PDC World Darts Championship











































William Hill
World Darts Championship

William Hill WDC logo.jpg

2009 World Darts Championship.jpg
Tournament information
Venue
Alexandra Palace (2008–)
Circus Tavern (1994–2007)
Location
London
Country
England
Established
1994
Organisation(s)
PDC
Format
Sets
Prize fund
£2,500,000 (2019)
Month(s) Played
December/January
Current champion(s)

England Rob Cross

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 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.


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



Contents




  • 1 History


  • 2 Venue


  • 3 List of finals


  • 4 Records and statistics


    • 4.1 Total finalist appearances


    • 4.2 Nine-dart finishes


    • 4.3 Averages


    • 4.4 Records




  • 5 Media


    • 5.1 Domestic broadcaster


    • 5.2 Overseas broadcasters


    • 5.3 Viewing figures


    • 5.4 Webcasting




  • 6 Sponsor


  • 7 Trophy


  • 8 Notes and references


  • 9 External links





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

England Dennis Priestley (94.38)

1st
6–1

England Phil Taylor (90.62)
£64,000
£16,000
£8,000

Skol

Circus Tavern, Purfleet

1995

England Phil Taylor (94.11)

1st
6–2

England Rod Harrington (87.15)
£55,000
£12,000
£6,000

Proton Cars

1996

England Phil Taylor (98.52)

2nd
6–4

England Dennis Priestley (101.48)
£61,000
£14,000
£7,000

Vernon's Pools

1997

England Phil Taylor (100.92)

3rd
6–3

England Dennis Priestley (96.78)
£98,000
£45,000
£10,000
Red Band

1998

England Phil Taylor (103.98)

4th
6–0

England Dennis Priestley (90.75)
£71,000
£20,000

Skol

1999

England Phil Taylor (97.11)

5th
6–2

England Peter Manley (93.63)
£104,000
£30,000
£16,000

2000

England Phil Taylor (94.42)

6th
7–3

England Dennis Priestley (91.80)
£110,000
£31,000
£16,400

2001

England Phil Taylor (107.46)

7th
7–0

Canada John Part (92.58)
£124,000
£33,000
£18,000

2002

England Phil Taylor (98.47)

8th
7–0

England Peter Manley (91.35)
£200,000
£50,000
£25,000

2003

Canada John Part (96.87)

1st
7–6

England Phil Taylor (99.98)

Ladbrokes

2004

England Phil Taylor (96.03)

9th
7–6

England Kevin Painter (90.48)
£256,000

2005

England Phil Taylor (96.14)

10th
7–4

England Mark Dudbridge (90.66)
£300,000
£60,000
£30,000

2006

England Phil Taylor (106.74)

11th
7–0

England Peter Manley (91.72)
£500,000
£100,000
£50,000

2007

Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld (100.93)

1st
7–6

England Phil Taylor (100.86)

2008

Canada John Part (92.86)

2nd
7–2

England Kirk Shepherd (85.10)
£589,000

Alexandra Palace, London

2009

England Phil Taylor (110.94)

12th
7–1

Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld (101.18)
£724,000
£125,000
£60,000

2010

England Phil Taylor (104.38)

13th
7–3

Australia Simon Whitlock (100.51)
£1,000,000
£200,000
£100,000

2011

England Adrian Lewis (99.40)

1st
7–5

Scotland Gary Anderson (99.41)

2012

England Adrian Lewis (93.06)

2nd
7–3

England Andy Hamilton (90.83)

2013

England Phil Taylor (103.04)

14th
7–4

Netherlands Michael van Gerwen (100.66)

2014

Netherlands Michael van Gerwen (100.10)

1st
7–4

Scotland Peter Wright (95.71)
£1,050,000
£250,000

2015

Scotland Gary Anderson (97.68)

1st
7–6

England Phil Taylor (100.69)
£1,250,000
£120,000

William Hill

2016

Scotland Gary Anderson (99.26)

2nd
7–5

England Adrian Lewis (100.23)
£1,500,000
£300,000
£150,000

2017

Netherlands Michael van Gerwen (107.79)

2nd
7–3

Scotland Gary Anderson (104.93)
£1,650,000
£350,000
£160,000

2018

England Rob Cross (107.67)

1st
7–2

England Phil Taylor (102.26)
£1,800,000
£400,000
£170,000

2019




£2,500,000
£500,000
£200,000


Records and statistics


As of 1 January 2018


Total finalist appearances




















































































































































Rank
Name
Nationality
Winner

Runner-up
Finals
Appearances
1

Phil Taylor

 England
14
5
19
25
2

Gary Anderson

 Scotland
2
2
4
8
3

Michael van Gerwen

 Netherlands
2
1
3
10

Adrian Lewis

 England
2
1
3
12

John Part

 Canada
2
1
3
18
6

Dennis Priestley

 England
1
4
5
19
7

Raymond van Barneveld

 Netherlands
1
1
2
11
8

Rob Cross

 England
1
0
1
1
9

Peter Manley

 England
0
3
3
13
10

Mark Dudbridge

 England
0
1
1
10

Andy Hamilton

 England
0
1
1
12

Rod Harrington

 England
0
1
1
10

Kevin Painter

 England
0
1
1
16

Kirk Shepherd

 England
0
1
1
4

Simon Whitlock

 Australia
0
1
1
9

Peter Wright

 Scotland
0
1
1
8


Nine-dart finishes


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









































































Player
Year
Round
Result
Opponent

Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld

2009
Quarter-Final
Won

Netherlands Jelle Klaasen

Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld

2010
2nd Round
Won

Northern Ireland Brendan Dolan

England Adrian Lewis

2011
Final
Won

Scotland Gary Anderson

England Dean Winstanley

2013
2nd Round
Lost

Netherlands Vincent van der Voort

Netherlands Michael van Gerwen

2013
Semi-Final
Won

England James Wade

England Terry Jenkins

2014
1st Round
Lost

Denmark Per Laursen

Australia Kyle Anderson

2014
1st Round
Lost

England Ian White

England Adrian Lewis

2015
3rd Round
Lost

Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld

Scotland Gary Anderson

2016
Semi-Final
Won

Netherlands Jelle Klaasen


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 over 150 times.[5] This is compared to 21 times in the BDO World Championship, following the 2018 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.


An average of over 105 in a match in the PDC World Championship has been achieved 36 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

Netherlands Michael van Gerwen

2017, Semi-Final

Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld
6–2
111.21

England Phil Taylor

2002, 2nd Round

England Shayne Burgess
6–1
110.94

England Phil Taylor

2009, Final

Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld
7–1
109.34

Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld

2017, Semi-Final

Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
2–6
109.23

Netherlands Michael van Gerwen

2016, 2nd Round

England Darren Webster
4–0
109.00

England Phil Taylor

2007, 2nd Round

Republic of Ireland Mick McGowan
4–1
108.80

England Phil Taylor

2009, Quarter-Final

Netherlands Co Stompé
5–0
108.65

Netherlands Michael van Gerwen

2018, 2nd Round

England James Wilson
4–0
108.39

Scotland Gary Anderson

2011, 3rd Round

England Andy Smith
4–0
108.31

Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld

2013, 1st Round

England Michael Smith
3–0













































Five highest losing averages
Average
Player
Year (+ Round)
Opponent
Result
109.34

Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld
2017, Semi-Final

Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
2–6
106.07

Spain Cristo Reyes
2017, 2nd Round

Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
2–4
105.78

Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
2016, 3rd Round

Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld
3–4
104.93

Scotland Gary Anderson
2017, Final

Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
3–7
104.63

England Dave Chisnall
2017, Quarter-Final

Scotland Gary Anderson
3–5













































Five highest combined match averages
Average
Winner
Year (+ Round)
Loser
Result
223.39

Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
2017, Semi-Final

Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld
6–2
212.72

Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
2017, Final

Scotland Gary Anderson
7–3
212.12

England Phil Taylor
2009, Final

Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld
7–1
211.31

Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
2017, 2nd Round

Spain Cristo Reyes
4–2
210.82

England Phil Taylor
2007, 2nd Round

Republic of Ireland Mick McGowan
4–1





























































































































































































Different players with a 100+ match average - updated 1/1/18
Player
Total
Highest Av.
Year (+ Round)

England Phil Taylor
56
111.21
2002, 2nd Round

Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
21
114.05
2017, Semi Final

Scotland Gary Anderson
19
108.39
2011, 3rd Round

England Adrian Lewis
14
106.51
2010, 1st Round

Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld
13
109.34
2017, Semi Final

Scotland Peter Wright
10
105.07
2014, 3rd Round

Australia Simon Whitlock
6
105.37
2010, Quarter-Final

England Rob Cross
4
107.67
2018, Final

England Michael Smith
4
103.29
2018, 2nd Round

England Dave Chisnall
3
104.63
2017, Quarter-Final

Netherlands Jelle Klaasen
3
102.54
2016, 1st Round

Wales Jamie Lewis
2
107.27
2018, 2nd Round

England Terry Jenkins
2
102.64
2012, 3rd Round

England Andy Hamilton
2
102.04
2012, Quarter-Final

Spain Cristo Reyes
1
106.07
2017, 2nd Round

England Darren Webster
1
104.64
2017, 2nd Round

Belgium Dimitri Van den Bergh
1
104.17
2018, 1st Round

Wales Richie Burnett
1
103.38
2001, 1st Round

Australia Corey Cadby
1
102.48
2017, Preliminary

Netherlands Co Stompé
1
102.42
2010, 3rd Round

England Stephen Bunting
1
102.34
2015, 3rd Round

Netherlands Benito van de Pas
1
102.30
2017, 3rd Round

Republic of Ireland Mick McGowan
1
101.82
2007, 2nd Round

Wales Gerwyn Price
1
101.55
2018, 1st Round

Scotland Robert Thornton
1
101.49
2015, Quarter-Final

England Dennis Priestley
1
101.48
1996, Final

Netherlands Vincent van der Voort
1
101.17
2018, 2nd Round

England Joe Cullen
1
100.88
2017, 1st Round

Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney
1
100.51
2018, 1st Round

Netherlands Christian Kist
1
100.23
2018, 1st Round







































Five highest tournament averages
Average
Player
Year
Reference
106.32

Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
2017
[7]
104.68

Netherlands Michael van Gerwen
2016
[8]
104.63

England Phil Taylor
2010
[9]
104.19

England Adrian Lewis
2010
[9]
104.08

England Phil Taylor
2009
[10]


Records




Most titles: 14, Phil Taylor. Taylor's two BDO titles take his total to 16, a record across both organisations.[11]John Part, Adrian Lewis, Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson share the second place with two PDC titles.[12]


Most finals: 19, Phil Taylor, 1994-2007, 2009-2010, 2013, 2015 and 2018.[13]


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.[14][15][16]


Longest unbeaten run: 44 matches, Phil Taylor, 1995-2003, between his defeats in the 1994 and 2003 finals.


Most 180s in a tournament (total): 708 in 2017. This beat the previous record of 654, set in 2016.[17]


Most 180s in a tournament (individual): 71, Gary Anderson (2017)[18]


Most 180s in a match: 22, Gary Anderson (2017)[19]


Most 180s in a match (both players): 42, Gary Anderson (22) and Michael van Gerwen (20) (2017)


Most appearances: 25, Phil Taylor. Taylor is the only player to have appeared in all 25 editions of the championship.[20]


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,[21] 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.[22]


Won both World Championships: Four players. Dennis Priestley was the first player to win both versions of the World Championship,[23][24] winning the 1991 BDO Championship and the 1994 PDC Championship. Phil Taylor, John Part and Raymond van Barneveld have since matched the feat.[25][26]


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)


Co-presenters




  • Wayne Mardle: (2010–present)


  • Rod Harrington: (2005–present)


  • John Part: (2013–present, previously worked for BBC Sport Darts Coverage 1995–2007)


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 & John Part also commentate)


Former presenters and commentators have been:




  • Dave Lanning: (1993–2010 & 2013, Previously worked for ITV Sport Darts Coverage 1972–1988)


  • John Gwynne: (1993–2013, 2016, Now with Eurosport BDO Darts Coverage 2014–present)


  • Sid Waddell: (1994–2012, Previously worked for BBC Sport Darts Coverage 1978–1994)


  • Jeff Stelling: (1993–2002, 2005)


  • David Bobin: (1994, 2002–2003)


  • Helen Chamberlain: (2003–2009)

  • Jonathan Green: (2000)


  • Eric Bristow: (1993–2016)



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), BBC America (USA), 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), Fox Sports (Italy), Eurosport (Romania) now also broadcast the event.



Viewing figures


Television viewing figures for the final are as follows:
[27]




































































































































Year
Broadcaster

Sky Television
Netherlands
Germany SPORT1
2018
1,400,000
864,000 (RTL 7)
2,700,000
2017
607,000
2,170,000 (RTL 7)[28]
1,480,000[29]
2016
908,000
869,000 (RTL 7)[30]
950,000[31]
2015
1.5 million peak[32]
908,000 (RTL 7)[33]
1,360,000[34]
2014
668,000
2,054,000 (RTL 7)
560,000[35]
2013
1,270,000[36]
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:




  • Skol (1994)


  • Proton Cars (1995)


  • Vernon's Pools (1996)

  • Red Band (1997)


  • Skol (1998–2002)


  • Ladbrokes (2003–2014)


  • William Hill (2015-)



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.[37]



Notes and references





  1. ^ http://tungstentickle.com/hearn-announces-world-championship-shake-up/


  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 7 January 2018. 


  8. ^ "2016 PDC World Championship tournament averages". Darts Database. Retrieved 7 January 2018. 


  9. ^ ab "2010 PDC World Championship tournament averages". Retrieved 7 January 2018. 


  10. ^ "2009 PDC World Championship tournament averages". Darts Database. Retrieved 7 January 2018. 


  11. ^ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentStats.aspx?tournKey=11


  12. ^ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentPlayerStats.aspx?tournKey=11


  13. ^ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentStats.aspx?tournKey=11


  14. ^ "PDC WC Match wins page 1". Darts Database. Retrieved 14 January 2015. 


  15. ^ "PDC WC match wins page 2". Darts Database. Retrieved 14 January 2015. 


  16. ^ "PDC WC match wins page 3". Darts Database. Retrieved 14 January 2015. 


  17. ^ dartsdatabase.co.uk; Total 180s 2015


  18. ^ dartsdatabse.co.uk;
    Most 180's in a tournament



  19. ^ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentPlayerStats.aspx?tournStatKey=8&tournKey=11&pg=1


  20. ^ dartsdatabase.co.uk; tournament appearances


  21. ^ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentStats.aspx?tournKey=11


  22. ^ pdc.tv; Record Viewing Figures


  23. ^ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentDetails.aspx?tournKey=11


  24. ^ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentDetails.aspx?TournKey=2


  25. ^ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentDetails.aspx?tournKey=11


  26. ^ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentDetails.aspx?TournKey=2


  27. ^ BARB viewing figures Archived 2007-10-16 at the Wayback Machine.


  28. ^ [1]. Retrieved on 2017-01-03.


  29. ^ Niemaier, Timo (2017-01-03). "Darts-WM: Neuer Quotenrekord für Sport1 zum Finale - DWDL.de". DWDL.de (in German). Retrieved 2017-12-18. 


  30. ^ [2]. Retrieved on 2017-12-16.


  31. ^ Sülter, Björn (2016-01-04). "SportCheck: Darts-Rekorde, Insel-Showdown & Schanzenfieber". Quotenmeter (in German). Retrieved 2017-12-18. 


  32. ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a619350/gary-andersons-pdc-world-darts-win-pulls-in-viewers-for-sky-sports.html


  33. ^ Kijkonderzoek. Retrieved on 2015-01-05.


  34. ^ http://www.quotenmeter.de/n/75469/der-grosse-wurf-darts-finale-fuehrt-sport1-zu-allzeit-rekord


  35. ^ DWDL: Darts-WM: Sport1 katapultiert sich vor Vox


  36. ^ BARB. BARB. Retrieved on 2013-08-13.


  37. ^ "World Darts Trophy Named After Waddell". Sky News. 13 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2013. 




External links


  • World Championship page on the PDC website








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