The PDC World Darts Championship, known for sponsorship purposes as the Paddy Power World Darts Championship is a world championship competition held annually in the sport of darts. The championship begins in December and ends in January and has been held at Alexandra Palace in London, since 2008. Organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), it is the most prestigious of their tournaments, with the winner receiving the Sid Waddell Trophy, named in honour of the darts commentator Sid Waddell. Along with the Premier League Darts and World Matchplay, it is part of the Triple Crown.
The PDC championship began in 1994 as the WDC World Darts Championship as one of the consequences of the split in darts, which saw the World Darts Council break away from the BDO. As a result of the settlement between the BDO and the WDC in 1997, the WDC became the PDC, and players were then free to choose which world championship to enter (but not both in the same year), as long as they met certain eligibility criteria. Both organisations continued to organize their own world championship until the 2020 editions, after which the BDO folded.
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 prize fund in the BDO version, although the 1997 PDC World Champion received £45,000 compared to that year's BDO World Champion receiving £38,000. In 2002, the PDC prize fund overtook that of the BDO for the first time, and the PDC event now boasts the largest prize fund of any darts competition. In 2010, the prize fund reached £1 million for the first time, with the champion collecting £200,000.
The 2014 and 2015 PDC world champions collected £250,000 for their wins. For the next three years, the winner's share increased by £50,000 each year culminating in a 2018 prize fund of £1.8 million.[1] The current prize fund for the tournament is £2.5 million with £500,000 to the winner, as set since the 2019 edition.
Venue
The tournament has been held at Alexandra Palace in London since 2008, having previously been held at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, Essex, from 1994 to 2007.[2] Currently, the play takes place inside the venue's West Hall, which has a capacity of 3,200.[3]
Sixteen nine-dart finishes have been thrown at the World Championship. The first one was in 2009. Two have been made in world finals: firstly by Adrian Lewis in 2011 and then Michael Smith in 2023.
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.
An average over 100 in a match in the PDC World Championship has since been achieved 195 times.[7] This is compared to 21 times in the BDO World Championship, following the 2019 event. In 2010Phil Taylor became the first player to average over 100 in all six rounds of the tournament. He repeated this feat (though lost the final) in 2015 and Michael van Gerwen achieved it in 2017 and 2019.
An average of over 105 in a match in the PDC World Championship has been achieved 40 times. 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[8]
Note: Tournament averages above were calculated by summing the match averages of a player by the number of matches. This does not take into account the length of the matches. The true three dart average is defined by three times the "total points scored" devided by the "number of darts used". The real 2017 tournament average for Michael van Gerwen was 107.16.
Records
Most titles: 14, Phil Taylor. Taylor's two BDO titles take his total to 16, a record across both organisations.[16][17]
Most finals: 19, Phil Taylor, 1994–2007, 2009–2010, 2013, 2015 and 2018.[16] Taylor's two BDO finals take his total to 21, a record across both organisations.[16][17]
Most match wins: 110, Phil Taylor, 1994–2018. Taylor has only lost 11 matches at the tournament and reached every final from 1994 until 2007, before being beaten in the quarter-finals by Wayne Mardle in 2008.[18][19][20]
Longest unbeaten run: 44 matches, Phil Taylor, 1995–2003, between his defeats in the 1994 and 2003 finals.
Most 180s in a tournament (total): 914 in 2024.
Most 180s in a tournament (individual): 83, Michael Smith (2022)[21]
Youngest player: Mitchell Clegg, 16 years and 37 days in 2007. Clegg had qualified as a 15-year-old. He was younger than Michael van Gerwen, who set the BDO World Championship youngest player record a few weeks later.
Youngest finalist: Luke Littler, 16 years and 347 days in the 2024 final. Littler was 4 years and 106 days younger than Kirk Shepherd, who reached the final in 2008.
Record TV audience UK: 3.71 million (2024 final)[26]
Record TV audience outside UK: 3.10 million peak viewership and 2.19 million average viewership (2025 Final). The record was set during the German broadcast (Sport1) of the 2025 final between Michael van Gerwen and Luke Littler.[27]
Won both World Championships: Four players. Dennis Priestley was the first player to win both versions of the World Championship,[28][29] winning the 1991 BDO Championship and the 1994 PDC Championship. Phil Taylor, John Part and Raymond van Barneveld have since matched the feat.[28][29]
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.
Youngest World Champion: Luke Littler was 17 years 11 months and 13 days when he won his first world title in 2025.
Oldest World Champion: Phil Taylor was 52 years and 5 months old when he won his last world title in 2013.
Media
Domestic broadcaster
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 presented in High Definition (HD). Their coverage is currently presented from a studio overlooking the interior of the Alexandra Palace venue.
Dutch broadcaster SBS6, having covered the BDO World Darts Championship for many years, also covered the event until RTL7 took over broadcasting. TV3 Sport (Denmark), Fox Sports (Australia), TSN (Canada), SuperSport (South Africa), Sky Sport (New Zealand), StarHub (Singapore), Ten Sports (India), CCTV (China), Showtime (Middle East), Ukraine TV, TVP Sport (Poland), NOVA Sport (Czech Republic and Slovakia), Sport1 (Germany, Hungary), Meersat (Malaysia), 7TV (Russia), Measat (Indonesia), J Sports (Japan), DAZN (USA, Italy), GOL TV (Spain) Eurosport (Romania), Viaplay (Iceland) and VTM4 (Belgium) now also broadcast the event.
Viewing figures
Television viewing figures for the final are as follows: [32]
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.
Video games
The PDC have worked with various video game developers since 2006 to create a number of darts-themed titles based on the World Darts Championship tournament.
In 2021 the PDC collaborated with Blueprint Gaming to develop PDC World Darts Championship, an officially licensed slots game available to play on mobile devices and PC, the game was released in February 2021.[55]
Sponsor
The tournament has been sponsored by bookmaker Paddy Power in 2024. Previous sponsors have been:
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.[56]
↑ 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)
Philip Douglas Taylor is an English former professional darts player. Nicknamed "The Power", he dominated darts across three decades and is widely considered the greatest darts player of all time, having won 214 professional tournaments, including a record 85 major titles and a record 16 World Championships. In 2015, the BBC rated Taylor among the ten greatest British sportsmen of the last 35 years.
Raymond van Barneveld is a Dutch professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number thirty-four, having been the world number one from January 2008 to June 2008. Nicknamed "Barney", although originally known as "The Man", he is a five-time World Champion. van Barneveld is also a two-time UK Open champion, and a former winner of the Las Vegas Desert Classic, the Grand Slam and the Premier League. He is also a two-time World Masters winner, and a former World Darts Trophy champion. He is a three-time winner of both the International Darts League, the Dutch Open, and the WDF World Cup singles event.
The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 when a group of leading players split from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form what was initially called the World Darts Council (WDC). Sports promoter Eddie Hearn is the PDC chairman.
John Part is a Canadian former professional darts player and current commentator, as well as competing in World Seniors events. Nicknamed "Darth Maple", he is a three-time World Champion, having won the 1994 BDO World Darts Championship on his world championship debut, and the PDC World Championship in 2003 and 2008. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, Part is statistically North America's greatest darts player to date. He has the distinction of being the first non-British player to win the World Championship, and the only non-European to date to win the PDC World Darts Championship.
Steve Beaton is an English former professional darts player. He won the BDO World Darts Championship in 1996 and is a former World No. 1.
Mervyn King is an English professional darts player who formerly competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events and British Darts Organisation (BDO) tournaments. Nicknamed The King, he reached seven PDC premier event finals and a peak ranking of world number four in the PDC Order of Merit. In the BDO he was the 2004 Winmau World Masters winner, and both the Finder Masters and International Darts League champion in 2005, becoming the former BDO world number one during 2000 and 2005.
Adrian Lewis is an English professional darts player who formerly played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Nicknamed "Jackpot", Lewis is a two-time PDC World Champion, having won the title in 2011 and 2012. Lewis also won the European Championship in 2013 and the UK Open in 2014.
James Martin Wade is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number fifteen, having reached a peak of world number two in 2010. He became the youngest player to win a major PDC title when he won the 2007 World Matchplay at age 24. This record has since been broken by Michael van Gerwen and Luke Littler. Wade has won eleven PDC majors, third in the all-time list behind Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen.
Premier League Darts, known for sponsorship purposes in 2024 as BetMGM Premier League Darts, is a darts tournament which launched on 20 January 2005 on Sky Sports. Now played weekly from February to May, the event originally started as a fortnightly fixture in small venues around the United Kingdom. The tournament originally featured seven players, gradually expanded to ten by 2013, before reduced again from 2022 to eight players from the Professional Darts Corporation circuit competing in a knockout style format, with nights also hosted in Europe at different venues. The top four players in the PDC Order of Merit are joined by four wildcard selections to make up the eight-person field. Alongside the World Championship and the World Matchplay, it is considered part of the sport's Triple Crown.
Michael van Gerwen is a Dutch professional darts player, who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is currently ranked world number three, having been the world number one from 2014 to 2021. He is also a three-time PDC World Champion, having won the title in 2014, 2017 and 2019. van Gerwen has won 47 premier singles events in all, having won the World Matchplay, UK Open and Grand Slam each three times, he is a six-time World Grand Prix champion, a seven-time Premier League Darts and Players Championship Finals winner, a five-time winner of both the PDC Masters and World Series Finals, a four-time European Champion and the winner of the 2019 Champions League of Darts. He is also a three-time PDC World Cup of Darts champion, partnering Raymond van Barneveld for the Netherlands.
The 1994 Skol World Darts Championship was held following 18 months of controversy within the sport of darts. After the 1993 Embassy World Championships, several players decided it was time to part company with the British Darts Organisation and form their own organisation. The new organisation was known as the World Darts Council (WDC). The WDC would later become the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).
Gary James Grant Anderson is a Scottish professional darts player who plays Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number fourteen, having reached a peak of world number two from 2015 to 2016. 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.
Simon Whitlock is an Australian professional darts player who formerly competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, having previously competed in British Darts Organisation (BDO) events. Nicknamed "The Wizard", he won the premier event 2012 European Championship, and the 2022 World Cup of Darts for Australia, partnering Damon Heta. Whitlock is also a two-time World Championship finalist, having been the runner-up at the BDO World Darts Championship in 2008, and the PDC World Darts Championship in 2010. His defeat also made him the only player to have never won a World Championship after reaching the final in both the BDO and PDC.
Scott Waites is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is a two-time BDO World Darts Champion having won the 2013 tournament and 2016 tournament. He is also a former Winmau World Masters champion, WDF World Cup singles' champion, Zuiderduin Masters champion. He also won the 2010 Grand Slam of Darts, becoming the only BDO representative to win the event.
The split in darts refers to the acrimonious 1993 dispute between professional darts players and the game's governing body, the British Darts Organisation (BDO), resulting in the creation of a rival darts circuit under the banner of the World Darts Council, which eventually became the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).
Stephen Bunting is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number five. He is a former BDO World Champion, having won the 2014 World Championship.
Peter Stuart Wright is a Scottish professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number twelve, having been the world number one on two occasions in 2022. Nicknamed "Snakebite", he is a two-time world champion, having won the PDC World Darts Championship in 2020 and 2022. He also won the World Matchplay in 2021.
The 2013 Ladbrokes World Darts Championship was the 20th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The event took place at the Alexandra Palace, London between 14 December 2012 and 1 January 2013.
The three-dart average in darts is the average of the total score achieved with each turn of three darts.
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.
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Luke Littler 
2025 PDC World Darts Championship 
