The 2023 PDC World Darts Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2022/23 Cazoo World Darts Championship) was a professional darts event that took place at Alexandra Palace in London, England, from 15 December 2022 to 3 January 2023. It was the thirtieth World Darts Championship to be organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the now-defunct British Darts Organisation.
Steve Beaton made a record-extending 32nd consecutive World Championship appearance, but lost in the first round to Danny van Trijp, and Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld became the second player to make 30 World Championship appearances. Peter Wright was the defending champion, having defeated Michael Smith in the 2022 final, but he lost 4–1 to Kim Huybrechts in the third round.
Smith defeated Michael van Gerwen 7–4 in the final, winning his first world title and reaching world number one on the PDC Order of Merit for the first time. Smith hit the only nine-dart finish of the tournament in the final, with the score at 1–0 in sets to van Gerwen and 1–1 in legs, when van Gerwen had thrown eight darts at trebles and missed a dart at double 12 for a nine-dart finish himself in the same leg. Broadcasters and commentators subsequently labelled the leg as the greatest in the history of darts.
Overview
In January 2022, it was announced that online car retailer Cazoo would become the new title sponsor on a multi-year deal. The deal brought an end to 20 years of the tournament being sponsored by bookmakers, with Ladbrokes sponsoring the event from 2003 to 2014, before William Hill's sponsorship of the event began the following year. The deal was Cazoo's fifth title sponsorship within the PDC, following deals to secure the naming rights for the World Cup of Darts, the European Championship, the Grand Slam of Darts, and the Premier League Darts. Japanese company Toyo Tires also sponsored the event, with their logo being worn on the sleeves of all 96 players.
As part of a four-year contract extension signed in 2021, the event was staged at Alexandra Palace in London. The same venue has been used since the 2008 championship. The dartboard used for the event was the Winmau Blade 6 Triple Core, used for the first time at a PDC World Championship following the end of the PDC's 25-year partnership with manufacturer Unicorn in January 2022.
Dutchman Michael van Gerwen went into the event widely seen as the favourite to lift his fourth championship, with Sky Sports pundits Wayne Mardle and Mark Webster both backing him, while rival Gerwyn Price of Wales declared him as "the one to beat". Van Gerwen himself said that he had nothing to prove, but warned his rivals that "there is only more to come", but acknowledged that as he was a favourite he was a "big target". Ladbrokes, who returned to sponsoring the event as an "official betting partner", gave odds of 13/5 for Van Gerwen.
Wright's own preparations received a setback in November when his wife was rushed to hospital during the Grand Slam, following which he pulled out of the Players Championship Finals, but he told Oche magazine that he would return in time to defend his championship.
Prize money The prize money for the tournament remained at £2.5 million in total for the fifth year in a row, with the winner's share totalling £500,000. Additionally, a special jackpot of £100,000 was created by tournament sponsors Selco in the event a player hit two nine-dart finishes, with the player receiving £50,000 and the remainder split between Cancer Research UK and a member of the public chosen at random. Gerwyn Price described it as a "great initiative", particularly amid the cost of living crisis in the United Kingdom. In addition, the winner of the tournament receives the Sid Waddell Trophy, named after the former commentator who died in 2012.
Position (no. of players)Prize money(Total: £2,500,000)Winner (1) £500,000Runner-up (1) £200,000Semi-finalists (2) £100,000Quarter-finalists (4) £50,000Fourth round losers (8) £35,000Third round losers (16) £25,000Second round losers (32) £15,000First round losers (32) £7,500
Format All matches were played as single in, double out – requiring the players to score 501 points to win a leg, finishing on either a double or the bullseye. Matches were played in set format, with each set being the best of five legs (first to three).
For all rounds except the first, the deciding set had to be won by two or more clear legs; however, if the set score went to 5–5, a sudden-death leg was played with no throw for the bull.
RoundBest of (sets)First to (sets)First53SecondThird74FourthQuarter-finals 9 5Semi-finals 11 6Final 13 7
Qualification 96 players competed in the championship, with the thirty-two highest ranked players on the PDC Order of Merit being seeded to the second round, and the next thirty-two highest ranked players from the 2022 PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit and thirty-two players from the various qualifiers going into the first round.
Seeds
2021 PDC World Champion and 2022 World Series Finals winner Gerwyn Price was top of the two-year PDC Order of Merit and number one seed going into the tournament. Reigning champion from 2022 Peter Wright, who was also champion in 2020, was second seed and Michael van Gerwen, the three-time World Champion from 2014, 2017 and 2019, was third seed; having in 2022 won four major titles; the Premier League, the World Matchplay, the World Grand Prix and the Players Championship Finals. As well as Price, Wright and Van Gerwen, three other previous PDC world champions qualified as seeds; 2018 champion Rob Cross was the 6th seed, and 2015 and 2016 champion Gary Anderson was 11th seeded. 2007 champion Raymond van Barneveld was the 32nd and final seed, qualifying for his 30th world championship and becoming only the second player to do. 2014 BDO World Champion Stephen Bunting qualified as 21st seed as one of two BDO champions to qualify as seeds, alongside four-time BDO champion Van Barneveld.
The top seeds behind Price, Wright and Van Gerwen were 2022 Grand Slam of Darts champion Michael Smith, four-time 2022 European Tour event winner Luke Humphries, Cross, Jonny Clayton, and James Wade. Other 2022 major event champions to qualify as seeds were the 9th seeded UK Open champion Dutchman Danny Noppert, Masters champion Joe Cullen at 13th seed, European Champion Ross Smith in 19th with Damon Heta, one half of the victorious Australian World Cup team, one place below him in 20th.
Pro Tour qualification Northern Irish newcomer Josh Rock, an event winner on the 2022 PDC Pro Tour and 2022 World Youth Champion, was the highest-ranked non-seed on the 2022 PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit in his debut year. 2011 and 2012 champion Adrian Lewis was a qualifier via the Pro Tour. 1996 BDO champion Steve Beaton also qualified, extending his record to 32 consecutive World Championship appearances.
As well as Rock, other players making their debuts were Martin Lukeman, Scott Williams, Danny Jansen, Cameron Menzies, John O'Shea and Adam Gawlas. Other players qualifying via the Pro Tour included Heta's World Cup of Darts teammate Simon Whitlock.
International qualifiers The final group of 32 qualifiers were determined by a series of international qualifiers and secondary tours. The PDC Development and Challenge Tours, having been split into UK and EU sections in 2021, were restored as unified tours, with the top two from each tour qualifying. A new Asian Championship was held for the first time, with the four semi-finalists from that event qualifying for the World Championship. The Euro-Asian Darts Corporation qualifier, which was predominately contested by players from Russia and Belarus, was cancelled after both countries were suspended in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. In its place, a special qualifier was held for Ukrainian players only, with Vladyslav Omelchenko becoming the first Ukrainian player to qualify for the World Championship. The North American Championship was held for the first time since 2019, having been cancelled the previous two years due to COVID-19 restrictions. Qualification events were additionally held for Eastern Europe, Western Europe, South-West Europe, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Central/Southern America, Japan, China & India, as well as top players from the Nordic & Baltic tour and the North American Championship Darts Circuit qualifying.
Four-time BDO Women's World Champion Lisa Ashton and inaugural WDF Women's World Champion Beau Greaves qualified via the PDC Women's Tour. The first Women's World Matchplay, held in July 2022, was retrospectively declared to carry a World Championship spot in November, granting qualification to Fallon Sherrock, the only woman to have previously won a match at the event. 2022 World Seniors Darts Masters champion David Cameron was another qualifier, having been the highest ranked Canadian player on the Championship Darts Circuit. The final three places were awarded by a qualifier for non-qualified PDC Tour Card holders, with 1995 BDO World Champion Richie Burnett qualifying for the first time since 2014, and Ryan Joyce and Canadian Jeff Smith also returning to the World Championship.
Debutants via the international and invitation qualifiers were Sebastian Białecki (Poland), David Cameron (Canada), Mal Cuming (Australia), Leonard Gates (United States), Beau Greaves (England), Xicheng Han (China), Prakash Jiwa (India), Paolo Nebrida (Philippines), Vladyslav Omelchenko (Ukraine), Robert Owen (Wales), Nathan Rafferty (Northern Ireland), Grant Sampson (South Africa), Danny van Trijp (Netherlands), and Nobuhiro Yamamoto (Japan).
List of qualifiers
Order of MeritSecond round (seeded) (quarter-finals) (third round) (runner-up) (champion) (fourth round) (fourth round) (quarter-finals) (second round) (third round) (third round) (third round) (third round) (fourth round) (fourth round) (semi-finals) (third round) (fourth round) (third round) (third round) (third round) (quarter-finals) (quarter-finals) (second round) (second round) (semi-finals) (third round) (third round) (third round) (third round) (third round) (fourth round)
Pro Tour Order of MeritFirst round (fourth round) (second round) (second round) (second round) (second round)
(second round) (third round) (second round) (second round) (first round) (first round) (second round) (first round) (first round) (second round) (fourth round) (second round) (first round) (first round) (second round) (second round) (first round) (second round) (second round) (second round) (second round) (first round) (first round) (second round) (first round) (second round)
International qualifiersFirst round – PDC Women's Series (first round) – CDC Tour US Player (second round) – East Europe Qualifier (first round) – PDC Tour Card Holder Qualifier (first round) – CDC Tour Canadian Player (second round) – DPA Oceanic Masters (first round)
– PDC Women's Series (first round) – PDC China Premier League (first round) – German Super League (second round) – West Europe Qualifier (second round) – Asian Championship (second round) – Indian Qualifier (first round) – PDC Tour Card Holder Qualifier (first round) – South-West Europe Qualifier (first round) – PDC Nordic & Baltic (second round) – PDC Nordic & Baltic (first round) – Asian Championship (first round) – Ukrainian Qualifier (first round) – PDC Challenge Tour (first round) – Asian Championship (first round) – Central/South America Qualifier (first round) – PDC Development Tour (second round) – DPNZ Qualifier (first round) – African Qualifier (second round) – Women's World Matchplay (first round) – PDC Tour Card Holder Qualifier (first round) – DPA Satellite Tour (first round) – Asian Championship (first round) – PDC Challenge Tour (second round) – PDC Development Tour (second round) – PDJ Championship (first round)
Summary