You've probably heard the tour names "JAPAN" and "PERFECT," but a lot of people don't know what actually separates them. Here's a breakdown of Japan's two pro darts tours — machine systems, format, prize money — using the numbers currently published on each tour's own site.
PERFECT: runs on Phoenix machines, the same system AI DARTS uses
Men's tour runs 24 events, women's runs 21. Men count their top 21 results toward the annual ranking; women count all 21. Points scale by event tier: PT300 pays 300 points for a win, 225 for runner-up; PT200 pays 200 for a win, 150 for runner-up. Entry fees (venue-use fee) range from ¥12,000 to ¥20,000 depending on tier. Prize money at a PT300: ¥1,200,000 for the men's winner, ¥600,000 for the women's winner, with a total prize pool of ¥6,050,000. Annual ranking bonuses (men): ¥3,000,000 for 1st, ¥1,800,000 for 2nd, ¥1,500,000 for 3rd.
JAPAN: runs on DARTSLIVE machines
Full name: SOFT DARTS PROFESSIONAL TOUR JAPAN / JAPAN LADIES, organized by J.D.U. with DARTSLIVE as a co-sponsor. Runs 18 stages total, with men split into Division 1 (16-player main draw) / Division 2 (qualifiers), and JAPAN LADIES split the same way. Prize money: ¥1,200,000 for a JAPAN event win, ¥500,000 for a JAPAN LADIES win. Annual champion bonuses: ¥3,000,000 for JAPAN, ¥1,500,000 for JAPAN LADIES, with the tour advertising a total annual prize pool over ¥100 million.
The qualitative differences — folklore, not official numbers
One darts blog cites unofficial figures claiming JAPAN pulls significantly more concurrent viewers than PERFECT, with about 76% of respondents preferring JAPAN — that's a single blog's informal poll, not an official statistic, so treat it as a data point, not proof either tour is "better."
AI DARTS runs on the PERFECT tour's Phoenix system — see how your own Rating is calculated in the darts glossary and PPD and MPR training. Menu's here.