PDC World Darts Championship
| William Hill World Darts Championship | |
|---|---|
| Tournament information | |
| Venue |
Alexandra Palace (2008–) Circus Tavern (1994–2007) |
| Location | London |
| Country | England |
| Established | 1994 |
| Organisation(s) | PDC |
| Format | Sets |
| Prize fund | £1,650,000 (2017) |
| Month(s) Played | December/January |
| Current champion(s) | |
 Gary Anderson | |
The PDC 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, overlapping in January with the start of the BDO tournament. The highest profile of the PDC's tournaments, it is held at Alexandra Palace in London and is sponsored by bookmaker William Hill; winners receive the Sid Waddell Trophy, named in honour of the legendary 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 Gary Anderson. With 14 wins from 23 appearances, Phil Taylor has dominated the competition, last winning it in 2013. Other than Taylor, there have only been six other champions. The only other players to win it more than once are John Part (2003 & 2008), Adrian Lewis (2011 & 2012) and Anderson (2015 & 2016). The one-time winners are the inaugural champion Dennis Priestley, and the Dutchmen Raymond van Barneveld (2007) and Michael van Gerwen (2014).
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 2016, the prize fund was increased to £1.5 million, with the World Champion receiving £300,000.[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) | Sponsor | Prize Money | Venue | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total[4] | Champion | Runner-Up | |||||||
| 1994 |  Dennis Priestley (94.38) |
1st | 6–1 | Phil Taylor (90.62) |
Skol | £64,000 | £16,000 | £8,000 | Circus Tavern Purfleet |
| 1995 | Phil Taylor (94.11) |
1st | 6–2 | Rod Harrington (87.15) |
Proton Cars | £55,000 | £12,000 | £6,000 | |
| 1996 | Phil Taylor (98.52) |
2nd | 6–4 | Dennis Priestley (101.48) |
Vernons | £61,000 | £14,000 | £7,000 | |
| 1997 | Phil Taylor (100.92) |
3rd | 6–3 | Dennis Priestley (96.78) |
Red Band | £98,000 | £45,000 | £10,000 | |
| 1998 | Phil Taylor (103.98) |
4th | 6–0 | Dennis Priestley (90.75) |
Skol | £71,000 | £20,000 | ||
| 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) |
£110,000 | £31,000 | £16,400 | ||
| 2001 | Phil Taylor (107.46) |
7th | 7–0 |  John Part (92.58) |
£124,000 | £33,000 | £18,000 | ||
| 2002 | Phil Taylor (98.47) |
8th | 7–0 | Peter Manley (91.35) |
£200,000 | £50,000 | £25,000 | ||
| 2003 | John Part (96.87) |
1st | 7–6 | Phil Taylor (99.98) |
Ladbrokes | ||||
| 2004 | Phil Taylor (96.03) |
9th | 7–6 | Kevin Painter (90.48) |
£256,000 | ||||
| 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 | £150,000 | |||
| 2011 | Adrian Lewis (99.40) |
1st | 7–5 | Gary Anderson (99.41) |
£200,000 | £100,000 | |||
| 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) |
William Hill | £1,250,000 | £120,000 | ||
| 2016 | Gary Anderson (99.26) |
2nd | 7–5 | Adrian Lewis (100.23) |
£1,500,000 | £300,000 | £150,000 | ||
| 2017 | £1,650,000 | £350,000 | £160,000 | ||||||
Records and statistics
Total finalist appearances
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Winner | Runner-up | Finals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor | England |
14 | 4 | 18 |
| 2 | Lewis, AdrianAdrian Lewis | England |
2 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Part, JohnJohn Part | Canada |
2 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Anderson, GaryGary Anderson | Scotland |
2 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | Priestley, DennisDennis Priestley | England |
1 | 4 | 5 |
| 6 | van Barneveld, RaymondRaymond van Barneveld | Netherlands |
1 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | van Gerwen, MichaelMichael van Gerwen | Netherlands |
1 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | Manley, PeterPeter Manley | England |
0 | 3 | 3 |
| 9 | Harrington, RodRod Harrington | England |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Painter, KevinKevin Painter | England |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Dudbridge, MarkMark Dudbridge | England |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Shepherd, KirkKirk Shepherd | England |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Hamilton, AndyAndy Hamilton | England |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Whitlock, SimonSimon Whitlock | Australia |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Wright, PeterPeter Wright | Scotland |
0 | 1 | 1 |
Nine dart Finishes
Nine Nine-darters have been thrown at the World Championship. The first one in 2009.
| Player | Year | Round | Result | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raymond van Barneveld |
2009 | Quarter-Final | Won | Jelle Klaasen |
| Raymond van Barneveld |
2010 | 2nd Round | Won |  Brendan Dolan |
| Adrian Lewis |
2011 | Final | Won | Gary Anderson |
| Dean Winstanley |
2013 | 2nd Round | Lost | Vincent van der Voort |
| Michael van Gerwen |
2013 | Semi Final | Won | James Wade |
| Kyle Anderson |
2014 | 1st Round | Lost | Ian White |
| Terry Jenkins |
2014 | 1st Round | Lost |  Per Laursen |
| Adrian Lewis |
2015 | 3rd Round | Lost | Raymond van Barneveld |
| Gary Anderson |
2016 | Semi-Final | Won | 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 a hundred times.[5] compared to about 20 times in the BDO World Championship.[6]
An average of over 105 in a match in the PDC World Championship has been achieved 22 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:[7] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Player | Year (+ Round) | Opponent | Result |
| 111.21 | Phil Taylor |
2002, 2nd Round | Shayne Burgess |
6–1 |
| 110.94 | Phil Taylor |
2009, Final | Raymond van Barneveld |
7–1 |
| 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 |
| 108.39 | Gary Anderson |
2011, 3rd Round | Andy Smith |
4–0 |
| 108.31 | Raymond van Barneveld |
2013, 1st Round | Michael Smith |
3–0 |
| 108.30 | Phil Taylor |
2006, 3rd Round | Andy Hamilton |
4–0 |
| 107.46 | Phil Taylor |
2001, Final | John Part |
7–0 |
| 107.37 | Phil Taylor |
2010, Quarter-Final | Adrian Lewis |
5–0 |
| Five highest losing averages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Player | Year (+ Round) | Opponent | Result |
| 105.78 | Michael van Gerwen |
2016, 3rd Round | Raymond van Barneveld |
3–4 |
| 103.10 | Peter Wright |
2016, Quarter-Final | Adrian Lewis |
2–5 |
| 102.95 | Adrian Lewis |
2010, Quarter-Final | Phil Taylor |
0–5 |
| 102.78 | Michael Smith |
2015, 3rd Round | Stephen Bunting |
2–4 |
| 102.26 | Dave Chisnall |
2016, 3rd Round | Peter Wright |
3–4 |
| Different players with a 100+ match average - updated 02/01/16 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Total | Highest Av. | Year (+ Round) |
| Phil Taylor |
51 | 111.21 | 2002, 2nd Round |
| Gary Anderson |
13 | 108.39 | 2011, 3rd Round |
| Adrian Lewis |
13 | 106.51 | 2010, 1st Round |
| Michael van Gerwen |
10 | 109.23 | 2016, 2nd Round |
| Raymond van Barneveld |
9 | 108.31 | 2013, 1st Round |
| Simon Whitlock |
6 | 105.37 | 2010, Quarter-Final |
| Peter Wright |
5 | 105.07 | 2014, 3rd Round |
| Jelle Klaasen |
3 | 102.54 | 2016, 1st Round |
| Michael Smith |
3 | 102.78 | 2015, 3rd Round |
| Dave Chisnall |
2 | 102.85 | 2016, 2nd Round |
| Terry Jenkins |
2 | 102.64 | 2012, 3rd Round |
| Andy Hamilton |
2 | 102.04 | 2012, Quarter-Final |
 Richie Burnett |
1 | 103.38 | 2001, 1st Round |
| Co Stompé |
1 | 102.42 | 2010, 3rd Round |
| Stephen Bunting |
1 | 102.34 | 2015, 3rd Round |
| Mick McGowan |
1 | 101.82 | 2007, 2nd Round |
| Robert Thornton |
1 | 101.49 | 2015, Quarter-Final |
| Dennis Priestley |
1 | 101.48 | 1996, Final |
Records
- Most titles: 14, Phil Taylor. Taylor's two BDO titles take his total to 16, a record across both organisations.[8] John Part, Adrian Lewis and Gary Anderson share the second place with two PDC titles.[9]
- Most finals: 18, Phil Taylor, 1994-2007, 2009-2010, 2013 and 2015.[10]
- Most match wins: 100, Phil Taylor, 1994-2015. Taylor has only lost 9 matches at the tournament and reached every final from 1994 until 2008, when he was beaten in the quarter-finals by Wayne Mardle.[11][12][13]
- Longest unbeaten run: 44 matches, Phil Taylor, 1995-2003, between his defeats in the 1994 and 2003 finals.
- Most 180s in a tournament (total): 654 in 2016. This beat the previous record set in 2015, when the tournament total of 625.[14]
- Most 180s in a tournament (individual): 64, Gary Anderson (2015)[15]
- Most 180s in a single match: 21, Raymond van Barneveld (2007)[16]
- Most appearances: 23, Phil Taylor. Taylor is the only player to have appeared in all 23 editions of the championship.[17]
- 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,[18] 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.[19]
- Both versions of World Championship: Four players. Dennis Priestley was the first player to win both versions of the World Championship,[20][21] winning the 1991 BDO Championship and the 1994 PDC Championship. Phil Taylor, John Part and Raymond van Barneveld have since matched the feat.[22][23]
- 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
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 covers the event until RTL7 took over broadcasting. ESPN3 (USA), TSN (Canada), Fox Sports (Australia), SuperSport (South Africa), Ten Sports (India), CCTV (China), Showtime (Middle East), Ukraine TV, Sky New Zealand, IKO (Poland), Starhub (Singapore), Sport1 (Hungary), Meersat (Malaysia), 7TV (Russia), Measat (Indonesia), J Sports (Japan), Fox Sports (Italy) now also broadcast the event.
Viewing figures
Television viewing figures for the final are as follows: [24]
| Year | Broadcaster | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sky Television | Netherlands | Germany SPORT1 | |
| 2015 | 1.5 million peak[25] | 908,000 (RTL 7)[26] | 1,360,000[27] |
| 2014 | 668,000 | 2,054,000 (RTL 7) | 560,000[28] |
| 2013 | 1,270,000[29] | 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.
Sponsor
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)
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.[30]
Notes and references
- ↑ http://tungstentickle.com/hearn-announces-world-championship-shake-up/
- ↑ "PDC championship moves to London". BBC Sport. 2 April 2007. Retrieved 2 April 2007.
- ↑ 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)
- ↑ PDC World Championship prize fund dartsdatabase
- ↑ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentPlayerStats.aspx?tournStatKey=6&tournKey=11&pg=1
- ↑ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentPlayerStats.aspx?tournKey=2
- ↑ dartsdatabase.co.uk; best winning averages
- ↑ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentStats.aspx?tournKey=11
- ↑ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentPlayerStats.aspx?tournKey=11
- ↑ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentStats.aspx?tournKey=11
- ↑ "PDC WC Match wins page 1". Darts Database. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
- ↑ "PDC WC match wins page 2". Darts Database. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
- ↑ "PDC WC match wins page 3". Darts Database. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
- ↑ dartsdatabase.co.uk; Total 180s 2015
- ↑ dartsdatabse.co.uk; Most 180's in a tournament
- ↑ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentPlayerStats.aspx?tournStatKey=8&tournKey=11&pg=1
- ↑ dartsdatabase.co.uk; tournament appearances
- ↑ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentStats.aspx?tournKey=11
- ↑ pdc.tv; Record Viewing Figures
- ↑ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentDetails.aspx?tournKey=11
- ↑ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentDetails.aspx?TournKey=2
- ↑ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentDetails.aspx?tournKey=11
- ↑ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentDetails.aspx?TournKey=2
- ↑ BARB viewing figures
- ↑ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a619350/gary-andersons-pdc-world-darts-win-pulls-in-viewers-for-sky-sports.html
- ↑ Kijkonderzoek. Retrieved on 2015-01-05.
- ↑ http://www.quotenmeter.de/n/75469/der-grosse-wurf-darts-finale-fuehrt-sport1-zu-allzeit-rekord
- ↑ DWDL: Darts-WM: Sport1 katapultiert sich vor Vox
- ↑ BARB. BARB. Retrieved on 2013-08-13.
- ↑ "World Darts Trophy Named After Waddell". Sky News. 13 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2013.