1996 WDC World Darts Championship
| Vernons World Darts Championship | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament information | |||
| Venue | Circus Tavern | ||
| Location | Purfleet, Essex | ||
| Country | England | ||
| Organisation(s) | PDC (WDC) | ||
| Format |
Sets Final – best of 11 | ||
| Prize fund | £61,000 | ||
| Winners share | £14,000 | ||
| Champion(s) | |||
 Phil Taylor | |||
| |||
The 1996 Vernons World Darts Championships was the third year that the Professional Darts Corporation (then known as the World Darts Council) held their own World Championships following an acrimonious split from the British Darts Organisation during 1992/93. The tournament had its third sponsor in as many years, with Vernons taking over from Proton Cars.
Although he hadn't officially announced his retirement, Jocky Wilson had played his last competitive televised match at the World Matchplay in Blackpool in the summer of 1995 so missed out on the World Championship for the first time since the 1979 Embassy Championship. Nigel Justice and Steve Raw were the two English players making their WDC World Championship debuts.
Phil Taylor gained revenge for his 1994 final defeat against Dennis Priestley to retain his title - his fourth overall World Championship victory.
Seeds
Prize money
The prize fund was £61,000.
- Champion: £14,000
- Runner-Up: £7,000
- Semi-Finalists (2): £4,000
- Quarter-Finalists (4): £2,500
- Group RU (8): £1,500
- Group 3rd (8): £1,250
Results
1st Round - Group Stages
- Group 1
- Gerald Verrier (USA) - Bob Anderson (Eng) 1 - 3
- Gerald Verrier (USA) - Jamie Harvey (Sco) 2 - 3
- Bob Anderson (Eng) - Jamie Harvey (Sco) 2 - 3
- Group 2
- Larry Butler (USA) - Nigel Justice (Eng) 3 - 2
- Rod Harrington (Eng) - Nigel Justice (Eng) 3 - 0
- Larry Butler (USA) - Rod Harrington (Eng) 3 - 2
- Group 3
- Eric Bristow (Eng) - Dennis Priestley (Eng) 0 - 3
- Eric Bristow (Eng) - Richie Gardner (Eng) 3 - 2
- Richie Gardner (Eng) - Dennis Priestley (Eng) 0 - 3
- Group 4
- Alan Warriner (Eng) - Graeme Stoddart (Eng) 3 - 2
- Graeme Stoddart (Eng) - Steve Brown (USA) 2 - 3
- Alan Warriner (Eng) - Steve Brown (USA) 3 - 0
- Group 5
- Peter Evison (Eng) - Gary Mawson (Can) 3 - 0
- Steve Raw (Eng) - Gary Mawson (Can) 3 - 0
- Peter Evison (Eng) - Steve Raw (Eng) 3 - 2
- Group 6
- John Lowe (Eng) - Dennis Smith (Eng) 3 - 0
- Dennis Smith (Eng) - Tom Kirby (USA) 1 - 3
- John Lowe (Eng) - Tom Kirby (USA) 3 - 2
- Group 7
- Sean Downs (USA) - Kevin Spiolek (Eng) 3 - 0
- Keith Deller (Eng) - Kevin Spiolek (Eng) 3 - 2
- Sean Downs (USA) - Keith Deller (Eng) 1 - 3
- Group 8
- Phil Taylor (Eng) - Shayne Burgess (Eng) 3 - 0
- Shayne Burgess (Eng) - Cliff Lazarenko (Eng) 3 - 1
- Phil Taylor (Eng) - Cliff Lazarenko (Eng) 3 - 0
Knockout Stages
| Quarter Finals | Semi Finals | Final | ||||||||||||
| Group 1 Winner |  Jamie Harvey 89.44
| 4 | ||||||||||||
| Group 2 winner |  Larry Butler 87.56
| 0 | ||||||||||||
| Jamie Harvey 90.48
| 1 | |||||||||||||
| Dennis Priestley 94.39
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Group 3 winner | Dennis Priestley 92.75
| 4 | ||||||||||||
| Group 4 winner | Alan Warriner 90.61
| 1 | ||||||||||||
| Dennis Priestley 101.49
| 4 | |||||||||||||
| Phil Taylor 98.52
| 6 | |||||||||||||
| Group 5 winner | Peter Evison 94.66
| 2 | ||||||||||||
| Group 6 winner | John Lowe 94.85
| 4 | ||||||||||||
| John Lowe 86.58
| 1 | |||||||||||||
| Phil Taylor 93.14
| 5 | |||||||||||||
| Group 7 winner | Keith Deller 86.29
| 0 | ||||||||||||
| Group 8 winner | Phil Taylor 94.22
| 4 | ||||||||||||
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