Gerwyn Price won the World Championship for the first time in his career, beating Gary Anderson 7–3 in the final. As a result of winning the title, Gerwyn took over from Michael van Gerwen as world number 1.[3]
Steve Beaton played in a record 30th consecutive World Championship (including the BDO version), breaking the record he jointly held with Phil Taylor, but lost in the first round to Diogo Portela.
Third seed Gerwyn Price won the first PDC World Championship of his career. He was the first Welsh player to win the PDC World Championship.Two time champion Gary Anderson, the thirteenth seed, finished as runner up for the third time in his career.
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 to set format, with each set being the best of five legs (first to three). A rule which has been in place for previous tournaments, where the final set had to be won by two clear legs, was removed in order to prevent sessions overrunning.[4]
The matches got longer as the tournament progresses:
The prize money for the tournament was £2,500,000 in total – the same as in the previous year. The winner's share was £500,000.[6]
Position (num. of players)
Prize Money (Total: £2,500,000)
Winner
(1)
£500,000
Runner-up
(1)
£200,000
Semi-finalists
(2)
£100,000
Quarter-finalists
(4)
£50,000
Fourth round losers
(8)
£35,000
Third round losers
(16)
£25,000
Second round losers
(32)
£15,000
First round losers
(32)
£7,500
Qualification
Qualifiers
The top 32 from the PDC Order of Merit began the competition in the second round. The 32 highest ranked players on the PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit (not already qualified) and 32 qualifiers from around the world began in the first round.[7]
Karel Sedláček – Rest of World Tour Card Holder's Qualifier(first round)
Toru Suzuki – PDC Asia Japan Qualifier(first round)
Ciarán Teehan – UK Tour Card Holders' Qualifier(first round)
Di Zhuang – PDC Asia China Qualifier(first round)
Niels Zonneveld – Rest of World Tour Card Holder's Qualifier(first round)
Notes
↑ Kim Viljanen, who had qualified as PDC Nordic and Baltic #1, withdrew from the field for health reasons. Marko Kantele, the next highest ranked on the PDC Nordic & Baltic Order of Merit after Darius Labanauskas (already qualified), replaced him in the field.[11]
Background
Three-time champion Michael van Gerwen was the top seed at the 2021 tournament. He was eliminated in the quarter-final.
Damon Heta, in his first full year as a full PDC tour card holder, was the highest-ranked non-seed on the 2020 PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit. Two-time BDO World Champion Scott Waites qualified for the PDC World Championship for the first time, and was one of two former BDO Champions to qualify through the Pro Tour, alongside Steve Beaton, the 1996 BDO champion, competing in a record-breaking 30th consecutive World Championship.[12][13]
The international qualifiers were heavily impacted by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, with a number of qualification tournaments being cancelled. The North American Darts Championship was cancelled, with the place being given to Danny Lauby, the winner of the 2019 CDC Continental Cup.[14] The cancellation of the Oceanic Masters resulted in a second place being given on the Dartplayers Australia tour; and the cancellation of the New Zealand championship saw the place instead being given to the top player on the Dartplayers New Zealand tour, Haupai Puha.[15] The qualifiers for India and South America were both cancelled, with the Indian place going to the Indian Darts Federation number one Amit Gilitwala, and the South American place being given to Diogo Portela, who had won the South American qualifier the three previous years it had been held.[10]
The PDC Asia Tour was fully cancelled, with the four places being awarded to the winners of one-off qualification events in China, Hong Kong, Japan, and the Philippines.[16] The Tom Kirby Irish Matchplay as well as qualifiers for Southern Europe, Western Europe, and Central Europe were not held in 2020; with these places being given to the final Pro Tour holders qualifier. One further change saw the two qualification events for female players being replaced with the new, four-event long, PDC Women's Series, with the top two players over those events – four-times BDO Women's World ChampionLisa Ashton and Deta Hedman – qualifying for the World Championship.[17]
The final six places – four from uncompleted qualifiers and two as planned – were given to the winners of an event for Tour Card holders held at the conclusion of the PDC Series. Four places were reserved for players from the UK and Ireland and two from the rest of the world; a change from previous years where the places were unassigned.[10] The six players to get through the qualifier included Jamie Lewis, a former World Championship semi-finalist.[18]
Martijn Kleermaker withdrew from the tournament after testing positive for COVID-19 on 20 December. As the first alternate Josh Payne had been in close contact with someone who had also received a positive test, Kleermaker's first round opponent Cameron Carolissen received a bye.[19]
Summary
UK government regulations following the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom allowed Tier 2 areas, including London, to hold sporting events with up to 1,000 spectators indoors.[20] The Professional Darts Corporation announced that the World Championship would be the first PDC event in the United Kingdom to allow fans, since the UK Open in March 2020. Fans attending the event were not allowed to wear fancy dress and 'football style' chanting was prohibited.[21] With London subsequently moving to Tier 3 on 16 December, it meant that the tournament was held behind closed doors for all sessions barring the opening night.[22]
The top quarter of the draw saw number one seed Michael van Gerwen defeat Ryan Murray in the second round,[23] before a 4–0 win over Ricky Evans qualified him for the fourth round.[24] In that round, Van Gerwen came from 3–1 down and survived two darts at the bullseye from Joe Cullen to win in a sudden death last leg and reach the quarter-final for the fifth consecutive year and the eighth time overall.[25][26] Number eight seed Dave Chisnall reached his third PDC World Championship quarter-final after wins over Keegan Brown,[27]Danny Noppert[25] and Dimitri Van den Bergh.[28] In the quarter-final, Chisnall stunned Michael van Gerwen with a 5–0 whitewash win over the world number one to reach the first PDC World Championship semi-final of his career. This defeat was van Gerwen's first whitewash loss (without winning a set) since 2009, when he lost to Phil Taylor.[29]
The two highest seeds in the second quarter were both eliminated early, with fourth seed Michael Smith losing 3–1 to debutant Jason Lowe[30] and fifth seed Rob Cross losing in a sudden death last leg to Dirk van Duijvenbode.[31] Former world champion Adrian Lewis also exited in the second round, losing to American Danny Baggish 3–1.[31] Two time champion Gary Anderson beat Madars Razma in the second round[27] before beating Mensur Suljović 4–3 in a controversial game, with Anderson accusing his opponent of gamesmanship.[32] Anderson then whitewashed Lowe's conqueror Devon Petersen to reach the eighth PDC World Championship quarterfinal of his career.[28] Van Duijvenbode followed up his win over Cross with a 4–0 win over Adam Hunt[32] and a second last-leg victory, this time over Glen Durrant, to reach his first PDC World Championship quarter-final.[28] Van Duijvenbode won the first set against Anderson in the quarter-final, but Anderson turned the game around including a run of ten legs in a row to win the match 5–1.[29]
Peter Wright opened his title defence with a 3–1 win over Steve West, appearing on stage dressed as The Grinch.[33] Wright's reign was ended in the next round, after Gabriel Clemens won a last leg decider over him.[24]Krzysztof Ratajski made it past Ryan Joyce[34] and Simon Whitlock without dropping a set, before knocking out Clemens with a last leg victory of his own, with both players missing multiple darts to win before Ratajski finally hit double one to take the win and become the first Polish player to make a PDC World Championship quarter-final.[25][26] Seventh seed James Wade was eliminated in the third round by Stephen Bunting, despite hitting the first perfect Nine-dart finish at the World Championship since Gary Anderson at the 2016 PDC World Darts Championship.[25] Bunting overcame Ryan Searle in the fourth round to qualify for the quarter-finals for the second time.[28] In the quarter-final; Bunting took the first three sets and led 4–1 after the fifth. Ratajski closed the gap to 4–3 over the next two sets but Bunting broke throw in the eighth set to complete the win and qualify for his first PDC World Championship semi-final.[29]
In the fourth quarter, third seed Gerwyn Price came thorough a last set decider against fellow Welshman Jamie Lewis[34] and a sudden death last leg decider against 30th seed Brendan Dolan[32] to reach the fourth round, where he took a 4–1 win over Mervyn King to reach the quarter-final for the second consecutive year.[28] He was joined in the quarter-final by Daryl Gurney, who reached that stage for the second time after wins over William O'Connor,[35]Chris Dobey,[36] and Vincent van der Voort.[28] In the quarter-final, Price twice led by two sets at 2–0 & 4–2; and on both occasions Gurney won the next two sets to level. The final set went to a final leg, with Price eventually hitting the double 20 to win and reach a second consecutive semi-final.[29]
The first semi-final played was between Price and Bunting. Price won the first set and took a 2–0 lead in the second before Bunting fought back to take the second set and the next two. Price took the fifth and sixth sets to level before Bunting again fought back from 2–0 down in a set to lead after the seventh set. Price levelled the match by winning the eighth set and won the last two sets by 3–0 and 3–1 to become the first Welsh player to reach a PDC World Championship final. The thirteen 100+ finishes thrown by the two players was a record combined count for a PDC World Championship match.[37]
In the second semi-final, Anderson and Chisnall shared the first two sets, before Anderson claimed the next two to take a 3–1 lead. Chisnall broke Anderson's throw to take the fifth set, but Anderson immediately broke back and won the sixth. Again, Chisnall won the seventh set but Anderson restored the two set advantage with an eighth set victory. Anderson won all three legs in the ninth set to secure a 6–3 win, qualifying the two-time World Champion for his fifth PDC World Championship final.[37]
The final between Anderson and Price was held on 3 January 2021. Anderson threw first in the first set and won the first two legs, but missed four darts for a 3–0 set win, and Price came back to take the set 3–2. Anderson broke back with a 3–1 win in the second set. Price broke again in the third set despite a "big fish" 170 finish from Anderson, and held his throw in the fourth set to take a 3–1 advantage. Price again broke Anderson's throw in the fifth set, and won the sixth 3–0. Price took a two leg lead in the seventh set, but Anderson fought back to take only his second set of the match. Price regained the four-set advantage by winning the eighth set to go one away from winning the title. Price missed nine darts for the championship in the ninth set, which Anderson won. In the tenth set, Price fought back from 2–0 to eventually take the set and the championship, winning the title on double five.[38]
This table shows the number of players by country in the 2021 PDC World Championship. A total of 29 nationalities were represented, surpassing the record of the 2020 and 2019 editions by one.
Jelle Klaasen, nicknamed The Cobra, is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). In 2006, he became the youngest darts player to win the World Darts Championship, aged 21 at the time. He also is a Dutch Open champion.
Michael van Gerwen is a Dutch professional darts player. He is currently ranked No. 3 in the world, having been No. 1 from 2014 to 2021. He is also a three-time PDC World Champion, having won the title in 2014, 2017 and 2019. Van Gerwen is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.
Gary James Grant Anderson is a Scottish professional darts player playing in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Nicknamed "The Flying Scotsman", after the famous steam train, he is a former BDO and WDF world number one, and a two-time PDC World Champion, having won the title in 2015 and 2016. He is regarded as one of the best darts players of all time.
Stephen Bunting is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. Nicknamed The Bullet, Bunting is the reigning Masters champion. He also won the 2014 BDO World Darts Championship and is a twice former BDO World Masters champion.
David Chisnall is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked No. 5 in the world.
Alan Norris is an English darts player. He was the runner-up at the 2014 BDO World Darts Championship and also lost in the final of the 2012 Zuiderduin Masters, with Stephen Bunting prevailing on both occasions. In 2015, he switched to the PDC and, after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2016 World Championship, he was named the PDC Best Newcomer of the year.
Daryl Gurney is a Northern Irish professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Nicknamed "Superchin", he is a winner of two majors, having won the World Grand Prix in 2017 and the Players Championship Finals in 2018.
Peter Stuart Wright is a Scottish professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), where he is currently ranked No. 11 in the world. Nicknamed "Snakebite", he is a two-time world champion, having won the PDC World Darts Championship in 2020 and 2022. He is also a World Matchplay champion and has been ranked as the World No. 1 in the PDC twice.
Dean Winstanley is an English professional darts player.
Andrew Gilding is an English professional darts player who plays in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He made his television debut in 2011. He won his maiden televised title at the 2023 UK Open, and became the oldest man to win a major TV title in a debut PDC final appearance.
Noel James Kyle Anderson better known as Kyle Anderson, was an Australian professional darts player who played within the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) from 2012 to 2021. He won the 2017 Auckland Darts Masters tournament.
James Wilson was an English darts player who played in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).
Gerwyn Price is a Welsh professional darts player and former professional rugby union and rugby league player. Nicknamed "The Iceman", he competes in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), where he is currently the World No. 7. He is a 3-time Grand Slam champion and former World Grand Prix champion and a former world champion and world No. 1, becoming the first ever Welshman to win these major titles. He is also the current Nordic Darts Masters and Australian Darts Masters champion.
The 2017 William Hill World Darts Championship was the 24th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The event took place at Alexandra Palace in London from 15 December 2016 to 2 January 2017.
Jonny Clayton is a Welsh professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked No. 6 in the world. Nicknamed The Ferret, he was half of the Welsh team that won the 2020 PDC World Cup of Darts and the 2023 PDC World Cup of Darts before winning his first televised singles title, the 2021 Masters, which would lead him to qualifying for the 2021 Premier League Darts, which he would go on to win as well. He subsequently won his first ranked televised title at the 2021 World Grand Prix.
The 2018 William Hill World Darts Championship was a darts event, held between 14 December 2017 and 1 January 2018 at the Alexandra Palace in London, United Kingdom. It was the 25th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation.
The 2019 William Hill World Darts Championship was the 26th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The event took place at Alexandra Palace in London from 13 December 2018 to 1 January 2019.
The 2020 PDC World Darts Championship was the 27th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The event took place at Alexandra Palace in London from 13 December 2019 to 1 January 2020.
The 2022 PDC World Darts Championship was the 29th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the now-defunct British Darts Organisation. It took place at the Alexandra Palace in London from 15 December 2021 to 3 January 2022.
The 2023 PDC 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 30th World Darts Championship to be organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the now-defunct British Darts Organisation.
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