50.
• U75: 1 event — 80.00; 2 events — 79.00; 3 or more events — 77.50.

The progression is U50 → U60 → U75. There is no automatic downgrade. A U75 player at or above their applicable U75 limit cannot enter a restricted 501 category; 170 remains separate. Players without recorded eligible performances remain provisional/no-data, subject to ODA review; a missing average is not a false zero or a guarantee of eligibility.

On promotion, 75% of the current Season Ranking points may transfer separately for each playing platform. Source-category points are removed; points may not transfer downwards. Platform totals are never combined. Historical seasons and all 170 points are excluded. The one-time introduction of the new categories does not convert or carry over historical points.

5. Check-In

Where check-in is required, players must check in during the published window.

A player may need:

• an approved registration;
• confirmed or eligible payment status;
• the correct ODA account; and
• check-in before the deadline.

Failure to check in may result in removal and release of the place to another player.

Repeated no-shows may lead to temporary entry restrictions where proportionate.

6. External Gameplay Platform

Gameplay may take place on an external service such as DartCounter or Nakka.

Players must:

• use the official ODA Tournament link;
• join the correct Tournament;
• comply with the external platform's technical and conduct requirements; and
• ensure their own account, device, camera and connection are working.

ODA cannot guarantee replay, reinstatement or bracket reset where the external Tournament system does not support it.

7. Camera Requirements

Where the Tournament page states that a camera is required, the camera must be used in accordance with the applicable event requirements.

A player who cannot satisfy a required camera condition may be removed or disqualified where necessary to protect fair competition.

A temporary technical interruption will be assessed reasonably based on the available evidence and circumstances.

8. Scores and Match Conduct

Players must enter scores accurately.

A known incorrect score should be corrected as soon as reasonably possible and before play progresses where the platform allows.

Knowingly leaving a false score uncorrected or deliberately entering false scores may be treated as a fair-play breach.

Players must not intentionally delay, disrupt or manipulate a match.

9. Reporting Problems During a Match

Where the external platform provides an in-game report function, players should report gameplay-specific issues during the match where reasonably possible.

Examples include:

• camera non-compliance;
• suspicious score entry;
• opponent conduct affecting the match; or
• another issue that requires live moderator review.

Where practical, the player should first use any normal in-game communication to request correction of a minor issue.

ODA may decline a purely gameplay-specific complaint made only after the match where it could reasonably have been reported live and no reliable evidence remains.

Serious cheating, fraud, safety or integrity concerns may still be investigated later where sufficient evidence exists.

10. Technical Problems

Players are responsible for their own:

• internet connection;
• device;
• browser;
• camera;
• darts setup;
• third-party account; and
• software required for gameplay.

A player-side technical failure does not automatically create a right to a replay, reinstatement, bracket reset or refund.

Where a platform-wide or ODA-side issue materially affects the Tournament, ODA may pause, reschedule, modify the format, provide compensation or take another reasonable step.

11. Tournament Format and Operational Changes

ODA may make reasonable operational changes where necessary because of:

• player numbers;
• technical failures;
• external-platform limitations;
• legal requirements; or
• unforeseen circumstances.

This may include a reasonable adjustment to schedule, bracket, format or start procedure.

ODA will not use this rule to materially reduce a paid consumer service without providing any remedy required by applicable law.

12. Prize Money

Prize rules are those displayed for the relevant Tournament.

Prize pools may depend on confirmed, eligible and paid entries.

Any "up to" amount is a maximum, not a guaranteed amount unless expressly stated otherwise.

ODA may temporarily withhold a prize while reasonably investigating cheating, sandbagging, false scores, false eligibility declarations, payment fraud or another material rule breach.

Once a paid player has entered and participated in a Tournament, their entry remains part of the applicable Tournament and prize-pool structure, including where the player is subsequently removed or disqualified. A later disqualification does not by itself create a right to a refund, except where required by mandatory law.

12.1 Current Daily Prize Structure and Category Bonuses

The Prize Base Entry (daily prize base per entry) is always the entry fee minus the £0.50 Season Ranking fund contribution. For example, a £5.50 entry fee gives a £5.00 Prize Base Entry. The aggregate daily prize base is this amount multiplied by the number of valid eligible paid entries. The daily cash-prize pool is 75% of that aggregate base. The £0.50 Season Ranking contribution is separate and is not part of the daily prize base or daily prize pool.

For current Below 75 and 170 Double Out events with at least eight valid paid participants, the winner receives two thirds (2/3) of the daily prize pool and the highest-finishing eligible U50 player receives one third (1/3) of that pool. These fractions are of the prize pool, not of entry fees; the daily prize pool is 75% of the aggregate daily prize base. If no participating player qualifies for the U50 Bonus, the winner receives two thirds (2/3) of the daily prize pool and the runner-up receives one third (1/3), provided there are at least eight valid paid participants. The U50 or runner-up share is rounded to the nearest penny and the winner receives the remainder, so the full pool is distributed. U50 eligibility requires a recorded global ODA Recent Average strictly below 50.00; no data is not sufficient. If the winner is also the highest-finishing eligible U50 player, that winner receives both shares. The bonus does not pass down and adds no ranking points. With fewer than eight valid paid participants, the winner receives the full daily prize pool without a bonus. Historical awards remain as recorded.

With fewer than eight valid paid participants there is no bonus and the winner receives the full daily prize pool (75% of the daily base). In a current Below 50 or Below 60 tournament, and in other categories without a bonus, the winner receives 50% and the runner-up 25% of the daily base from eight valid paid participants. Historical prize rules, including historical Best U55, U50 and U65 awards, remain as recorded.

Valid confirmed awards count toward the Order of Merit, which records all prize money won on the platform regardless of tournament category. The playing platform, tournament category and source event remain attached to each award. ODA bears the 2% payout fee; it is not deducted from these tournament prize amounts. Fair-play, disqualification, payout-verification and mandatory-law provisions continue to apply.

13. Season Ranking Contribution

Where a Tournament contributes to an ODA Season Ranking, the Tournament page will identify the relevant ranking contribution or rules.

ODA may correct or remove points where a result is corrected, voided or affected by a fair-play or eligibility decision.

14. Disqualification and Removal

ODA may remove or disqualify a player for a material breach including:

• cheating;
• deliberate score manipulation;
• intentional underperformance or sandbagging;
• false eligibility declaration;
• account sharing or impersonation;
• abusive conduct;
• refusal to comply with a required camera rule;
• exploitation of a material technical error; or
• another serious breach of the Terms, these Rules or the Fair Play Policy.

Action should be proportionate to the circumstances.

15. Refunds and No-Shows

Refund and cancellation rights are governed by the ODA Terms of Service, the Tournament page and mandatory law.

A missed check-in, no-show, voluntary withdrawal, time-zone mistake or player-side technical problem does not automatically create a right to a refund.

16. Final Decisions and Corrections

ODA may correct Tournament records where reliable evidence shows an administrative error, wrong player identity, incorrect result, disqualification or confirmed rule breach.

ODA records material sporting corrections and their reasons. Affected players may request review through the Imprint contact, identifying the tournament, disputed decision and available evidence. Report gameplay issues promptly while evidence is available; this does not shorten statutory consumer rights or prevent good-faith reports of serious misconduct. Decisions remain subject to mandatory legal rights.