World Professional Darts Championship

The World Professional Darts Championship is the most important tournament in the darts calendar. Originally held as an annual event between 1978 and 1993, players then broke off into two separate organisations after a controversial split in the game. Each organisation, the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) then arranged their own World Championships, the former in January the latter in December. As a result, there was no longer a unified world champion in the sport for nearly three decades.

The BDO version dated back to 1978, when it was held at the Heart of the Midlands nightclub, Nottingham. The following year it moved to the Jollees Cabaret Club, Stoke, where it stayed until 1985. From then until 2019 it was held at the Lakeside Leisure Complex at Frimley Green, Surrey. In 2020 the tournament was held at The O2 Arena in London. The BDO went into liquidation in 2020 and the World Darts Federation announced later that they would be creating their own version of a World Championship, returning to the Lakeside Leisure Complex. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, their version didn't get underway until 2022. Since qualification for the BDO version was always based on WDF rankings, most of the player pool and legacy of this new version of the World Championship is based on the old BDO system.

The PDC version has been running since 1994 after "the split", with a field of players containing all active previous World Champions from the BDO. It was originally staged at Purfleet's Circus Tavern, Essex, before moving to its current home Alexandra Palace, London, for the 2008 World Championship.

Men's winners

World Darts Council / Professional Darts Corporation British Darts Organisation World Darts Federation Year Champion Year Champion Year Champion 1978 1978 Leighton Rees def. John Lowe, 11–7 (legs) 1978 1979 1979 John Lowe def. Leighton Rees, 5–0 1979 1980 1980 Eric Bristow def. Bobby George, 5–3 1980 1981 1981 Eric Bristow def. John Lowe, 5–3 1981 1982 1982 Jocky Wilson def. John Lowe, 5–3 1982 1983 1983 Keith Deller def. Eric Bristow, 6–5 1983 1984 1984 Eric Bristow def. Dave Whitcombe, 7–1 1984 1985 1985 Eric Bristow def. John Lowe, 6–2 1985 1986 1986 Eric Bristow def. Dave Whitcombe, 6–0 1986 1987 1987 John Lowe def. Eric Bristow, 6–4 1987 1988 1988 Bob Anderson def. John Lowe, 6–4 1988 1989 1989 Jocky Wilson def. Eric Bristow, 6–4 1989 1990 1990 Phil Taylor def. Eric Bristow, 6–1 1990 1991 1991 Dennis Priestley def. Eric Bristow, 6–0 1991 1992 1992 Phil Taylor def. Mike Gregory, 6–5 1992 1993 1993 John Lowe def. Alan Warriner, 6–3 1993 1994 Dennis Priestley def. Phil Taylor, 6–1 1994 John Part def. Bobby George, 6–0 1994 1995 Phil Taylor def. Rod Harrington, 6–2 1995 Richie Burnett def. Raymond van Barneveld, 6–3 1995 1996 Phil Taylor def. Dennis Priestley, 6–4 1996 Steve Beaton def. Richie Burnett, 6–3 1996 1997 Phil Taylor def. Dennis Priestley, 6–3 1997 Les Wallace def. Marshall James, 6–3 1997 1998 Phil Taylor def. Dennis Priestley, 6–0 1998 Raymond van Barneveld def. Richie Burnett, 6–5 1998 1999 Phil Taylor def. Peter Manley, 6–2 1999 Raymond van Barneveld def. Ronnie Baxter, 6–5 1999 2000 Phil Taylor def. Dennis Priestley, 7–3 2000 Ted Hankey def. Ronnie Baxter, 6–0 2000 2001 Phil Taylor def. John Part, 7–0 2001 John Walton def. Ted Hankey, 6–2 2001 2002 Phil Taylor def. Peter Manley, 7–0 2002 Tony David def. Mervyn King, 6–4 2002 2003 John Part def. Phil Taylor, 7–6 2003 Raymond van Barneveld def. Ritchie Davies, 6–3 2003 2004 Phil Taylor def. Kevin Painter, 7–6 2004 Andy Fordham def. Mervyn King, 6–3 2004 2005 Phil Taylor def. Mark Dudbridge, 7–4 2005 Raymond van Barneveld def. Martin Adams, 6–2 2005 2006 Phil Taylor def. Peter Manley, 7–0 2006 Jelle Klaasen def. Raymond van Barneveld, 7–5 2006 2007 Raymond van Barneveld def. Phil Taylor, 7–6 2007 Martin Adams def. Phill Nixon, 7–6 2007 2008 John Part def. Kirk Shepherd, 7–2 2008 Mark Webster def. Simon Whitlock, 7–5 2008 2009 Phil Taylor def. Raymond van Barneveld, 7–1 2009 Ted Hankey def. Tony O'Shea, 7–6 2009 2010 Phil Taylor def. Simon Whitlock, 7–3 2010 Martin Adams def. Dave Chisnall, 7–5 2010 2011 Adrian Lewis def. Gary Anderson, 7–5 2011 Martin Adams def. Dean Winstanley, 7–5 2011 2012 Adrian Lewis def. Andy Hamilton, 7–3 2012 Christian Kist def. Tony O'Shea, 7–5 2012 2013 Phil Taylor def. Michael van Gerwen, 7–4 2013 Scott Waites def. Tony O'Shea, 7–1 2013 2014 Michael van Gerwen def. Peter Wright, 7–4 2014 Stephen Bunting def. Alan Norris, 7–4 2014 2015 Gary Anderson def. Phil Taylor, 7–6 2015 Scott Mitchell def. Martin Adams, 7–6 2015 2016 Gary Anderson def. Adrian Lewis, 7–5 2016 Scott Waites def. Jeff Smith, 7–1 2016 2017 Michael van Gerwen def. Gary Anderson, 7–3 2017 Glen Durrant def. Danny Noppert, 7–3 2017 2018 Rob Cross def. Phil Taylor, 7–2 2018 Glen Durrant def. Mark McGeeney, 7–6 2018 2019 Michael van Gerwen def. Michael Smith, 7–3 2019 Glen Durrant def. Scott Waites, 7–3 2019 2020 Peter Wright def. Michael van Gerwen, 7–3 2020 Wayne Warren def. Jim Williams, 7–4 2020 2021 Gerwyn Price def. Gary Anderson, 7–3 2021 2021 2022 Peter Wright def. Michael Smith, 7–5 2022 2022 Neil Duff def. Thibault Tricole, 6–5 2023 Michael Smith def. Michael van Gerwen, 7–4 2023 2023 Andy Baetens def. Chris Landman, 6–1 2024 Luke Humphries def. Luke Littler, 7–4 2024 2024 Shane McGuirk def. Paul Lim, 6–3 2025 Luke Littler def. Michael van Gerwen, 7–3 2025 2025 Jimmy van Schie def. Mitchell Lawrie, 6–3 2026 Luke Littler def. Gian van Veen, 7–1 2026 2026

By player The following sortable table lists all winners of the men's world championships listed above, separated by organising body/championship (correct as of 3 January 2026). Rank Player Titles WDC/PDC BDO WDF Winning years1 Phil Taylor16142–1990, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 20132 Eric Bristow5–5–1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986 Raymond van Barneveld514–1998, 1999, 2003, 2005, 20074 John Lowe3–3–1979, 1987, 1993 John Part321–1994, 2003, 2008 Martin Adams3–3–2007, 2010, 2011 Glen Durrant3–3–2017, 2018, 2019 Michael van Gerwen33––2014, 2017, 20199 Jocky Wilson2–2–1982, 1989 Dennis Priestley211–1991, 1994 Ted Hankey2–2–2000, 2009 Adrian Lewis22––2011, 2012 Scott Waites2–2–2013, 2016 Gary Anderson22––2015, 2016 Peter Wright22––2020, 2022 Luke Littler22––2025, 202617 Leighton Rees1–1–1978 Keith Deller1–1–1983 Bob Anderson1–1–1988 Richie Burnett1–1–1995 Steve Beaton1–1–1996 Les Wallace1–1–1997 John Walton1–1–2001 Tony David1–1–2002 Andy Fordham1–1–2004 Jelle Klaasen1–1–2006 Mark Webster1–1–2008 Christian Kist1–1–2012 Stephen Bunting1–1–2014 Scott Mitchell1–1–2015 Rob Cross11––2018 Wayne Warren1–1–2020 Gerwyn Price11––2021 Neil Duff1––12022 Michael Smith11––2023 Andy Baetens1––12023 Luke Humphries11––2024 Shane McGuirk1––12024 Jimmy van Schie1––12025

By country The following sortable table lists all winners of the men's world championships listed above, separated by organising body/championship (correct as of 3 January 2026). Country Total WDC/PDC BDO WDF 502228– 11461 743– 514– 321– 1–1– 1––1 1––1 1––1

Highest average progression

Average Seed Player Score Opponent Stage Year 97.49 3 Leighton Rees 6–3 Alan Evans QF 1978 99.00 5 John Lowe 2–0 Tony Brown 1st 1984 100.29 unseeded Keith Deller 2–4 John Lowe QF 1985 100.80 unseeded Phil Taylor 5–0 Cliff Lazarenko SF 1990 102.63 1 Dennis Priestley 3–0 Jocky Wilson 1st 1993 103.98 1 Phil Taylor 6–0 Dennis Priestley F 1998 105.03 3 Phil Taylor 3–0 Reg Harding 1st 1999 105.87 2 Phil Taylor 6–0 Alan Warriner QF 2000 107.46 2 Phil Taylor 7–0 John Part F 2001 111.21 2 Phil Taylor 6–1 Shayne Burgess 2nd 2002 114.05 1 Michael van Gerwen 6–2 Raymond van Barneveld SF 2017

Women's winners

World Darts Federation (formerly British Darts Organisation)

YearWinnerScoreRunner-up 2001 Trina Gulliver 2–1 Mandy Solomons 2002 Trina Gulliver 2–1 Francis Hoenselaar 2003 Trina Gulliver 2–0 Anne Kirk 2004 Trina Gulliver 2–0 Francis Hoenselaar 2005 Trina Gulliver 2–0 Francis Hoenselaar 2006 Trina Gulliver 2–0 Francis Hoenselaar 2007 Trina Gulliver 2–1 Francis Hoenselaar 2008 Anastasia Dobromyslova 2–0 Trina Gulliver 2009 Francis Hoenselaar 2–1 Trina Gulliver 2010 Trina Gulliver 2–0 Rhian Edwards 2011 Trina Gulliver 2–0 Rhian Edwards 2012 Anastasia Dobromyslova 2–1 Deta Hedman 2013 Anastasia Dobromyslova 2–1 Lisa Ashton 2014 Lisa Ashton 3–2 Deta Hedman 2015 Lisa Ashton 3–1 Fallon Sherrock2016 Trina Gulliver 3–2 Deta Hedman 2017 Lisa Ashton 3–0 Corrine Hammond 2018 Lisa Ashton 3–1 Anastasia Dobromyslova 2019 Mikuru Suzuki 3–0 Lorraine Winstanley 2020 Mikuru Suzuki 3–0 Lisa Ashton 2022 Beau Greaves 4–0 Kirsty Hutchinson 2023 Beau Greaves 4–1 Aileen de Graaf 2024 Beau Greaves 4–1 Sophie McKinlay 2025 Deta Hedman 4–1 Lerena Rietbergen

Professional Darts Corporation

YearWinnerScoreRunner-up 2010 Stacy Bromberg 6–5 (legs) Tricia Wright

By player The following sortable table lists all winners of all versions of the World Championship (correct as of 10 December 2023). PlayerTotalWDF(BDO)PDC Trina Gulliver1010– Lisa Ashton44– Anastasia Dobromyslova33– Beau Greaves33– Mikuru Suzuki22– Francis Hoenselaar11– Deta Hedman 11- Stacy Bromberg1–1

By country The following sortable table lists all winners of all versions of the World Championship (correct as of 7 December 2025). PlayerTotalWDF(BDO)PDC 1818– 33– 22– 11– 1–1

Youth winners The British Darts Organisation scores are sets, while the Professional Darts Corporation scores are legs.

British Darts Organisation YearWinnerScoreRunner-up 1986 Mark Day 3–1 Lee Woodrow 1987 Rowan Barry 3–2 Harith Lim 2015 Colin Roelofs 3–0 Harry Ward 2016 Joshua Richardson 3–2 Jordan Boyce 2017 Justin van Tergouw 3–2 Nathan Girvan 2018 Justin van Tergouw 3–1 Killian Hefferman 2019 Leighton Bennett 3–0 Nathan Girvan 2020 Keane Barry 3–0 Leighton Bennett

Professional Darts Corporation (current sponsors: Winmau) YearWinnerScoreRunner-up 2011 Arron Monk 6–4 Michael van Gerwen 2012 James Hubbard 6–3 Michael van Gerwen 2013 Michael Smith 6–1 Ricky Evans 2014 Keegan Brown 6–4 Rowby-John Rodriguez 2015 Max Hopp 6–5 Nathan Aspinall 2016 Corey Cadby 6–2 Berry van Peer 2017 Dimitri Van den Bergh 6–3 Josh Payne 2018 Dimitri Van den Bergh 6–3 Martin Schindler 2019 Luke Humphries 6–0 Adam Gawlas 2020 Bradley Brooks 6–5 Joe Davis 2021 Ted Evetts 6–4 Nathan Rafferty 2022 Josh Rock 6–1 Nathan Girvan 2023 Luke Littler 6–4 Gian van Veen 2024 Gian van Veen 6–5 Jurjen van der Velde 2025 Gian van Veen 6–3 Beau Greaves

Nine-dart finishes Seventeen nine-dart finishes have been thrown at the World Championship. The first one was thrown by Paul Lim in the 1990 BDO World championship, while the following were thrown in the PDC World Championship.

Two have been made in world finals: firstly by Adrian Lewis in 2011 and then Michael Smith in 2023. NumberPlayerYear (+ Round)MethodOpponentResult1.1990, 2nd Round3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Won2.2009, Quarter-Final3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Won3.2010, 2nd Round3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Won4. 2011, Final3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Won5.2013, 2nd Round3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Lost6.2013, Semi-Final3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12Won7.2014, 1st Round3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Lost8.2014, 1st Round3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Lost9.2015, 3rd Round3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Lost10.2016, Semi-Final3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Won11.2021, 3rd Round3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Lost12.2022, 1st Round3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12Won13.2022, 1st RoundLost14.2022, Quarter-Final3 x T20; 3 x T20; T19, T20, D12Lost15.2023, Final3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Won16.2025, 1st RoundLost17.2025, 3rd Round3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12Lost

References