PDC World Darts Championship
| William Hill World Darts Championship | |
|---|---|
| Tournament information | |
| Venue | Alexandra Palace |
| Location | London |
| Country | England |
| Established | 1994 |
| Organisation(s) | PDC |
| Format |
Legs (preliminaries and 3rd/4th place play off) Sets (from first round) |
| Prize fund | £1,250,000 (2015) |
| Month(s) Played | December/January |
| Current champion(s) | |
 Gary Anderson | |
The PDC World Darts Championship is a world championship competition for the sport of darts, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Following a dispute with the British Darts Organisation, which has run its own world championship since 1978, the "rebel" players were banned from BDO events, and the PDC held their first World Championship in 1994. The biggest of the PDC tournaments, it traditionally begins in late December, finishing in early January just as the BDO's version gets underway.
The PDC World Darts Championship has been held at the Alexandra Palace in London since 2008, having previously been held at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, Essex, from 1994 to 2007.[1]
The tournament is currently sponsored by William Hill.
Only 7 players have won this championship: Dennis Priestley, Phil Taylor, John Part, Raymond van Barneveld, Adrian Lewis, Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson. Of these, only Taylor, Lewis and Part have won it more than once. In addition, Lewis, Anderson and van Gerwen are the only PDC World Champions never to have won the BDO World Championship. Taylor has dominated the tournament, winning 14 titles and reaching 16 of the first 18 finals. No player throwing left-handed has won the PDC World Championship.
Following popular darts commentator Sid Waddell's death on 11 August 2012, the decision was made to rename the champion's trophy to the Sid Waddell trophy from the 2013 tournament onwards.[2]
Origins
In 1992, some high profile players, including all previous winners of the BDO World Darts Championship still active in the game, formed the WDC (now PDC), 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 players in the BDO version, although the 1997 PDC World Champion got £45,000 compared to the 1997 BDO World Champion getting £38,000. In 2002, the PDC prize fund overtook the BDO for the first time and the PDC event now boasts the largest prize fund of any darts competition, the PDC and sponsors Ladbrokes have announced that prize money will reach £1 million by 2010 with the winner set to collect £200,000.
The 2014 PDC World Champion will collect £250,000.
Final Results and statistics
| Year | Champion (average in final)[3] | T. | Score | Runner-Up (average in final) | Sponsor | Prize Money | Venue | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total[4] | Champion | Runner-Up | |||||||
| 1994 |  Dennis Priestley (94.38) |
1st | 6–1 | Phil Taylor (90.62) |
Skol | £64,000 | £16,000 | £8,000 | Circus Tavern Purfleet |
| 1995 | Phil Taylor (94.11) |
1st | 6–2 | Rod Harrington (87.15) |
Proton Cars | £55,000 | £12,000 | £6,000 | |
| 1996 | Phil Taylor (98.52) |
2nd | 6–4 | Dennis Priestley (101.49) |
Vernons | £61,000 | £14,000 | £7,000 | |
| 1997 | Phil Taylor (100.92) |
3rd | 6–3 | Dennis Priestley (96.78) |
Red Band | £98,000 | £45,000 | £10,000 | |
| 1998 | Phil Taylor (103.98) |
4th | 6–0 | Dennis Priestley (90.75) |
Skol | £71,000 | £20,000 | ||
| 1999 | Phil Taylor (97.11) |
5th | 6–2 | Peter Manley (93.63) |
£104,000 | £30,000 | £16,000 | ||
| 2000 | Phil Taylor (94.42) |
6th | 7–3 | Dennis Priestley (91.80) |
£110,000 | £31,000 | £16,400 | ||
| 2001 | Phil Taylor (107.46) |
7th | 7–0 |  John Part (92.58) |
£124,000 | £33,000 | £18,000 | ||
| 2002 | Phil Taylor (98.47) |
8th | 7–0 | Peter Manley (91.35) |
£200,000 | £50,000 | £25,000 | ||
| 2003 | John Part (96.87) |
1st | 7–6 | Phil Taylor (99.98) |
Ladbrokes | ||||
| 2004 | Phil Taylor (96.03) |
9th | 7–6 | Kevin Painter (90.48) |
£256,000 | ||||
| 2005 | Phil Taylor (96.14) |
10th | 7–4 | Mark Dudbridge (90.66) |
£300,000 | £60,000 | £30,000 | ||
| 2006 | Phil Taylor (106.74) |
11th | 7–0 | Peter Manley (91.72) |
£500,000 | £100,000 | £50,000 | ||
| 2007 |  Raymond van Barneveld (100.93) |
1st | 7–6 | Phil Taylor (100.86) | |||||
| 2008 | John Part (92.86) |
2nd | 7–2 | Kirk Shepherd (85.10) |
£589,000 | Alexandra Palace London | |||
| 2009 | Phil Taylor (110.94) |
12th | 7–1 | Raymond van Barneveld (101.18) |
£724,000 | £125,000 | £60,000 | ||
| 2010 | Phil Taylor (104.38) |
13th | 7–3 |  Simon Whitlock (100.51) |
£868,000 | £150,000 | |||
| 2011 | Adrian Lewis (99.40) |
1st | 7–5 | Gary Anderson (99.41) |
£1,000,000 | £200,000 | £100,000 | ||
| 2012 | Adrian Lewis (93.06) |
2nd | 7–3 | Andy Hamilton (90.83) | |||||
| 2013 | Phil Taylor (103.04) |
14th | 7–4 | Michael van Gerwen (100.66) | |||||
| 2014 | Michael van Gerwen (100.10) |
1st | 7–4 | Peter Wright (95.71) |
£1,050,000 | £250,000 | |||
| 2015 | Gary Anderson (97.68) |
1st | 7–6 | Phil Taylor (100.69) |
William Hill | £1,250,000 | £250,000 | £120,000 | |
Finalists
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Winner | Runner-up | Finals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor | England |
14 | 4 | 18 |
| 2 | Part, JohnJohn Part | Canada |
2 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Lewis, AdrianAdrian Lewis | England |
2 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Priestley, DennisDennis Priestley | England |
1 | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | van Barneveld, RaymondRaymond van Barneveld | Netherlands |
1 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 | van Gerwen, MichaelMichael van Gerwen | Netherlands |
1 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 | Anderson, GaryGary Anderson | Scotland |
1 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | Manley, PeterPeter Manley | England |
0 | 3 | 3 |
| 9 | Harrington, RodRod Harrington | England |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Painter, KevinKevin Painter | England |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Dudbridge, MarkMark Dudbridge | England |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Shepherd, KirkKirk Shepherd | England |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Whitlock, SimonSimon Whitlock | Australia |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Hamilton, AndyAndy Hamilton | England |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Wright, PeterPeter Wright | Scotland |
0 | 1 | 1 |
Nine-dart Finishes
| Player | Year | Round | Result | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raymond van Barneveld |
2009 | Quarter-Final | Won | Jelle Klaasen |
| Raymond van Barneveld |
2010 | 2nd Round | Won |  Brendan Dolan |
| Adrian Lewis |
2011 | Final | Won | Gary Anderson |
| Dean Winstanley |
2013 | 2nd Round | Lost | Vincent van der Voort |
| Michael van Gerwen |
2013 | Semi Final | Won | James Wade |
| Terry Jenkins |
2014 | 1st Round | Lost |  Per Laursen |
| Kyle Anderson |
2014 | 1st Round | Lost | Ian White |
| Adrian Lewis |
2015 | 3rd Round | Lost | Raymond van Barneveld |
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.
Prior to the split there had been only three occasions when a player had managed to achieve an average of 100 for a match:
| Ton+ averages prior to the split | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Player | Year (+ Round) | Opponent | Result |
| 102.63 | Dennis Priestley |
1993, 1st Round | Jocky Wilson |
3–0 |
| 100.50 | Phil Taylor |
1990, Semi Final | Cliff Lazarenko |
5–0 |
| 100.29 | Keith Deller |
1985, Quarter-Final | John Lowe |
2–4 |
An average over 100 in a match in the PDC World Championship has since been achieved 95 times, compared to 20 times in the BDO World Championship. 16 different men have achieved an average of over 100 in the PDC tournament, compared to 8 different men in the BDO tournament since the split in 1994.
An average of over 105 in a match in the PDC World Championship has been achieved 22 times, compared to 0 times in the BDO World Championship. The highest match average ever in the BDO World Championship is 103.83 by Raymond van Barneveld in his Quarter final victory over John Walton in 2004.
| Ten highest PDC World Championship one-match averages:[5] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Player | Year (+ Round) | Opponent | Result |
| 111.21 | Phil Taylor |
2002, 2nd Round | Shayne Burgess |
6–1 |
| 110.94 | Phil Taylor |
2009, Final | Raymond van Barneveld |
7–1 |
| 109.00 | Phil Taylor |
2007, 2nd Round |  Mick McGowan |
4–1 |
| 108.80 | Phil Taylor |
2009, Quarter-Final | Co Stompé |
5–0 |
| 108.39 | Gary Anderson |
2011, 3rd Round | Andy Smith |
4–0 |
| 108.31 | Raymond van Barneveld |
2013, 1st Round | Michael Smith |
3–0 |
| 108.30 | Phil Taylor |
2006, 3rd Round | Andy Hamilton |
4–0 |
| 107.46 | Phil Taylor |
2001, Final | John Part |
7–0 |
| 107.37 | Phil Taylor |
2010, Quarter-Final | Adrian Lewis |
5–0 |
| 106.74 | Phil Taylor |
2006, Final | Peter Manley |
7–0 |
| Five highest losing averages on PDC World Darts Championship | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Player | Year (+ Round) | Opponent | Result |
| 102.95 | Adrian Lewis |
2010, Quarter-Final | Phil Taylor |
0–5 |
| 102.78 | Michael Smith |
2015, 3rd Round | Stephen Bunting |
2–4 |
| 101.49 | Robert Thornton |
2015, Quarter-Final | Michael van Gerwen |
2–5 |
| 101.49 | Dennis Priestley |
1996, Final | Phil Taylor |
4–6 |
| 101.35 | Michael van Gerwen |
2015, Semi Final | Gary Anderson |
3–6 |
| Different players on PDC World Darts Championship ton+ match average | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Total | Highest Av. | Year (+ Round) |
| Phil Taylor |
41 | 111.21 | 2002, 2nd Round |
| Gary Anderson |
10 | 108.39 | 2011, 3rd Round |
| Adrian Lewis |
10 | 106.51 | 2010, 1st Round |
| Raymond van Barneveld |
8 | 108.31 | 2013, 1st Round |
| Michael van Gerwen |
8 | 105.26 | 2015, Quarter-Final |
| Simon Whitlock |
4 | 105.37 | 2010, Quarter-Final |
| Peter Wright |
3 | 105.07 | 2014, 3rd Round |
| Terry Jenkins |
2 | 102.64 | 2012, 3rd Round |
| Andy Hamilton |
2 | 102.04 | 2011, Quarter-Final |
| Michael Smith |
1 | 102.78 | 2015, 3rd Round |
| Co Stompé |
1 | 102.42 | 2010, 3rd Round |
| Stephen Bunting |
1 | 102.34 | 2015, 3rd Round |
| Mick McGowan |
1 | 101.82 | 2007, 2nd Round |
| Robert Thornton |
1 | 101.49 | 2015, Quarter-Final |
| Dennis Priestley |
1 | 101.49 | 1996, Final |
| Jelle Klaasen |
1 | 100.72 | 2015, 2nd Round |
Television coverage
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 shot in High Definition (HD). The tournament has become more and more popular in recent years with the 2007 World Final achieving a viewing figure in excess of 1 million for the first time. Sky's contract to cover the event was extended until 2013, which was the 20th year of the tournament.[6] Sky Sports coverage is presented by Dave Clark or David Croft, they present from a studio overlooking Alexandra Palace alongside Eric Bristow, Wayne Mardle, Rod Harrington & John Part. Commentary is provided by Stuart Pyke, Rod Studd, Nigel Pearson, David Croft, Wayne Mardle & John Part. Croft & Part previously worked for BBC coverage of the BDO World Darts Championship. Former commentators for Sky Sports include Sid Waddell (who sadly died in 2012), Dave Lanning & John Gwynne (who now commentates for British Eurosport BDO Coverage). Jeff Stelling is a former long-time presenter of Sky Sports' Darts coverage, covering a period of nearly 9 years.
Sky Sports Darts Team:
- Eric Bristow (1993–present)
- Dave Clark: (2001–present)
- Stuart Pyke: (2003–present, Also works for ITV Sport Darts Coverage 2007–present)
- Rod Harrington: (2005–present)
- Nigel Pearson: (2005–present)
- Rod Studd: (2008–present)
- Wayne Mardle: (2010–present)
- David Croft: (2013–present, previously worked for BBC Sport Darts Coverage 2003–2012)
- John Part: (2013–present, previously worked for BBC Sport Darts Coverage 1995–2007)
- Dave Lanning: (1993–2010 & 2013, Previously worked for ITV Sport Darts Coverage 1972–1988)
- John Gwynne: (1993–2013, Now with Eurosport BDO Darts Coverage 2014–present)
- Sid Waddell: (1994–2012, Died from Cancer. Previously worked for BBC Sport Darts Coverage 1978–1994)
- Jeff Stelling: (1993–2002)
- David Bobin: (2003)
World Final viewing figures
| Year | Broadcaster | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sky Television | Netherlands | Germany SPORT1 | |
| 2015 | 1,5 million peak[8] | 908,000 (RTL 7)[9] | 1,360,000[10] |
| 2014 | 668,000 | 2,054,000 (RTL 7) | 560,000[11] |
| 2013 | 1,270,000[12] | 1,748,000 (RTL 7) | 810,000 |
| 2012 | 728,000 | 762,000 (RTL 7) | |
| 2011 | 920,000 | 435,000 (SBS6) | |
| 2010 | 888,000 | 854,000 (SBS6) | 730,000 |
| 2009 | 809,000 | 1,441,000 (SBS6) | 490,000 |
| 2008 | 731,000 | 211.000 (compilation SBS6) | 340,000 |
| 2007 | 1,028,000 | 1,339,000 (SBS6) | |
| 2006 | 761,000 | ||
| 2005 | 530,000 | ||
| 2004 | 820,000 | ||
| 2003 | 610,000 | ||
| 2002 | Unavailable | ||
| 2001 | 420,000 | ||
| 2000 | 240,000 | ||
| 1999 | 200,000 | ||
Dutch broadcaster SBS6, having covered the BDO World Darts Championship for many years, also covers the event until RTL7 took over broadcasting. Fox Sports (USA), TSN (Canada), Fox Sports (Australia), SuperSport (South Africa), Ten Sports (India), CCTV (China), Showtime (Middle East), Ukraine TV, Sky New Zealand, IKO (Poland), Starhub (Singapore), Sport1 (Hungary), Meersat (Malaysia), 7TV (Russia), Measat (Indonesia), J Sports (Japan) now also broadcast the event.
The PDC world championship events are now broadcast on www.livepdc.tv which shows the events live, highlights and also classic matches. This website is a subscription only viewing and is limited to certain territorial restrictions.
Records
Since the split in darts two versions of the world championship have existed since 1994, this record section relates specifically to achievements in the PDC version:
- Most titles: 14, Phil Taylor. Taylor's two BDO titles take his total to 16, a record across both organisations.[13] John Part and Adrian Lewis are in second place with two PDC titles each.[14]
- Most finals: 18, Phil Taylor, 1994-2007, 2009-2010, 2013 and 2015.[15]
- Most match wins: 100, Phil Taylor, 1994-2015. Taylor has only lost eight matches at the tournament and reached every final from 1994 until 2008, when he was beaten in the quarter-finals by Wayne Mardle.[16] [17] [18]
- Longest unbeaten run: 44 matches, Phil Taylor, 1995-2003, between his defeats in the 1994 and 2003 finals.
- Most 180s in a tournament: 625 in 2015.[19] This beat the previous record set in 2014, when the tournament total of 603.[20]
- Most 180s in a tournament (individual): 64, Gary Anderson (2015)[21]
- Most appearances: 22, Phil Taylor. Taylor is the only player to have appeared in all 22 editions of the championship.[22]
- Youngest player: Mitchell Clegg, 16 years and 37 days. Clegg qualified as a 15 year old in 2007. He was younger than Michael van Gerwen, who set the BDO World Championship youngest player record a few weeks later
- Youngest finalist: Kirk Shepherd, 21 years and 88 days In the 2008 final,[23] Shepherd was two days younger than Jelle Klaasen, who won the BDO title in 2006.
- Record TV audience: 1,500,000 (2015 Final). The 2007 final was the first time that Sky Television achieved a viewing figure of over 1 million for a darts match. The 2013 final had a 1.2 million average, with 10 million viewers over the course of the tournament.[24]
- Nine-dart finishes: Eight 9-darters by Six players.
- (2) Raymond van Barneveld (2009 quarter-finals vs. Jelle Klaasen and 2010 second round vs. Brendan Dolan).
- (2) Adrian Lewis (2011 final vs. Gary Anderson and 2015 third round vs. Raymond van Barneveld)
- Dean Winstanley (2013 second round vs. Vincent van der Voort)
- Michael van Gerwen (2013 semi-finals vs. James Wade).
- Terry Jenkins (2014 1st round vs. Per Laursen). [25]
- Kyle Anderson (2014 1st round vs. Ian White). [26]
- Both versions of World Championship: Four players. Dennis Priestley was the first player to win both versions of the World Championship,[27][28] winning the 1991 BDO Championship and the 1994 PDC Championship. Phil Taylor, John Part and Raymond van Barneveld have since matched the feat.[29][30]
- 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
Notes and references
- ↑ New venue announcement BBC Sport
- ↑ World Darts Trophy Named After Waddell. News.sky.com (2012-08-13). Retrieved on 2013-08-13.
- ↑ 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)
- ↑ PDC World Championship prize fund dartsdatabase
- ↑ dartsdatabase.co.uk; best winning averages
- ↑ Sky Sports hits 20 with World Darts Championship planetdarts.tv
- ↑ BARB viewing figures
- ↑ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a619350/gary-andersons-pdc-world-darts-win-pulls-in-viewers-for-sky-sports.html
- ↑ Kijkonderzoek. Retrieved on 2015-01-05.
- ↑ http://www.quotenmeter.de/n/75469/der-grosse-wurf-darts-finale-fuehrt-sport1-zu-allzeit-rekord
- ↑ DWDL: Darts-WM: Sport1 katapultiert sich vor Vox
- ↑ BARB. BARB. Retrieved on 2013-08-13.
- ↑ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentStats.aspx?tournKey=11
- ↑ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentPlayerStats.aspx?tournKey=11
- ↑ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentStats.aspx?tournKey=11
- ↑ "PDC WC Match wins page 1". Darts Database. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
- ↑ "PDC WC match wins page 2". Darts Database. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
- ↑ "PDC WC match wins page 3". Darts Database. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
- ↑ dartsdatabase.co.uk; Total 180s 2015
- ↑ dartsdatabase.co.uk; Total 180s 2014
- ↑ dartsdatabse.co.uk; Most 180's in a tournament
- ↑ dartsdatabase.co.uk; tournament appearances
- ↑ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentStats.aspx?tournKey=11
- ↑ pdc.tv; Record Viewing Figures
- ↑ http://www.pdpa.co.uk/Page/Content/111
- ↑ http://www.pdpa.co.uk/Page/Content/111
- ↑ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentDetails.aspx?tournKey=11
- ↑ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentDetails.aspx?TournKey=2
- ↑ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentDetails.aspx?tournKey=11
- ↑ http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/TournamentDetails.aspx?TournKey=2
External links
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