A SOUTH Essex country club is favourite to host the newly-created PDC Championship of Darts - the first ever tournament to be screened exclusively on the internet.

The competition, expected to attract the sports biggest names including Phil "The Power" Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld, is likely to be held at Crondon Park in Stock, near Billericay in September and October.

A total prize fund of £200,000 will be on offer, with the winner receiving an invitation into the Grand Slam of Darts, which will be shown live on ITV in November.

Barry Hearn, chairman of the Brentwood-based PDC (Professional Darts Corporation), said the decision to host an internet-only tournament was a sign of things to come.

"This is an exciting new concept in darts," said Hearn, who has already seen the closing stages of the PDC's eight UK Open Regional Finals shown live on-line.

"The players, venue, staging, cameras and production will all be of the highest quality but the distribution will be a completely new phenomenon for the sport.

"We are delighted to be partners in such a forward-thinking initiative that could help fund all sorts of new sports events around the world."

This Spring Crondon Park has also hosted Matchroom Sport - of which the PDC is a part - Perform Championship Snooker, an internet-only tournament featuring some of the world's best players.

Perform, who specialise in digital sports broadcasting, will also team up with the PDC to hold the Championship of Darts, which will be held between 11am and 9pm on September 2-4, September 23-25 and October 21-23.

Players will play in a complicated eight-group format, with the eventual champion taking home £10,000.

For full details, log on to www.planetdarts.tv