The PDC World Darts Championship, officially known as the Paddy Power World Darts Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a world championship competition held annually in the sport of darts. The championship begins in December and ends in January and has been held at Alexandra Palace in London since 2008. Organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), it is the most prestigious of their tournaments, with the winner receiving the Sid Waddell Trophy, named in honour of the darts commentator Sid Waddell. Along with the Premier League Darts and World Matchplay, it is part of the Triple Crown.
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 were then free to choose which world championship to enter (but not both in the same year), as long as they met certain eligibility criteria. Both organisations continued to organize their own world championship until the 2020 editions, after which the BDO folded.
There have been thirteen different winners since the tournament's inception. With 14 wins from 25 appearances, Phil Taylor dominated the competition until last winning it in 2013. Other players to win more than once are John Part (2003 & 2008), Adrian Lewis (2011 & 2012), Gary Anderson (2015 & 2016), Michael van Gerwen (2014, 2017 & 2019), Peter Wright (2020 & 2022) and Luke Littler (2025 & 2026). The one-time winners are the inaugural champion Dennis Priestley (1994), Raymond van Barneveld (2007), Rob Cross (2018), Gerwyn Price (2021), Michael Smith (2023) and Luke Humphries (2024).
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, 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 champion collecting £200,000.
The 2014 and 2015 PDC world champions collected £250,000 for their wins. For the next three years, the winner's share increased by £50,000 each year culminating in a 2018 prize fund of £1.8 million. The prize fund for the tournament was £2.5 million with £500,000 to the winner from 2019. The 2025/26 World Championship will see the field expand to 128 players with the prize fund increasing to £5 million with a record £1 million to the champion.
In the 2001 PDC World Darts Championship Gayl King became the first woman to play in the PDC World Darts Championship. Since then Anastasia Dobromyslova, Deta Hedman, Lisa Ashton, Fallon Sherrock, Mikuru Suzuki, Beau Greaves and Noa-Lynn van Leuven have all played in the PDC World Darts Championship. In the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship Sherrock became the first woman to defeat a man in the PDC World Darts Championship, when she defeated Ted Evetts. In the next round she also defeated Mensur Suljovic before losing to Chris Dobey. Sherrock remains the only woman to defeat a man in the PDC World Darts Championship.
Venue The tournament 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. Currently, the play takes place inside the venue's West Hall, which has a capacity of 3,200. From the edition of 2027, the play will take place at the Great Hall, which expands the capacity to 5,000.pdc.tv
List of finals Year Champion (average in final)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) Score Runner-up (average in final) Prize money TotalPDC World Championship prize fund dartsdatabase Champion Runner-up 1994 6–1 £64,000 £16,000 £8,000 1995 6–2 £55,000 £12,000 £6,000 1996 6–4 £62,500 £14,000 £7,000 1997 6–3 £99,500 £45,000 £10,000 1998 6–0 £72,500 £20,000 1999 6–2 £104,000 £30,000 £16,000 2000 7–3 £111,000 £31,000 £16,400 2001 7–0 £125,000 £33,000 £18,000 2002 7–0 £205,000 £50,000 £25,000 2003 7–6 £237,000 2004 7–6 £257,000 2005 7–4 £300,000 £60,000 £30,000 2006 7–0 £500,000 £100,000 £50,000 2007 7–6 2008 7–2 £589,000 2009 7–1 £724,000 £125,000 £60,000 2010 7–3 £1,000,000 £200,000 £100,000 2011 7–5 2012 7–3 2013 7–4 2014 7–4 £1,050,000 £250,000 2015 7–6 £1,250,000 £120,000 2016 7–5 £1,500,000 £300,000 £150,000 2017 7–3 £1,650,000 £350,000 £160,000 2018 7–2 £1,800,000 £400,000 £170,000 20197–3 £2,500,000 £500,000 £200,000 20207–3 20217–3 20227–5 20237–4 2024 7–4 2025 7–3 2026 7–1 £5,000,000 £1,000,000 £400,000
Records and statistics
Total finalist appearances Rank Player Winner Runner-up Finals 11451925234718323516421318213182131621338145199123141011218111018101810111140331315011100111701110011401115011130113 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 CountryPlayersTotalFirst titleLast title722199420262420072019242015202212200320081120212021
Nine-dart finishes Sixteen nine-dart finishes have been thrown at the World Championship. The first one was in 2009. Two have been made in world finals: firstly by Adrian Lewis in 2011 and then Michael Smith in 2023. NumberPlayerYear (+ Round)MethodOpponentResult1.2009, Quarter-Final3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Won2.2010, 2nd Round3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Won3.2011, Final3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Won4.2013, 2nd Round3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Lost5.2013, Semi-Final3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12Won6.2014, 1st Round3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Lost7.2014, 1st Round3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Lost8.2015, 3rd Round3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Lost9.2016, Semi-Final3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Won10.2021, 3rd Round3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Lost11.2022, 1st Round3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12Won12.2022, 1st RoundLost13.2022, Quarter-Final3 x T20; 3 x T20; T19, T20, D12Lost14.2023, Final3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Won15.2025, 1st RoundLost16.2025, 3rd Round3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Lost
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.
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.
Ten highest PDC World Championship one-match averagesdartsdatabase.co.uk; best winning averagesAveragePlayerYear (+Round)OpponentResult114.052017, Semi-Final6–2111.212002, 2nd Round6–1110.942009, Final7–1109.342017, Semi-Final2–6109.232016, 2nd Round4–0109.002007, 2nd Round4–1108.982021, 2nd Round3–1108.802009, Quarter-Final5–0108.742024, Semi-Final6–0108.652018, 2nd Round4–0
Five highest losing averagesAveragePlayerYear (+Round)OpponentResult109.342017, Semi-Final2–6106.092019, 2nd Round1–3106.072017, 2nd Round2–4105.782016, 3rd Round3–4104.932017, Final3–7
Players with 5 or more 100+ match average (updated 3 January 2026)PlayerTotalHighest Av.Year (+Round)56111.212002, 2nd Round42114.052017, Semi-Final26108.392011, 3rd Round16107.092026, 3rd Round16105.862020, Quarter-Final15106.512010, 1st Round13109.34 2017, Semi-Final13106.322022, 2nd Round7107.672018, Final7107.342021, Quarter-Final7107.282024, 2nd Round7105.372010, Quarter-Final6108.742026, Quarter-Final6105.612021, 2nd Round5104.202020, 3rd Round5103.092024, 2nd Round
Ten highest tournament averages (min 3 matches)AveragePlayerYearRound (+ result)Reference106.372017Final (won)104.6820163rd Round104.632010Final (won)104.192010Quarter-Final104.082009Final (won)104.052018Semi-Final103.982026Final (won)103.642021Quarter-Final103.452017Final (loss)103.382019Final (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.
Records Most titles: 14, Phil Taylor. Taylor's two BDO titles take his total to 16, a record across both organisations. Most finals: 19, Phil Taylor, 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, Phil Taylor, 1994–2018. Taylor has only lost 11 matches at the tournament and reached every final from 1994 until 2007, before being beaten in the quarter-finals by Wayne Mardle in 2008. Longest unbeaten run: 44 matches, Phil Taylor, 1995–2003, between his defeats in the 1994 and 2003 finals. Most 180s in a tournament (total): 1,127 (2026). Most 180s in a tournament (individual): 83, Michael Smith (2022) Most 180s in a match: 24, Peter Wright (2022 semi-final) and Michael Smith (2022 final) 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 Highest Average for one set: 140.91, Luke Littler, 2nd round 2025 championship. Most appearances: 25, Phil Taylor. Youngest player: Mitchell Clegg, 16 years and 37 days in 2007. Clegg had qualified as a 15-year-old. He was younger than Michael van Gerwen, who set the BDO World Championship youngest player record a few weeks later. Youngest finalist: Luke Littler, 16 years and 347 days in the 2024 final. Littler was 4 years and 106 days younger than Kirk Shepherd, who reached the final in 2008. Record TV audience UK: 3.71 million (2024 final) Record TV audience outside UK: 3.10 million peak viewership and 2.19 million average viewership (2025 Final). The record was set during the German broadcast (Sport1) of the 2025 final between Michael van Gerwen and Luke Littler. Won both World Championships: Four players. Dennis Priestley was the first player to win both versions of the World Championship, winning the 1991 BDO Championship and the 1994 PDC Championship. Phil Taylor, John Part and Raymond van Barneveld have since matched the feat. 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. Youngest World Champion: Luke Littler was 17 years 11 months and 13 days 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 world title in 2013. Oldest Player to win a match: Paul Lim was 71 years and 323 days when he won a match in 2026 event. Youngest Player to win a match: Luke Littler was 16 years and 333 days when he won a match in 2024 event.
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 presented in High Definition (HD). Their coverage is currently presented from a studio overlooking the interior of the Alexandra Palace venue.