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PDC World Darts Championship facts for kids

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For the recent tournament, see 2025 PDC World Darts Championship.
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PDC World Darts Championship
PDC World Darts Championship 2016.jpg
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
(2025)
TV partner(s) Sky Sports (1993–)
Tournament format Sets
Current sports event 2025 PDC World Darts Championship

The PDC World Darts Championship is a huge annual darts competition. It's also called the Paddy Power World Darts Championship because of its sponsor. This exciting event takes place every year from December to January at Alexandra Palace in London. The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) organizes it, and it's their most important tournament. The winner gets the special Sid Waddell Trophy, named after a famous darts commentator, Sid Waddell. This championship is one of the three major darts events, known as the "Triple Crown."

The PDC championship started in 1994 as the WDC World Darts Championship. This happened after a big disagreement in the darts world, which led to the World Darts Council (WDC) forming its own group away from the BDO. Later, in 1997, the WDC became the PDC. After this, players could choose which world championship to enter, but they couldn't play in both in the same year. Both organizations kept holding their own world championships until 2020, when the BDO stopped.

Since the tournament began, thirteen different players have won. Phil Taylor was the most dominant, winning 14 times in 25 appearances. His last win was in 2013. Other players who have won more than once include John Part (2003 & 2008), Adrian Lewis (2011 & 2012), Gary Anderson (2015 & 2016), Michael van Gerwen (2014, 2017 & 2019), and Peter Wright (2020 & 2022). The players who have won once are Dennis Priestley (the first champion in 1994), Raymond van Barneveld (2007), Rob Cross (2018), Gerwyn Price (2021), Michael Smith (2023), Luke Humphries (2024), and Luke Littler (2025).

History of the Championship

2009 World Darts Championship
A match between Mensur Suljović and Kevin Painter at the 2010 championship

In 1992, some top darts players, including past winners of the BDO World Darts Championship, decided to form the WDC. They held their first World Championship in 1994, and Dennis Priestley was the very first winner.

The players who started the WDC took a big chance. Their tournament was shown on satellite TV, not regular TV. From 1994 to 2001, the prize money for the WDC/PDC World Championship was less than the BDO's. However, in 1997, the PDC champion received £45,000, which was more than the BDO champion's £38,000 that year.

By 2002, the PDC's prize money became bigger than the BDO's for the first time. Now, the PDC event offers the largest prize money in any darts competition. In 2010, the total prize money reached £1 million, with the champion taking home £200,000. For the 2014 and 2015 champions, the prize was £250,000. This amount kept growing, reaching £400,000 for the winner in 2018. Currently, the total prize money for the tournament is £2.5 million, with £500,000 going to the winner, a prize set since 2019.

Where the Tournament is Held

The PDC World Darts Championship has been held at Alexandra Palace in London since 2008. Before that, from 1994 to 2007, it took place at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, Essex. The matches at Alexandra Palace happen in the West Hall, which can hold 3,200 people.

Past Finals and Winners

Year Champion (average in final) Score Runner-up (average in final) Prize money Sponsor Venue
Total Champion Runner-up
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 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)
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 £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 (107.79) 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)

Records and Fun Facts

Players with Most Final Appearances

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  Lewis, AdrianAdrian Lewis 2 1 3 18
 Part, JohnJohn Part 2 1 3 18
 Wright, PeterPeter Wright 2 1 3 16
7  Priestley, DennisDennis Priestley 1 4 5 19
8  Smith, MichaelMichael Smith 1 2 3 14
9  Barneveld, Raymond vanRaymond van Barneveld 1 1 2 18
 Luke Littler 1 1 2 2
11  Cross, RobRob Cross 1 0 1 8
 Humphries, LukeLuke Humphries 1 0 1 8
 Price, GerwynGerwyn Price 1 0 1 11
12  Manley, PeterPeter Manley 0 3 3 13
14  Dudbridge, MarkMark Dudbridge 0 1 1 10
 Hamilton, AndyAndy Hamilton 0 1 1 13
 Harrington, RodRod Harrington 0 1 1 10
 Painter, KevinKevin Painter 0 1 1 17
 Shepherd, KirkKirk Shepherd 0 1 1 4
 Whitlock, SimonSimon Whitlock 0 1 1 15
  • Players who are still active are shown in bold.
  • Only players who reached the final are listed.

Champions by Country

Country Players Total First title Last title
 England 7 21 1994 2025
 Netherlands 2 4 2007 2019
 Scotland 2 4 2015 2022
 Canada 1 2 2003 2008
 Wales 1 1 2021 2021

Nine-Dart Finishes (Perfect Games)

A "nine-dart finish" is like a perfect game in darts, where a player finishes a leg in just nine throws. Sixteen of these amazing moments have happened at the World Championship. The first one was in 2009. Two have even happened in the final match: Adrian Lewis in 2011 and Michael Smith in 2023.

Number Player Year (+ Round) How they did it 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 (Scores)

In darts, a player's "average" is their score per three darts thrown. A higher average means a player is throwing better. Many players have achieved an average over 100 in a match at the PDC World Championship. Phil Taylor was the first to average over 100 in all six rounds of the tournament in 2010. Michael van Gerwen also did this in 2017 and 2019.

Top Ten Highest PDC World Championship Averages in One Match
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
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 5 or More 100+ Match Averages (updated 3 January 2025)
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 23 108.39 2011, 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
 Luke Littler 10 106.12 2024, 1st 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
 Van den Bergh, DimitriDimitri Van den Bergh 6 105.61 2021, 2nd Round
 Price, GerwynGerwyn Price 5 104.20 2020, 3rd Round
Ten Highest Tournament Averages (minimum 3 matches played)
Average Player Year Round (+ result) Reference
106.32  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
103.64  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)
103.06  Anderson, GaryGary Anderson 2011 Final (loss)

Other Records

  • Most titles: 14 wins by Phil Taylor. If you count his two BDO titles, he has 16 total, which is a record across both organizations.
  • Most finals: 19 appearances by Phil Taylor (1994–2007, 2009–2010, 2013, 2015 and 2018).
  • Most match wins: 110 wins by Phil Taylor (1994–2018). He only lost 11 matches in the tournament.
  • Longest winning streak: 44 matches by Phil Taylor, from 1995 to 2003.
  • Most 180s (perfect scores) in a tournament (total): 914 in 2024.
  • Most 180s in a tournament (by one player): 83 by Michael Smith (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 combined): 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 to 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 in the UK: 3.71 million viewers for the 2024 final.
  • Record TV audience outside the UK: 3.10 million viewers for the 2025 final in Germany.
  • Players who won both World Championships (PDC and BDO): Four players have done this: Dennis Priestley, Phil Taylor, John Part, and Raymond van Barneveld.
  • Overseas World Champions (from outside the UK): Three players: 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 in 2025.
  • Oldest World Champion: Phil Taylor was 52 years and 5 months old when he won his last title in 2013.

Media Coverage

TV in the UK

Sky Sports has shown the PDC World Championship live in the UK since it started. Since 2009, the tournament has been broadcast in High Definition (HD). Their coverage is presented from a studio that looks over the Alexandra Palace venue.

TV Outside the UK

Many TV channels around the world broadcast the event. For example, RTL7 in the Netherlands, Sport1 in Germany, Fox Sports (Australia) in Australia, and DAZN in the USA and Italy.

Video Games

The PDC has worked with game developers to create video games based on the World Darts Championship.

  • The first game, PDC World Championship Darts, came out in 2006 for PlayStation 2 and PC.
  • PDC World Championship Darts 2008 was released for more platforms.
  • Later, PDC World Championship Darts Pro Tour was released for PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360. This game included ten professional players and five official PDC tournaments.
  • In 2021, a new game called PDC World Darts Championship was released for mobile devices and PC.

Sponsors

The tournament has had different sponsors over the years. Since 2024, the main sponsor has been the bookmaker Paddy Power.

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

The Sid Waddell Trophy

After the famous darts commentator Sid Waddell passed away in 2012, the trophy given to the champion was renamed the Sid Waddell Trophy. This change started from the 2013 tournament to honor him.

Images for kids

  • PDC World Darts Championship 2016

    The stage at the 2016 edition

  • 2009 World Darts Championship

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

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