The culmination of the darts calendar is the PDC World Darts Championship run from December to January each year at the home of big darts Alexandra Palace (or Aly Paly to the fans). The honor roll is a who’s who of modern dart greats led by 14 time PDC World Darts champion Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor. An amazing Phil Taylor PDC World Darts Championship stat is not only did he win 8 PDC World Darts Championship finals in a row, he appeared in the first 14 finals (and 16 of the first 17)!
The competition for this blue ribbon event has gotten even more difficult. The field is made up of 96 players, the make up of this field being the top 32 ranked on the PDC Order of Merit (being seeded to the 2nd round) then the 32 highest ranked players from the years PDC Pro Tour and the final 32 players coming from qualifiers throughout the year.
With that let’s go through the recent PDC World Darts Championship results starting with the PDC 2017 World Darts Championship.
PDC World Darts Championship 2017 results
The 2017 PDC World Darts Championship was the 24th PDC World Darts Championship culminating in the final between Michael Van Gerwen and Gary Anderson. Michael Van Gerwen won the final in a relatively dominant performance winning his 2nd PDC World Darts Championship 7-3.
This final was the first final since 2009 where the top 2 seeds played off in the final and also the semi-finals were also the first ever to feature no Englishmen.
Van Gerwen also broke the record for the highest 3 dart average in a match, with 114.05 during his semi-final win over Van Barneveld.
Tournament Dates: 15th December 2016 to 2nd January 2017
The winner: Michael Van Gerwen (2nd title)
The final: Michael Van Gerwen defeated Gary Anderson 7-3
The semi finals: Michael Van Gerwen defeated Raymond Van Barneveld, Gary Anderson defeated Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright
Top Seed: Michael Van Gerwen
9 dart finishes: None
Highest Checkout: 170, Michael Van Gerwen and Simon Whitlock
Highest Tournament Average: 106.32, Michael Van Gerwen
Total Prize Money: £1,650,000
Tournament Sponsor: William Hill
PDC World Darts Championship 2018 results
The 2018 PDC World Darts Championship was the 25th PDC World Darts Championship culminating in the final between Rob Cross and Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor. Rob Cross won the final in a relatively anti-climatic fashion winning his 1st PDC World Darts Championship 7-2.
Before the tournament Taylor announced that this would be his 28th and final World Darts Championship (25 with PDC, 3 with BDO) then embarking on an amazing run to the final (his 21st over his career).
‘The Power’ nearly pulled off an amazing PDC World Darts Championship fairytale swansong storming to the final however Rob Cross pulled off his own fairytale with Cross ending up in exalted company winning his first PDC World Championship at his first try!
Tournament Dates: 14th December 2017 to 1st January 2018
The winner: Rob Cross (1st title)
The final: Rob Cross defeated Phil Taylor 7-2
The semi finals: Rob Cross defeated Michael Van Gerwen and Phil Taylor defeated Jamie Lewis
Top Seed: Michael Van Gerwen
9 dart finishes: None
Highest Checkout: 170, Michael Van Gerwen, Stephen Bunting, Daryl Gurney, Jamie Lewis, Jeff Smith and Steve West
Highest Tournament Average: 104.05, Michael Van Gerwen
Total Prize Money: £1,800,000
Tournament Sponsor: William Hill
PDC World Darts Championship 2019 results
The 2019 PDC World Darts Championship was the 26th PDC World Darts Championship culminating in the final between Michael Van Gerwen and Michael Smith. Michael Van Gerwen won the final in a relatively easy effort, winning his 3rd PDC World Darts Championship 7-3 (the same score as his 2017 win).
As mentioned above this was the first PDC World Darts Championship not to feature the great Phil Taylor. Van Gerwen’s victory took him to 2nd on the leaderboard for most PDC World Darts Championship wins behind Phil Taylor’s 14 wins.
The 2019 PDC World Darts Championship also saw the field expanded from 72 players to 96 and also had the PDC World Darts Championships first women players in the field.
Tournament Dates: 13th December 2018 to 1st January 2019
The winner: Michael Van Gerwen (3rd title)
The final: Michael Van Gerwen defeated Michael Smith
The semi finals: Michael Van Gerwen defeated Gary Anderson, Michael Smith defeated Gary Anderson defeated Nathan Aspinall
Top Seed: Michael Van Gerwen
9 dart finishes: None
Highest Checkout: 170, Michael Van Gerwen, Brendan Dolan and Luke Humphries
Highest Tournament Average: 108.80, Michael Van Gerwen
Total Prize Money: £2,500,000
Tournament Sponsor: William Hill
PDC World Darts Championship 2020 results
The 2020 PDC World Darts Championship was the 27th PDC World Darts Championship culminating in the final between Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright and Michael Van Gerwen. Wright won his first PDC World Darts Championship relatively cruising to his first win with a score of 7-3.
Fallon Sherrock also created a big buzz in darts by becoming the first female to win a PDC World Championship match, defeating both Ted Evetts (3-2 in round one) and Mensur Suljovic (3-1 in round two).
Tournament Dates: 13th December 2019 to 1st January 2020
The winner: Peter Wright (1st title)
The final: Peter Wright defeated Michael Van Gerwen
The semi finals: Peter Wright defeated Gerwyn Price, Michael Van Gerwen defeated Nathan Aspinall
Top Seed: Michael Van Gerwen
9 dart finishes: None
Highest Checkout: 170, Gary Anderson, Steve Beaton, Glen Durrant, Ricky Evans, Ben Robb, Michael Van Gerwen and Peter Wright
Highest Tournament Average: 100.33, Mervyn King
Total Prize Money: £2,500,000
Tournament Sponsor: William Hill
PDC World Darts Championship 2021 results
The 2021 PDC World Darts Championship was the 28th PDC World Darts Championship culminating in the final between Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson. This was also the first final that occurred after the COVID 19 pandemic with the final played behind closed doors and only watched on television. Given the pandemic many of the lead up qualification tournaments were canceled or severely impacted.
Price won the final in a relatively dominant performance winning his 1st PDC World Darts Championship 7-3. This 7-3 scoreline was the third year in a row that the final had this result (and the 4th final in 5 years)..
After his win, Price also took the world number one ranking in PDC World Darts from Michael Van Gerwen who had held this ranking since 2014. Price was also the first Welsh player to win the championship.
James Wade also hit the first PDC World Darts Championship nine darter since 2016.
Tournament Dates: 15th December 2020 to 3rd January 2021
The winner: Gerwyn Price (1st title)
The final: Gerwyn Price defeated Gary Anderson
The semi finals: Gerwyn Price defeated Stephen Bunting, Gary Anderson defeated Dave Chisnall
Top Seed: Michael Van Gerwen
9 dart finishes: 1, James Wade
Highest Checkout: 170, Gary Anderson, Danny Baggish, Stephen Bunting, Dave Chisnall, Gerwyn Price and Dirk van Duijvenbode (twice)
Highest Tournament Average: 103.37, Michael Van Gerwen
Total Prize Money: £2,500,000
Tournament Sponsor: William Hill
PDC World Darts Championship 2022 results
The 2022 PDC World Darts Championship was the 29th PDC World Darts Championship culminating in the final between Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright and Michael Smith. ‘Snakebite’ won a close final, winning his 2nd PDC World Darts Championship with a 7-5 scoreline.
This championship was also the first to feature multiple 9 dart finishes with 3 players achieving this feat. William Borland was the first to achieve this on a deciding leg.
This tournament also saw some players having to withdraw due to contacting COVID (including past champion Michael Van Gerwen) and was also the last tournament to be sponsored by William Hill.
Tournament Dates: 15th December 2021 to 3rd January 2022
The winner: Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright (2nd title)
The final: Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright defeated Michael Smith
The semi finals: Peter Wright defeated Gary Anderson, Michael Smith defeated James Wade
Top Seed: Gerwyn Price
9 dart finishes: 3, William Borland, Darius Labanauskas and Gerwyn Price
Highest Checkout: 170, Gary Anderson, Rob Cross, William O’Connor and Raymond van Barneveld
Highest Tournament Average: 106.32, Michael Smith
Total Prize Money: £2,500,000
Tournament Sponsor: William Hill
PDC World Darts Championship 2023 results
The 2023 PDC World Darts Championship was the 30th PDC World Darts Championship culminating in the final between Michael Smith and Michael Van Gerwen. Smith won a keenly contested final (and his first PDC World Darts Championship) in strong fashion, winning 7-4.
Smith was also the first player to throw a 9 dart finish in a PDC World Darts Championship final (Van Gerwen nearly answered on his next throw with his own 9 darter just missing double 12 on his 9th throw). With this win Smith also took the world’s number one ranking. This was the first tournament sponsored by Cazoo and was also the first tournament to be relatively back to normal post COVID.
Tournament Dates: 15th December 2022 to 3rd January 2023
The winner: Michael Smith (1st title)
The final: Michael Smith defeated Michael Van Gerwen
The semi finals: Michael Smith defeated Gabriel Clemens, Michael Van Gerwen defeated Dmitri Van den Bergh
Top Seed: Gerwyn Price
9 dart finishes: 1, Michael Smith
Highest Checkout: 170, Chris Dobey, Martin Schindler, Michael Smith, Dirk van Duijvenbode Dmitri Van den Bergh and Michael Van Gerwen
Highest Tournament Average: 108.28***, Michael Van Gerwen
Total Prize Money: £2,500,000
Tournament Sponsor: Cazoo
The 2024 PDC World Darts Championship is on from 15th December 2023 to 3rd January 2024 at the great Alexandra Palace and should be one of the best PDC World Darts Championships yet! For those who have never been to a PDC World Darts Championship before and will be in London on these dates buy a ticket and experience this spectacle in person!
For those who aren’t in London on these dates, strap yourself into your favorite chair or book a spot at your favorite pub to watch darts and get ready for some quality darts! Will we see one of the young guns rise to the top or will it be one of the older guard returning to the top to take out the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship?