PDC World Darts Championship

The PDC World Darts Championship, known for sponsorship purposes as the William Hill World Darts Championship, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), is one of the two separate World Professional Darts Championships held annually in the sport of darts. The other is the BDO World Darts Championship organised by the British Darts Organisation (BDO). The PDC championship begins in December and ends in January and is held at Alexandra Palace in London. It is the highest profile of the PDC's tournaments, with the winner receiving the Sid Waddell Trophy, named in honour of the darts commentator Sid Waddell, who died in 2012.

For the most recent championship, see 2020 PDC World Darts Championship.
For the video game, see PDC World Championship Darts.

PDC World Darts Championship


Tournament information
VenueCircus Tavern (1994–2007)
Alexandra Palace (since 2008)
LocationPurfleet (1994–2007)
London (since 2008)
CountryEngland
Established1994
Organisation(s)PDC
FormatSets
Prize fund£2,500,000 (2020)
Month(s) PlayedDecember/January
Current champion(s)
Peter Wright

The PDC championship began in 1994 as the WDC World Darts Championship as one of the consequences of the split in darts, which saw the World Darts Council break away from the BDO. As a result of the settlement between the BDO and the WDC in 1997, the WDC became the PDC, and players are now free to choose which world championship to enter (but not both in the same year), as long as they meet certain eligibility criteria.

The current PDC champion is Peter Wright. With 14 wins from 25 appearances, Phil Taylor has dominated the competition, last winning it in 2013. Other than Taylor, there have been eight other champions. The other players to win it more than once are Michael van Gerwen (2014, 2017 & 2019), John Part (2003 & 2008), Adrian Lewis (2011 & 2012) and Gary Anderson (2015 & 2016) . The one-time winners are the inaugural champion Dennis Priestley, the Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld (2007), Rob Cross (2018) and Peter Wright (2020).

History

In 1992, some high-profile players, including all previous winners of the BDO World Darts Championship still active in the game, formed the WDC (now PDC), and in 1994, held their first World Championship. Dennis Priestley won the inaugural competition.

The players who broke away were taking a significant gamble – the tournament was broadcast on satellite television rather than terrestrial, and from 1994 to 2001, the prize fund for the players in the WDC/PDC World Championship was lower than the prize fund in the BDO version, although the 1997 PDC World Champion received £45,000 compared to that year's BDO World Champion receiving £38,000. In 2002, the PDC prize fund overtook that of the BDO for the first time, and the PDC event now boasts the largest prize fund of any darts competition. In 2010, the prize fund reached £1 million for the first time, with the World Champion collecting £200,000.

The 2014 and 2015 PDC World Champions collected £250,000 for their respective wins. In 2018, the prize fund will be increased to £1.8 million, with the World Champion receiving £400,000.[1]

Venue

The PDC World Darts Championship has been held at Alexandra Palace in London since 2008, having previously been held at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, Essex, from 1994 to 2007.[2]

List of finals
Year Champion (average in final)[3] T. Score Runner-up (average in final) Prize money Sponsor Venue
Total[4] Champion Runner-up
1994 Dennis Priestley (94.38) 1st 6–1 Phil Taylor (85.62) £64,000 £16,000 £8,000 Skol Circus Tavern,
Purfleet
1995 Phil Taylor (94.11) 1st 6–2 Rod Harrington (87.15) £55,000 £12,000 £6,000 Proton Cars
1996 Phil Taylor (98.52) 2nd 6–4 Dennis Priestley (101.48) £62,500 £14,000 £7,000 Vernon's Pools
1997 Phil Taylor (100.92) 3rd 6–3 Dennis Priestley (96.78) £99,500 £45,000 £10,000 Red Band
1998 Phil Taylor (103.98) 4th 6–0 Dennis Priestley (90.75) £72,500 £20,000 Skol
1999 Phil Taylor (97.11) 5th 6–2 Peter Manley (93.63) £104,000 £30,000 £16,000
2000 Phil Taylor (94.42) 6th 7–3 Dennis Priestley (91.80) £111,000 £31,000 £16,400
2001 Phil Taylor (107.46) 7th 7–0 John Part (92.58) £125,000 £33,000 £18,000
2002 Phil Taylor (98.47) 8th 7–0 Peter Manley (91.35) £205,000 £50,000 £25,000
2003 John Part (96.87) 1st 7–6 Phil Taylor (99.98) £237,000 Ladbrokes
2004 Phil Taylor (96.03) 9th 7–6 Kevin Painter (90.48) £257,000
2005 Phil Taylor (96.14) 10th 7–4 Mark Dudbridge (90.66) £300,000 £60,000 £30,000
2006 Phil Taylor (106.74) 11th 7–0 Peter Manley (91.72) £500,000 £100,000 £50,000
2007 Raymond van Barneveld (100.93) 1st 7–6 Phil Taylor (100.86)
2008 John Part (92.86) 2nd 7–2 Kirk Shepherd (85.10) £589,000 Alexandra Palace,
London
2009 Phil Taylor (110.94) 12th 7–1 Raymond van Barneveld (101.18) £724,000 £125,000 £60,000
2010 Phil Taylor (104.38) 13th 7–3 Simon Whitlock (100.51) £1,000,000 £200,000 £100,000
2011 Adrian Lewis (99.40) 1st 7–5 Gary Anderson (99.41)
2012 Adrian Lewis (93.06) 2nd 7–3 Andy Hamilton (90.83)
2013 Phil Taylor (103.04) 14th 7–4 Michael van Gerwen (100.66)
2014 Michael van Gerwen (100.10) 1st 7–4 Peter Wright (95.71) £1,050,000 £250,000
2015 Gary Anderson (97.68) 1st 7–6 Phil Taylor (100.69) £1,250,000 £120,000 William Hill
2016 Gary Anderson (99.26) 2nd 7–5 Adrian Lewis (100.23) £1,500,000 £300,000 £150,000
2017 Michael van Gerwen (107.79) 2nd 7–3 Gary Anderson (104.93) £1,650,000 £350,000 £160,000
2018 Rob Cross (107.67) 1st 7–2 Phil Taylor (102.26) £1,800,000 £400,000 £170,000
2019 Michael van Gerwen (102.21) 3rd 7–3 Michael Smith (95.29) £2,500,000 £500,000 £200,000
2020 Peter Wright (102.79) 1st 7–3 Michael van Gerwen (102.88)
2021

Records and statistics
As of 1 January 2020

Total finalist appearances
Rank Player Winner Runner-up Finals Appearances
1 Phil Taylor 14 5 19 25
2 Michael van Gerwen 3 2 5 13
3 Gary Anderson 2 2 4 11
4 Adrian Lewis 2 1 3 15
John Part 2 1 3 18
6 Dennis Priestley 1 4 5 19
7 Raymond van Barneveld 1 1 2 14
Peter Wright 1 1 2 11
9 Rob Cross 1 0 1 3
10 Peter Manley 0 3 3 13
11 Mark Dudbridge 0 1 1 10
Andy Hamilton 0 1 1 12
Rod Harrington 0 1 1 10
Kevin Painter 0 1 1 17
Kirk Shepherd 0 1 1 4
Simon Whitlock 0 1 1 12
Michael Smith 0 1 1 9
  • Active players are shown in bold
  • Only players who reached the final are included
  • In the event of identical records, players are sorted in alphabetical order by family name

Champions by country
Country Players Total First title Last title
 England 4 18 1994 2018
 Netherlands 2 4 2007 2019
 Scotland 2 3 2015 2020
 Canada 1 2 2003 2008

Nine-dart finishes

Nine nine-darters have been thrown at the World Championship. The first one was in 2009.

Player Year (+ Round) Method Opponent Result
Raymond van Barneveld 2009, Quarter-Final 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Jelle Klaasen Won
Raymond van Barneveld 2010, 2nd Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Brendan Dolan Won
Adrian Lewis 2011, Final 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Gary Anderson Won
Dean Winstanley 2013, 2nd Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Vincent van der Voort Lost
Michael van Gerwen 2013, Semi-Final 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 James Wade Won
Terry Jenkins 2014, 1st Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Per Laursen Lost
Kyle Anderson 2014, 1st Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Ian White Lost
Adrian Lewis 2015, 3rd Round 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Raymond van Barneveld Lost
Gary Anderson 2016, Semi-Final 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Jelle Klaasen Won

Averages

Since the breakaway of the PDC players, there has been much debate about the relative merits of the players within each organisation. The debate often focuses on the three-dart averages of players in matches.

An average over 100 in a match in the PDC World Championship has since been achieved 195 times.[5] This is compared to 21 times in the BDO World Championship, following the 2019 event. In 2010 Phil Taylor became the first player to average over 100 in all six rounds of the tournament. He repeated this feat (though lost the final) in 2015 and Michael van Gerwen achieved it in 2017 and 2019.

An average of over 105 in a match in the PDC World Championship has been achieved 40 times. The highest match average ever in the BDO World Championship is 103.83 by Raymond van Barneveld in his quarter-final victory over John Walton in 2004.

Ten highest PDC World Championship one-match averages[6]
Average Player Year (+Round) Opponent Result
114.05 Michael van Gerwen 2017, Semi-Final Raymond van Barneveld 6–2
111.21 Phil Taylor 2002, 2nd Round Shayne Burgess 6–1
110.94 Phil Taylor 2009, Final Raymond van Barneveld 7–1
109.34 Raymond van Barneveld 2017, Semi-Final Michael van Gerwen 2–6
109.23 Michael van Gerwen 2016, 2nd Round Darren Webster 4–0
109.00 Phil Taylor 2007, 2nd Round Mick McGowan 4–1
108.80 Phil Taylor 2009, Quarter-Final Co Stompé 5–0
108.65 Michael van Gerwen 2018, 2nd Round James Wilson 4–0
108.39 Gary Anderson 2011, 3rd Round Andy Smith 4–0
108.31 Raymond van Barneveld 2013, 1st Round Michael Smith 3–0
Five highest losing averages
Average Player Year (+Round) Opponent Result
109.34 Raymond van Barneveld 2017, Semi-Final Michael van Gerwen 2–6
106.09 Jeffrey de Zwaan 2019, 2nd Round Rob Cross 1–3
106.07 Cristo Reyes 2017, 2nd Round Michael van Gerwen 2–4
105.78 Michael van Gerwen 2016, 3rd Round Raymond van Barneveld 3–4
104.93 Gary Anderson 2017, Final Michael van Gerwen 3–7
Five highest combined match averages
Average Winner Year (+Round) Loser Result
223.39 Michael van Gerwen
114.05		 2017, Semi-Final Raymond van Barneveld
109.34		 6–2
212.72 Michael van Gerwen
107.79		 2017, Final Gary Anderson
104.93		 7–3
212.12 Phil Taylor
110.94		 2009, Final Raymond van Barneveld
101.18		 7–1
211.31 Michael van Gerwen
105.24		 2017, 2nd Round Cristo Reyes
106.07		 4–2
210.82 Phil Taylor
109.00		 2007, 2nd Round Mick McGowan
101.82		 4–1
Different players with a 100+ match average
Player Total Highest Av. Year (+Round)
Phil Taylor 56 111.21 2002, 2nd Round
Michael van Gerwen 30 114.05 2017, Semi-Final
Gary Anderson 20 108.39 2011, 3rd Round
Adrian Lewis 15 106.51 2010, 1st Round
Raymond van Barneveld 13 109.34 2017, Semi-Final
Peter Wright 12 105.86 2020, Quarter-Final
Michael Smith 7 105.22 2019, Semi-Final
Rob Cross 6 107.67 2018, Final
Simon Whitlock 6 105.37 2010, Quarter-Final
Dave Chisnall 4 104.63 2017, Quarter-Final
Dimitri Van den Bergh 3 104.45 2019, 2nd Round
Jelle Klaasen 3 102.54 2016, 1st Round
Jamie Lewis 2 107.27 2018, 2nd Round
Jeffrey de Zwaan 2 106.09 2019, 2nd Round
Gerwyn Price 2 104.20 2020, 3rd Round
Terry Jenkins 2 102.64 2012, 3rd Round
Andy Hamilton 2 102.04 2012, Quarter-Final
Chris Dobey 2 101.09 2020, 3rd Round
Daryl Gurney 2 100.51 2018, 1st Round
Cristo Reyes 1 106.07 2017, 2nd Round
Darren Webster 1 104.64 2017, 2nd Round
Richie Burnett 1 103.38 2001, 1st Round
Kim Huybrechts 1 103.26 2019, 2nd Round
Corey Cadby 1 102.48 2017, Preliminary
Co Stompé 1 102.42 2010, 3rd Round
Stephen Bunting 1 102.34 2015, 3rd Round
Benito van de Pas 1 102.30 2017, 3rd Round
Mick McGowan 1 101.82 2007, 2nd Round
Ryan Searle 1 101.54 2020, 2nd Round
Robert Thornton 1 101.49 2015, Quarter-Final
Dennis Priestley 1 101.48 1996, Final
Vincent van der Voort 1 101.17 2018, 2nd Round
Joe Cullen 1 100.88 2017, 1st Round
Nathan Aspinall 1 100.53 2019, Semi-Final
Ian White 1 100.33 2020, 2nd Round
Christian Kist 1 100.23 2018, 1st Round
Ten highest tournament averages (min 3 matches)
Average Player Year Round (+result) Reference
106.32 Michael van Gerwen 2017 Final (won) [7]
104.68 Michael van Gerwen 2016 3rd Round [8]
104.63 Phil Taylor 2010 Final (won) [9]
104.19 Adrian Lewis 2010 Quarter-Final [9]
104.08 Phil Taylor 2009 Final (won) [10]
104.05 Michael van Gerwen 2018 Semifinal [11]
103.45 Gary Anderson 2017 Final (loss) [12]
103.38 Michael van Gerwen 2019 Final (won) [13]
103.06 Gary Anderson 2011 Final (loss) [14]
102.83 Phil Taylor 2006 Final (won) [15]

Records
Most titles: 14, Phil Taylor. Taylor's two BDO titles take his total to 16, a record across both organisations.[16][17]
Most finals: 19, Phil Taylor, 1994–2007, 2009–2010, 2013, 2015 and 2018.[16]
Most match wins: 110, Phil Taylor, 1994–2018. Taylor has only lost 11 matches at the tournament and reached every final from 1994 until 2008, when he was beaten in the quarter-finals by Wayne Mardle.[18][19][20]
Longest unbeaten run: 44 matches, Phil Taylor, 1995–2003, between his defeats in the 1994 and 2003 finals.
Most 180s in a tournament (total): 828 in 2018. This was the first tournament to feature a 96 player field.[21]
Most 180s in a tournament (individual): 71, Gary Anderson (2017)[22]
Most 180s in a match: 22, Gary Anderson (2017 final)[23]
Most 180s in a match (both players): 42, Gary Anderson (22) and Michael van Gerwen (20) (2017 final)
Longest streak of 100+ averages: 19 matches, Michael van Gerwen, 2016–2019[24]
Most appearances: 25, Phil Taylor.
Youngest player: Mitchell Clegg, 16 years and 37 days. Clegg qualified as a 15-year-old in 2007. He was younger than Michael van Gerwen, who set the BDO World Championship youngest player record a few weeks later.
Youngest finalist: Kirk Shepherd, 21 years and 88 days In the 2008 final,[16] Shepherd was two days younger than Jelle Klaasen, who won the BDO title in 2006.
Record TV audience: 1,500,000 (2015 Final). The 2007 final was the first time that Sky Television achieved a viewing figure of over 1 million for a darts match. The 2013 final had a 1.2 million average, with 10 million viewers over the course of the tournament.[25]
Won both World Championships: Four players. Dennis Priestley was the first player to win both versions of the World Championship,[26][27] winning the 1991 BDO Championship and the 1994 PDC Championship. Phil Taylor, John Part and Raymond van Barneveld have since matched the feat.[26][27]
Overseas World Champions: Three players. John Part was the first player from outside the UK to win the PDC World Championship with his 2003 title, followed by Raymond van Barneveld in 2007 and Michael van Gerwen in 2014. Part was also the first overseas player to win the BDO title, doing so in 1994.

Media
The stage at the 2009 World Championship.

Domestic broadcaster

The PDC World Championship has been broadcast live and in its entirety by Sky Sports in the UK since its inception. Since 2009 the tournament has been shot in High Definition (HD). Their coverage is currently presented from a studio overlooking the interior of the Alexandra Palace venue.

The current presenting team is as follows:

Presenters

  • Dave Clark: (2001–present)
  • David Croft: (2013–present, previously worked for BBC Sport Darts Coverage 2003–2012)
  • Laura Woods: (2018–)

Co-presenters

Commentators:

  • Stuart Pyke: (2003–present, also works for ITV Sport Darts Coverage 2007–present)
  • Rod Studd: (2009–present)
  • Nigel Pearson: (2005–present)
  • (David Croft, Wayne Mardle, Rod Harrington, Mark Webster, Devon Petersen, Laura Woods & John Part also commentate)

Former presenters and commentators have been:

Overseas broadcasters

Dutch broadcaster SBS6, having covered the BDO World Darts Championship for many years, also covered the event until RTL7 took over broadcasting. Fox Sports (Australia), TSN (Canada), SuperSport (South Africa), Sky Sport (New Zealand), StarHub (Singapore), Ten Sports (India), CCTV (China), Showtime (Middle East), Ukraine TV, IKO (Poland), NOVA Sport (Czech Republic and Slovakia), Sport1 (Hungary), Meersat (Malaysia), 7TV (Russia), Measat (Indonesia), J Sports (Japan), DAZN (USA, Italy), GOL TV (Spain) Eurosport (Romania) now also broadcast the event.

Viewing figures

Television viewing figures for the final are as follows: [28]

Year Broadcaster
Sky UK Netherlands Germany SPORT1
2020 1,006,553[29] 1,200,000 (RTL 7)[30] 1,590,000 [31]
2019 658,300 1,540,000 (RTL 7)[32] 1,490,000 [33]
2018 1,400,000 864,000 (RTL 7) 2,150,000 [34]
2017 607,000 2,170,000 (RTL 7)[35] 1,480,000[36]
2016 908,000 869,000 (RTL 7)[37] 950,000[38]
2015 1.5 million peak[39] 908,000 (RTL 7)[40] 1,360,000[41]
2014 668,000 2,054,000 (RTL 7) 560,000[42]
2013 1,270,000[43] 1,748,000 (RTL 7) 810,000
2012 728,000 762,000 (RTL 7)
2011 920,000 435,000 (SBS6)
2010 888,000 854,000 (SBS6) 730,000
2009 809,000 1,441,000 (SBS6) 490,000
2008 731,000 211,000 (compilation SBS6) 340,000
2007 1,028,000 1,339,000 (SBS6)
2006 761,000
2005 530,000
2004 820,000
2003 610,000
2002 Unavailable
2001 420,000
2000 240,000
1999 200,000

Webcasting

The PDC world championship events are now broadcast on www.livepdc.tv which shows the events live, highlights and also classic matches. This website is a subscription only viewing and is limited to certain territorial restrictions.

The tournament has been sponsored by bookmaker William Hill since 2015. Previous sponsors have been:

Trophy

Following popular darts commentator Sid Waddell's death on 11 August 2012, the decision was made to rename the champion's trophy to the Sid Waddell trophy from the 2013 tournament onwards.[44]

Notes and references
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 December 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "PDC championship moves to London". BBC Sport. 2 April 2007. Retrieved 2 April 2007.
  3. Each player's average score is based on the average for each 3-dart visit to the board (ie total points scored divided by darts thrown and multiplied by 3)
  4. PDC World Championship prize fund dartsdatabase
  5. http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentPlayerStats.aspx?tournStatKey=6&tournKey=11&pg=1
  6. dartsdatabase.co.uk; best winning averages
  7. "2017 PDC World Championship Tournament averages". Darts Database. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  8. "2016 PDC World Championship tournament averages". Darts Database. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  9. "2010 PDC World Championship tournament averages". Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  10. "2009 PDC World Championship tournament averages". Darts Database. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  11. "2018 PDC World Championship tournament averages". Darts Database. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  12. "2017 PDC World Championship tournament averages". Darts Database. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  13. "2019 PDC World Championship tournament averages". Darts Database. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  14. "2011 PDC World Championship tournament averages". Darts Database. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  15. "2006 PDC World Championship tournament averages". Darts Database. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  16. http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentStats.aspx?tournKey=11
  17. http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentPlayerStats.aspx?tournKey=11
  18. "PDC WC Match wins page 1". Darts Database. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  19. "PDC WC match wins page 2". Darts Database. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  20. "PDC WC match wins page 3". Darts Database. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  21. http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/EventStats.aspx?EventKey=8809&pg=1
  22. dartsdatabse.co.uk; Most 180's in a tournament
  23. http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentPlayerStats.aspx?tournStatKey=8&tournKey=11&pg=1
  24. https://www.pdc.tv/news/2019/01/02/van-gerwen-i-handled-pressure
  25. pdc.tv Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine; Record Viewing Figures
  26. http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentDetails.aspx?tournKey=11
  27. http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentDetails.aspx?TournKey=2
  28. BARB viewing figures Archived 2007-10-16 at the Wayback Machine
  29. "Weekly top programmes on four screens (28 days) – Sky Sport Main Event=511,000 – Sky Sports Darts=495,553". BARB.
  30. "Netherlands viewing figures 1 January 2020". kijkonderzoek.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  31. SPORT1 (2 January 2020). "Peter Wrights erster Weltmeistertitel beschert SPORT1 zweitbeste Darts-Übertragung seiner Geschichte: 1,59 Millionen Zuschauer im Schnitt und 2,22 Millionen Zuschauer in der Spitze verfolgen Finale der diesjährigen Darts-WM". sport1.de (in German).
  32. BuzzE/NU.nl (2 January 2019). "1,54 miljoen Nederlandse kijkers voor WK-finale darts". nu.nl (in Dutch).
  33. SPORT1 (2 January 2019). "Darts-WM 2019: Rekord-Quote für SPORT1 bei Finale mit van Gerwen". sport1.de (in German).
  34. SPORT1 (2 January 2018). "Darts-WM 2018: Finale mit Phil Taylor beschert SPORT1 Rekordquote". sport1.de (in German).
  35. . Retrieved on 2017-01-03.
  36. Niemaier, Timo (3 January 2017). "Darts-WM: Neuer Quotenrekord für Sport1 zum Finale – DWDL.de". DWDL.de (in German). Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  37. . Retrieved on 2017-12-16.
  38. Sülter, Björn (4 January 2016). "SportCheck: Darts-Rekorde, Insel-Showdown & Schanzenfieber". Quotenmeter (in German). Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  39. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a619350/gary-andersons-pdc-world-darts-win-pulls-in-viewers-for-sky-sports.html
  40. Kijkonderzoek. Retrieved on 2015-01-05.
  41. http://www.quotenmeter.de/n/75469/der-grosse-wurf-darts-finale-fuehrt-sport1-zu-allzeit-rekord
  42. DWDL: Darts-WM: Sport1 katapultiert sich vor Vox
  43. BARB. BARB. Retrieved on 2013-08-13.
  44. "World Darts Trophy Named After Waddell". Sky News. 13 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
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