PDC World Darts Championship facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids
PDC World Darts Championship
The stage at the 2016 edition
Founded	1994
Inaugural season	1994
Organising body	Professional Darts Corporation
Country	England
Venue(s)	Circus Tavern (1994–2007) Alexandra Palace (since 2008)
Most recent champion(s)	Luke Littler (2026)
TV partner(s)	Sky Sports (1993–)
Tournament format	Sets
2026 PDC World Darts Championship

The PDC World Darts Championship is a super exciting annual competition in the sport of darts. Imagine throwing small, sharp darts at a round board to score points! This championship is the biggest and most important tournament organized by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). It usually starts in December and finishes in January. Since 2008, it has been held at the famous Alexandra Palace in London, England.

The winner of this amazing tournament receives the special Sid Waddell Trophy. This trophy is named after Sid Waddell, a very well-known and loved darts commentator. The PDC World Darts Championship is also part of something called the Triple Crown, which means it's one of three major PDC tournaments.

The PDC championship began in 1994. At that time, it was called the WDC World Darts Championship. It started because some of the best darts players wanted to create their own organization, which became the PDC. For a while, there were two big world championships, but now the PDC tournament is the main one.

Many talented players have won this championship. Phil Taylor was a true legend, winning the competition 14 times! Other players who have won more than once include John Part, Adrian Lewis, Gary Anderson, Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright, and most recently, Luke Littler, who won in 2025 and 2026.

The Story of the Championship

A match between Mensur Suljović and Kevin Painter at the 2010 championship.

The first PDC World Darts Championship happened in 1994. It was started by a group of top players who wanted to create a new and exciting darts organization. Dennis Priestley was the very first champion!

When the PDC championship first started, it was a bit of a risk. It was shown on satellite TV, not regular TV, and for many years, the prize money was lower than another big darts tournament. But things changed! By 2002, the PDC's prize money became the biggest in darts. In 2010, the total prize money reached an amazing £1 million for the first time, with the champion taking home £200,000.

The prize money kept growing! The champions in 2014 and 2015 each won £250,000. By 2018, the total prize fund was £1.8 million. From 2019, the total prize fund was £2.5 million, and the winner received £500,000. For the 2025/26 World Championship, the number of players grew to 128, and the total prize fund increased to a massive £5 million, with the champion winning a record £1 million!

Girls and women have also made history in this championship! In 2001, Gayl King was the first woman to play in the PDC World Darts Championship. Since then, other talented women like Anastasia Dobromyslova, Deta Hedman, Lisa Ashton, Fallon Sherrock, Mikuru Suzuki, Beau Greaves, and Noa-Lynn van Leuven have also competed. In the 2020 championship, Fallon Sherrock became the first woman to beat a man in the tournament, winning against Ted Evetts and then Mensur Suljovic! She is still the only woman to have achieved this.

Where the Darts Action Happens

The PDC World Darts Championship has a special home. Since 2008, it has been held at the famous Alexandra Palace in London. Before that, from 1994 to 2007, it took place at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, Essex.

Currently, the games are played in the West Hall of Alexandra Palace, which can hold 3,200 fans. Starting from the 2027 tournament, the event will move to the even bigger Great Hall, which will allow 5,000 people to watch the exciting matches live!

Champions Through the Years

Here's a look at all the champions and runners-up of the PDC World Darts Championship. You can see who won, the final score, and how much prize money they received!

Year	Champion (average in final)	Score	Runner-up (average in final)	Prize money			Sponsor	Venue
Year	Champion (average in final)	Score	Runner-up (average in final)	Total	Champion	Runner-up	Sponsor	Venue
1994	Priestley, DennisDennis Priestley (94.38)	6–1	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor (85.62)	£64,000	£16,000	£8,000	Skol	Circus Tavern, Purfleet
1995	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor (94.11)	6–2	Harrington, RodRod Harrington (87.15)	£55,000	£12,000	£6,000	Proton Cars
1996	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor (98.52)	6–4	Priestley, DennisDennis Priestley (101.48)	£62,500	£14,000	£7,000	Vernon's Pools
1997	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor (100.92)	6–3	Priestley, DennisDennis Priestley (96.78)	£99,500	£45,000	£10,000	Red Band
1998	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor (103.98)	6–0	Priestley, DennisDennis Priestley (90.75)	£72,500	£20,000	£10,000	Skol
1999	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor (97.11)	6–2	Manley, PeterPeter Manley (93.63)	£104,000	£30,000	£16,000
2000	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor (94.42)	7–3	Priestley, DennisDennis Priestley (91.80)	£111,000	£31,000	£16,400
2001	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor (107.46)	7–0	Part, JohnJohn Part (92.58)	£125,000	£33,000	£18,000
2002	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor (98.47)	7–0	Manley, PeterPeter Manley (91.35)	£205,000	£50,000	£25,000
2003	Part, JohnJohn Part (96.87)	7–6	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor (99.98)	£237,000			Ladbrokes
2004	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor (96.03)	7–6	Painter, KevinKevin Painter (90.48)	£257,000
2005	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor (96.14)	7–4	Dudbridge, MarkMark Dudbridge (90.66)	£300,000	£60,000	£30,000
2006	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor (106.74)	7–0	Manley, PeterPeter Manley (91.72)	£500,000	£100,000	£50,000
2007	Barneveld, Raymond vanRaymond van Barneveld (100.93)	7–6	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor (100.86)	£500,000
2008	Part, JohnJohn Part (92.86)	7–2	Shepherd, KirkKirk Shepherd (85.10)	£589,000				Alexandra Palace, London
2009	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor (110.94)	7–1	Barneveld, Raymond vanRaymond van Barneveld (101.18)	£724,000	£125,000	£60,000
2010	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor (104.38)	7–3	Whitlock, SimonSimon Whitlock (100.51)	£1,000,000	£200,000	£100,000
2011	Lewis, AdrianAdrian Lewis (99.40)	7–5	Anderson, GaryGary Anderson (99.41)
2012	Lewis, AdrianAdrian Lewis (93.06)	7–3	Hamilton, AndyAndy Hamilton (90.83)
2013	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor (103.04)	7–4	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen (100.66)
2014	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen (100.10)	7–4	Wright, PeterPeter Wright (95.71)	£1,050,000	£250,000
2015	Anderson, GaryGary Anderson (97.68)	7–6	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor (100.69)	£1,250,000	£250,000	£120,000	William Hill
2016	Anderson, GaryGary Anderson (99.26)	7–5	Lewis, AdrianAdrian Lewis (100.23)	£1,500,000	£300,000	£150,000
2017	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen (108.06)	7–3	Anderson, GaryGary Anderson (104.93)	£1,650,000	£350,000	£160,000
2018	Cross, RobRob Cross (107.67)	7–2	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor (102.26)	£1,800,000	£400,000	£170,000
2019	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen (102.21)	7–3	Smith, MichaelMichael Smith (95.29)	£2,500,000	£500,000	£200,000
2020	Wright, PeterPeter Wright (102.79)	7–3	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen (102.88)
2021	Price, GerwynGerwyn Price (100.08)	7–3	Anderson, GaryGary Anderson (94.25)
2022	Wright, PeterPeter Wright (98.34)	7–5	Smith, MichaelMichael Smith (99.22)
2023	Smith, MichaelMichael Smith (100.71)	7–4	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen (99.58)				Cazoo
2024	Humphries, LukeLuke Humphries (103.67)	7–4	Luke Littler (101.13)				Paddy Power
2025	Luke Littler (102.73)	7–3	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen (100.69)
2026	Luke Littler (106.02)	7–1	Gian van Veen (99.94)	£5,000,000	£1,000,000	£400,000

Amazing Records and Stats

Darts players achieve incredible things! Here are some cool facts and figures from the PDC World Darts Championship.

Most Final Appearances

This table shows which players have reached the final the most times.

Rank	Player	Winner	Runner-up	Finals	Apps
1	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor	14	5	19	25
2	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen	3	4	7	18
3	Anderson, GaryGary Anderson	2	3	5	16
4	Part, JohnJohn Part	2	1	3	18
	Lewis, AdrianAdrian Lewis	2	1	3	18
	Wright, PeterPeter Wright	2	1	3	16
	Luke Littler	2	1	3	3
8	Priestley, DennisDennis Priestley	1	4	5	19
9	Smith, MichaelMichael Smith	1	2	3	14
10	Barneveld, Raymond vanRaymond van Barneveld	1	1	2	18
11	Humphries, LukeLuke Humphries	1	0	1	8
	Cross, RobRob Cross	1	0	1	8
	Price, GerwynGerwyn Price	1	0	1	11
14	Manley, PeterPeter Manley	0	3	3	13
15	Harrington, RodRod Harrington	0	1	1	10
	Painter, KevinKevin Painter	0	1	1	17
	Dudbridge, MarkMark Dudbridge	0	1	1	10
	Shepherd, KirkKirk Shepherd	0	1	1	4
	Whitlock, SimonSimon Whitlock	0	1	1	15
	Hamilton, AndyAndy Hamilton	0	1	1	13
	Gian van Veen	0	1	1	3

Active players are shown in bold
Only players who reached the final are included
In the event of identical records, players are sorted by date first achieved

Champions by Country

See which countries have produced the most PDC World Darts Champions!

Country	Players	Total	First title	Last title
England	7	22	1994	2026
Netherlands	2	4	2007	2019
Scotland	2	4	2015	2022
Canada	1	2	2003	2008
Wales	1	1	2021	2021

Nine-Dart Finishes: The Perfect Game

A "nine-dart finish" is like a perfect game in darts. It means a player finishes a leg (a mini-game within a match) in the fewest possible throws: just nine darts! It's super rare and very exciting. Sixteen of these perfect games have happened in the World Championship. The first one was in 2009. Amazingly, two have even happened in the final match!

Number	Player	Year (+ Round)	Method	Opponent	Result
1.	Barneveld, Raymond vanRaymond van Barneveld	2009, Quarter-Final	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Klaasen, JelleJelle Klaasen	Won
2.	Barneveld, Raymond vanRaymond van Barneveld	2010, 2nd Round	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Dolan, BrendanBrendan Dolan	Won
3.	Lewis, AdrianAdrian Lewis	2011, Final	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Anderson, GaryGary Anderson	Won
4.	Winstanley, DeanDean Winstanley	2013, 2nd Round	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Voort, Vincent van derVincent van der Voort	Lost
5.	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen	2013, Semi-Final	3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12	Wade, JamesJames Wade	Won
6.	Jenkins, TerryTerry Jenkins	2014, 1st Round	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Laursen, PerPer Laursen	Lost
7.	Anderson, KyleKyle Anderson	2014, 1st Round	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	White, IanIan White	Lost
8.	Lewis, AdrianAdrian Lewis	2015, 3rd Round	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Barneveld, Raymond vanRaymond van Barneveld	Lost
9.	Anderson, GaryGary Anderson	2016, Semi-Final	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Klaasen, JelleJelle Klaasen	Won
10.	Wade, JamesJames Wade	2021, 3rd Round	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Bunting, StephenStephen Bunting	Lost
11.	Borland, WilliamWilliam Borland	2022, 1st Round	3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12	Brooks, BradleyBradley Brooks	Won
12.	Labanauskas, DariusDarius Labanauskas	2022, 1st Round	T20, 2 x T19; 3 x T20; T20, T17, D18	De Decker, MikeMike De Decker	Lost
13.	Price, GerwynGerwyn Price	2022, Quarter-Final	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T19, T20, D12	Smith, MichaelMichael Smith	Lost
14.	Smith, MichaelMichael Smith	2023, Final	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen	Won
15.	Kist, ChristianChristian Kist	2025, 1st Round	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Razma, MadarsMadars Razma	Lost
16.	Heta, DamonDamon Heta	2025, 3rd Round	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Woodhouse, LukeLuke Woodhouse	Lost

Player Averages: How Well They Play

In darts, an "average" shows how many points a player scores with three darts. A higher average means they are playing really well!

Phil Taylor was the first player to average over 100 points in every round of the tournament in 2010. Michael van Gerwen also achieved this in 2017 and 2019.

Highest Averages in One Match

This table shows the top ten highest scores a player has achieved in a single match.

Ten highest PDC World Championship one-match averages
Average	Player	Year (+Round)	Opponent	Result
114.05	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen	2017, Semi-Final	Barneveld, Raymond vanRaymond van Barneveld	6–2
111.21	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor	2002, 2nd Round	Burgess, ShayneShayne Burgess	6–1
110.94	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor	2009, Final	Barneveld, Raymond vanRaymond van Barneveld	7–1
109.34	Barneveld, Raymond vanRaymond van Barneveld	2017, Semi-Final	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen	2–6
109.23	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen	2016, 2nd Round	Webster, DarrenDarren Webster	4–0
109.00	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor	2007, 2nd Round	McGowan, MickMick McGowan	4–1
108.98	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen	2021, 2nd Round	Murray, RyanRyan Murray	3–1
108.80	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor	2009, Quarter-Final	Stompé, CoCo Stompé	5–0
108.74	Humphries, LukeLuke Humphries	2024, Semi-Final	Williams, ScottScott Williams	6–0
108.65	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen	2018, 2nd Round	Wilson, JamesJames Wilson	4–0

Highest Losing Averages

Sometimes, a player can play incredibly well but still lose! This table shows the highest averages by players who didn't win their match.

Five highest losing averages
Average	Player	Year (+Round)	Opponent	Result
109.34	Barneveld, Raymond vanRaymond van Barneveld	2017, Semi-Final	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen	2–6
106.09	de Zwaan, JeffreyJeffrey de Zwaan	2019, 2nd Round	Cross, RobRob Cross	1–3
106.07	Reyes, CristoCristo Reyes	2017, 2nd Round	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen	2–4
105.78	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen	2016, 3rd Round	Barneveld, Raymond vanRaymond van Barneveld	3–4
104.93	Anderson, GaryGary Anderson	2017, Final	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen	3–7

Players with Many 100+ Averages

Some players consistently score over 100 points per three darts. This table shows who has done it five or more times.

Players with 5 or more 100+ match average (updated 3 January 2026)
Player	Total	Highest Av.	Year (+Round)
Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor	56	111.21	2002, 2nd Round
Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen	42	114.05	2017, Semi-Final
Anderson, GaryGary Anderson	26	108.39	2011, 3rd Round
Luke Littler	16	107.09	2026, 3rd Round
Wright, PeterPeter Wright	16	105.86	2020, Quarter-Final
Lewis, AdrianAdrian Lewis	15	106.51	2010, 1st Round
Barneveld, Raymond vanRaymond van Barneveld	13	109.34	2017, Semi-Final
Smith, MichaelMichael Smith	13	106.32	2022, 2nd Round
Cross, RobRob Cross	7	107.67	2018, Final
Chisnall, DaveDave Chisnall	7	107.34	2021, Quarter-Final
Bunting, StephenStephen Bunting	7	107.28	2024, 2nd Round
Whitlock, SimonSimon Whitlock	7	105.37	2010, Quarter-Final
Humphries, LukeLuke Humphries	6	108.74	2026, Quarter-Final
Van den Bergh, DimitriDimitri Van den Bergh	6	105.61	2021, 2nd Round
Price, GerwynGerwyn Price	5	104.20	2020, 3rd Round
Dobey, ChrisChris Dobey	5	103.09	2024, 2nd Round

Highest Tournament Averages

This table shows the highest average scores for players across an entire tournament (if they played at least 3 matches).

Ten highest tournament averages (min 3 matches)
Average	Player	Year	Round (+ result)	Reference
106.37	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen	2017	Final (won)
104.68	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen	2016	3rd Round
104.63	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor	2010	Final (won)
104.19	Lewis, AdrianAdrian Lewis	2010	Quarter-Final
104.08	Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor	2009	Final (won)
104.05	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen	2018	Semi-Final
103.98	Luke Littler	2026	Final (won)
103.64	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen	2021	Quarter-Final
103.45	Anderson, GaryGary Anderson	2017	Final (loss)
103.38	Gerwen, Michael vanMichael van Gerwen	2019	Final (won)

Note: Tournament averages above were calculated by summing the match averages of a player by the number of matches. This does not take into account the length of the matches. The true three dart average is defined by three times the "total points scored" divided by the "number of darts used". The real 2017 tournament average for Michael van Gerwen was 107.06.

Championship Records

Most titles: 14, by the legendary Phil Taylor. Taylor's two BDO titles take his total to 16, a record across both organisations.
Most finals: 19, also by Phil Taylor, from 1994–2007, 2009–2010, 2013, 2015 and 2018. Taylor's two BDO finals take his total to 21, a record across both organisations.
Most match wins: 110, by Phil Taylor, from 1994–2018. Taylor only lost 11 matches at the tournament!
Longest winning streak: 44 matches, by Phil Taylor, between 1995 and 2003.
Most 180s in a tournament (total): 1,127 in the 2026 championship. A "180" is when a player hits three treble 20s with three darts – the highest score possible with three darts!
Most 180s in a tournament (individual): 83, by Michael Smith in 2022.
Most 180s in a match: 24, by Peter Wright (2022 semi-final) and Michael Smith (2022 final).
Most 180s in a match (both players): 42, by Gary Anderson (22) and Michael van Gerwen (20) in the 2017 final.
Longest streak of 100+ averages: 19 matches, by Michael van Gerwen, from 2016–2019.
Highest Average for one set: 140.91, by Luke Littler in the 2nd round of the 2025 championship.
Most appearances: 25, by Phil Taylor.
Youngest player: Mitchell Clegg, who was 16 years and 37 days old in 2007.
Youngest finalist: Luke Littler, who was 16 years and 347 days old in the 2024 final.
Record TV audience UK: 3.71 million viewers for the 2024 final.
Record TV audience outside UK: 3.10 million peak viewers for the 2025 Final in Germany.
Won both World Championships: Four players have won both the PDC and the older BDO World Championships: Dennis Priestley, Phil Taylor, John Part, and Raymond van Barneveld.
Overseas World Champions: Three players from outside the UK have won: John Part (Canada), Raymond van Barneveld (Netherlands), and Michael van Gerwen (Netherlands).
Youngest World Champion: Luke Littler was 17 years, 11 months, and 13 days old when he won his first world title in 2025.
Oldest World Champion: Phil Taylor was 52 years and 5 months old when he won his last title in 2013.
Oldest Player to win a match: Paul Lim was 71 years and 323 days old when he won a match in the 2026 event.
Youngest Player to win a match: Luke Littler was 16 years and 333 days old when he won a match in the 2024 event.

Watching the Darts

You can watch the PDC World Darts Championship on TV and online!

TV Broadcasts

In the UK, Sky Sports has shown the tournament live since it began. It's also broadcast in many other countries around the world, like the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, Canada, and the USA. This means fans everywhere can tune in to see the action!

How Many People Watch?

Millions of people watch the final of the PDC World Darts Championship every year. It's a very popular event!

Year	Broadcaster
Year	Sky UK	Germany SPORT1	Netherlands
2024	3.68 million peak	2.86 million peak
2023		2,360,000
2022	1,490,000	1,650,000
2021	1,000,000	1,550,000
2020	1,006,553	1,590,000	1,200,000 (RTL 7)
2019	658,300	1,490,000	1,540,000 (RTL 7)
2018	1,400,000	2,150,000	864,000 (RTL 7)
2017	607,000	1,480,000	2,170,000 (RTL 7)
2016	908,000	950,000	869,000 (RTL 7)
2015	1.5 million peak	1,360,000	908,000 (RTL 7)
2014	668,000	560,000	2,054,000 (RTL 7)
2013	1,270,000	810,000	1,748,000 (RTL 7)
2012	728,000		762,000 (RTL 7)
2011	920,000		435,000 (SBS6)
2010	888,000	730,000	854,000 (SBS6)
2009	809,000	490,000	1,441,000 (SBS6)
2008	731,000	340,000	211,000 (compilation SBS6)
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

Online Streaming

You can also watch the events live and see highlights on video.pdc.tv. This website requires a subscription and has some regional restrictions.

Darts Video Games

Did you know there are video games based on the PDC World Darts Championship? Since 2006, several games have been made for different consoles like PlayStation, Xbox, and Wii. These games let you experience the excitement of darts yourself! There's even a mobile game released in 2021.

Who Supports the Championship?

The tournament has different sponsors over the years. A sponsor helps pay for the event. Currently, Paddy Power is the main sponsor.

Skol (1994)
Proton Cars (1995)
Vernon's Pools (1996)
Red Band (1997)
Skol (1998–2002)
Ladbrokes (2003–2014)
William Hill (2015–2022)
Cazoo (2023)
Paddy Power (2024–)

The Sid Waddell Trophy

The trophy given to the champion is called the Sid Waddell Trophy. It was named in honor of Sid Waddell, a very famous and much-loved darts commentator who passed away in 2012. It's a great way to remember his contribution to the sport!