The 2012 PDC World Darts Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2012 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship) was the nineteenth World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The event took place at the Alexandra Palace between 15 December 2011 and 2 January 2012.
Adrian Lewis was the defending champion having won the 2011 tournament. Phil Taylor became the last remaining player to have played in every PDC World Championship, after Dennis Priestley failed to qualify. For the first time players from Malaysia, Portugal and Serbia qualified.
Lewis was able to defend his title against Andy Hamilton in the final with a 7–3 win.
Sid Waddell, having commentated on the BDO World Championship from 1978 to 1994 for the BBC and on the PDC World Championship from 1995 to 2011 for Sky Sports, was forced to miss the 2012 PDC World Championship, having been diagnosed with bowel cancer in September 2011. He died in August 2012.
Format and qualifiers The televised stages features 72 players. The top 32 players in the PDC Order of Merit on 28 November 2011 are seeded for the tournament. They will be joined by the 16 highest non qualified players in the Players Championship Order of Merit from events played on the PDC Pro Tour.
These 48 players are joined by two PDPA qualifiers (to be determined at a PDPA Qualifying event to be held in Wigan on 28 November 2011), the winner of the PDC Youth Tour Order of Merit, and 21 international players: the 4 highest names in the European Order of Merit not already qualified, and 17 further international qualifiers to be determined by the PDC and PDPA.
Some of the international players, such as the 4 from the European Order of Merit, and the top American and Australian players are entered straight into the first round, while others, having won qualifying events in their countries, are entered into the preliminary round.
Order of Merit Phil Taylor Adrian Lewis James Wade Gary Anderson Simon Whitlock Mark Webster Wes Newton Raymond van Barneveld Paul Nicholson Terry Jenkins Mark Walsh Mervyn King Colin Lloyd Ronnie Baxter Wayne Jones Vincent van der Voort Andy Hamilton Jamie Caven Denis Ovens Andy Smith Colin Osborne Kevin Painter Co Stompé Alan Tabern Brendan Dolan Justin Pipe John Part Steve Beaton Steve Brown Peter Wright Robert Thornton Mark Dudbridge
Pro Tour Dave Chisnall Mark Hylton Scott Rand Richie Burnett Michael van Gerwen John Henderson Nigel Heydon Roland Scholten Steve Farmer Magnus Caris James Richardson Dennis Smith Jelle Klaasen Michael Smith Kim Huybrechts Ian White
European Order of MeritFirst round qualifiers Antonio Alcinas Mensur Suljović Jyhan Artut Kurt van de Rijck
PDPA qualifiersFirst round qualifier Arron Monk Preliminary round qualifier Joe Cullen
PDC Youth Tour QualifierPreliminary round qualifier Paul Barham
International qualifiersFirst round qualifiers Darin Young Sean Reed Geoff Kime
Preliminary round qualifiers Dietmar Burger Oliver Ferenc Connie Finnan Warren French Petri Korte Per Laursen Lee Choon Peng Scott MacKenzie Kevin Münch Haruki Muramatsu Dennis Nilsson José de Sousa Ian Perez Devon Petersen
In case a player has to withdraw from the competition, the first reserve player that will take his spot is the third-place finisher in the PDPA qualifier, Chris Thompson. It is the first time a match for third place was held at the qualifier.
Prize money The 2012 World Championship features a prize fund of £1,000,000 – the same as in the previous two years.
The prize money is allocated as follows:
Position (num. of players) Prize money(Total: £1,000,000)Winner (1) £200,000Runner-Up (1) £100,000Semi-finalists (2) £50,000Quarter-finalists (4) £25,000Third round losers (8) £15,000Second round losers (16) £10,000First round losers (32) £6,000Preliminary round losers (8) £3,500Nine-dart finish (0) £10,000
Draw The draw was made on 29 November 2011, live on Sky Sports News by Rod Harrington & Keith Deller.
Preliminary round The format is best of 7 legs. One match is played each day with the winner playing his first-round match that same day. The draw for the preliminary round was held on 28 November 2011.
Player 1 Score Player 2 Paul Barham 76.832–4 Scott MacKenzie 73.23 Haruki Muramatsu 85.224–2 Dennis Nilsson 77.20 Dietmar Burger 67.440–4 Ian Perez 73.32 Kevin Münch 82.744–2 Lee Choon Peng 71.88 Connie Finnan 83.153–4 Warren French 85.88 Per Laursen 89.763–4 Petri Korte 83.31 Joe Cullen 94.634–2 Oliver Ferenc 87.88 Devon Petersen 83.394–3 José de Sousa 75.61
Last 64 The winners of the eight preliminary-round matches joined 56 other players in the first round. The schedule was published on 2 December 2011.
Finals
Rounds 1-4
1 Denis Ovens had to retire due to an injured nerve in his back after the first set. Münch had won the first set 3–0.
Final
Final: Best of 13 sets. Referees: Paul Hinks (first half) and George Noble (second half).Alexandra Palace, London, England, 2 January 2012. (17) Andy Hamilton 3 – 7 Adrian Lewis (2) 2 – 3, 3 – 1, 1 – 3, 3 – 1, 2 – 3, 1 – 3, 3 – 0, 1 – 3, 2 – 3, 2 – 3 90.83 Average (3 darts) 93.06 7 180 scores 11 147 Highest checkout 122 39% (20/51) Checkout summary 42% (23/55)
Statistics {|class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align: right" |- ! Player ! Eliminated ! Played ! Sets Won ! Sets Lost ! Legs Won ! Legs Lost ! 100+ ! 140+ ! 180s ! High checkout ! Average |- |align="left"| Adrian Lewis | Winner | 6 | 29 | 15 | 105 | 78 | 215 | 121 | 50 | 170 | 94.93 |- |align="left"| Andy Hamilton | Runner-up | 6 | 25 | 19 | 100 | 83 | 224 | 101 | 47 | 147 | 96.74 |- |align="left"| Simon Whitlock | Semi-final | 5 | 21 | 11 | 76 | 53 | 161 | 90 | 44 | 170 | 98.15 |- |align="left"| James Wade | Semi-final | 5 | 21 | 11 | 76 | 55 | 204 | 100 | 20 | 157 | 93.60 |- |align="left"| Terry Jenkins | Quarter-final | 4 | 14 | 7 | 49 | 36 | 101 | 77 | 20 | 126 | 96.17 |- |align="left"| Gary Anderson | Quarter-final | 4 | 12 | 10 | 53 | 45 | 113 | 67 | 35 | 151 | 95.87 |- |align="left"| Kim Huybrechts | Quarter-final | 4 | 13 | 7 | 46 | 33 | 95 | 57 | 16 | 128 | 92.63 |- |align="left"| John Part | Quarter-final | 4 | 15 | 8 | 45 | 44 | 108 | 65 | 17 | 167 | 91.40 |- |align="left"| Dave Chisnall | Third round | 3 | 7 | 5 | 28 | 25 | 61 | 36 | 16 | 127 | 95.97 |- |align="left"| Kevin Painter | Third round | 3 | 9 | 8 | 41 | 35 | 98 | 56 | 16 | 134 | 94.07 |- |align="left"| Paul Nicholson | Third round | 3 | 8 | 5 | 29 | 23 | 64 | 46 | 10 | 170 | 93.69 |- |align="left"| Wayne Jones | Third round | 3 | 7 | 5 | 26 | 21 | 74 | 33 | 14 | 116 | 93.05 |- |align="left"| Michael van Gerwen | Third round | 3 | 10 | 6 | 31 | 25 | 71 | 42 | 14 | 158 | 92.62 |- |align="left"| Justin Pipe | Third round | 3 | 8 | 8 | 34 | 34 | 89 | 52 | 13 | 121 | 92.38 |- |align="left"| Colin Lloyd | Third round | 3 | 8 | 6 | 29 | 29 | 72 | 28 | 13 | 167 | 91.03 |- |align="left"| Steve Farmer | Third round | 3 | 7 | 8 | 32 | 32 | 81 | 34 | 12 | 102 | 87.24 |- |align="left"| Phil Taylor |Second round | 2 | 4 | 4 | 19 | 17 | 46 | 23 | 5 | 98 | 100.15 |- |align="left"| Mervyn King | Second round | 2 | 4 | 4 | 19 | 12 | 38 | 25 | 12 | 132 | 98.47 |- |align="left"| Richie Burnett | Second round | 2 | 4 | 6 | 18 | 23 | 51 | 30 | 16 | 136 | 94.78 |- |align="left"| Vincent van der Voort |Second round | 2 | 6 | 6 | 27 | 24 | 70 | 27 | 15 | 148 | 94.68 |- |align="left"| Scott Rand | Second round | 2 | 4 | 4 | 18 | 14 | 29 | 21 | 7 | 140 | 93.75 |- |align="left"| Robert Thornton | Second round | 2 | 5 | 5 | 19 | 23 | 65 | 29 | 8 | 121 | 93.18 |- |align="left"| Mark Walsh | Second round | 2 | 6 | 5 | 22 | 23 | 56 | 36 | 8 | 96 | 92.69 |- |align="left"| Wes Newton | Second round | 2 | 6 | 4 | 24 | 22 | 57 | 29 | 8 | 170 | 91.98 |- |align="left"| Devon Petersen | Second round | 3 | 5 | 6 | 27 | 29 | 64 | 35 | 16 | 120 | 88.46 |- |align="left"| James Richardson | Second round | 2 | 4 | 4 | 18 | 18 | 58 | 28 | 4 | 145 | 88.09 |- |align="left"| Kevin MünchDenis Ovens had to withdraw due to an injured nerve in his back after the first set in the first round. | Second round | 3 | 3 | 4 | 19 | 16 | 38 | 27 | 4 | 155 | 87.66 |- |align="left"| Jelle Klaasen | Second round | 2 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 16 | 38 | 12 | 4 | 120 | 86.57 |- |align="left"| Alan Tabern |Second round | 2 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 19 | 51 | 17 | 5 | 149 | 86.50 |- |align="left"| Co Stompé | Second round | 2 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 17 | 46 | 20 | 7 | 97 | 86.30 |- |align="left"| Steve Beaton | Second round | 2 | 4 | 6 | 20 | 24 | 59 | 21 | 3 | 121 | 86.27 |- |align="left"| Roland Scholten | Second round | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 19 | 31 | 15 | 10 | 138 | 82.50 |- |align="left"| Antonio Alcinas | First round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 24 | 15 | 5 | 123 | 98.76 |- |align="left"| Nigel Heydon | First round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 14 | 39 | 15 | 7 | 100 | 91.30 |- |align="left"| Mark Webster | First round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 13 | 29 | 11 | 9 | 100 | 89.72 |- |align="left"| Mark Hylton | First round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 29 | 17 | 3 | 104 | 89.49 |- |align="left"| Ronnie Baxter | First round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 24 | 14 | 2 | 98 | 88.79 |- |align="left"| Magnus Caris | First round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 11 | 30 | 16 | 2 | 107 | 87.21 |- |align="left"| Kurt van de Rijck | First round | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 22 | 11 | 3 | 136 | 93.84 |- |align="left"| Mensur Suljović | First round | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 30 | 5 | 3 | 121 | 90.36 |- |align="left"| Arron Monk | First round | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 22 | 10 | 3 | 87 | 90.03 |- |align="left"| Ian White | First round | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 26 | 15 | 3 | 64 | 90.02 |- |align="left"| Colin Osborne | First round | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 20 | 11 | 1 | 84 | 89.81 |- |align="left"| Peter Wright | First round | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 17 | 6 | 4 | 83 | 88.40 |- |align="left"| Raymond van Barneveld | First round | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 22 | 5 | 5 | 130 | 91.02 |- |align="left"| Joe Cullen | First round | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 10 | 3 | 83 | 89.01 |- |align="left"| Jyhan Artut | First round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 14 | 23 | 18 | 8 | 116 | 86.94 |- |align="left"| Steve Brown | First round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 12 | 31 | 11 | 3 | 130 | 86.60 |- |align="left"| Warren French | First round | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 33 | 13 | 3 | 70 | 85.59 |- |align="left"| Darin Young | First round | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 23 | 5 | 3 | 118 | 85.31 |- |align="left"| Petri Korte | First round | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 13 | 18 | 9 | 4 | 112 | 84.27 |- |align="left"| Jamie Caven | First round | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 97 | 83.62 |- |align="left"| Sean Reed | First round | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 18 | 8 | 0 | 121 | 82.29 |- |align="left"| Mark Dudbridge | First round | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 16 | 8 | 1 | 82 | 86.74 |- |align="left"| Haruki Muramatsu | First round | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 26 | 16 | 0 | 102 | 86.54 |- |align="left"| Michael Smith | First round | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 23 | 7 | 1 | 25 | 85.45 |- |align="left"| Dennis Smith | First round | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 44 | 84.57 |- |align="left"| Brendan Dolan | First round | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 19 | 6 | 0 | 56 | 82.38 |- |align="left"| John Henderson | First round | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 67 | 80.39 |- |align="left"| Christian Perez | First round | 2 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 30 | 17 | 2 | 110 | 79.67 |- |align="left"| Scott MacKenzie | First round | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 12 | 34 | 10 | 1 | 100 | 79.30 |- |align="left"| Per Laursen | Preliminary round | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 137 | 89.76 |- |align="left"| Oliver Ferenc | Preliminary round | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 32 | 87.88 |- |align="left"| Connie Finnan | Preliminary round | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 121 | 83.15 |- |align="left"| José Oliveira de Sousa | Preliminary round | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 83 | 75.61 |- |align="left"| Lee Choon Peng | Preliminary round | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 120 | 77.88 |-