Professional Darts Corporation Triple Crown

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The Triple Crown refers to winning three of the most prestigious tournaments in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC): the World Championship, the World Matchplay, and the Premier League. [1] [2] Since the PDC's inception in 1994, five professional players have won a career Triple Crown: Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, Luke Humphries and Luke Littler. [3]

Contents

Taylor has won the most Triple Crown events, with 36, with his nearest competitor being van Gerwen with 13. Anderson has five, while since 2023 both Humphries and Littler have won three, with Littler the most recent Triple Crown winner. Of the five, only Taylor has won all three Triple Crown events in a single season, accomplishing this feat twice, in 2006 and 2010. Four further players are required to win only one of the three tournaments to be a Triple Crown champion; James Wade, Peter Wright, Rob Cross, and Raymond van Barneveld.

History

In 2005, the inaugural Premier League was held. The event was won by Phil Taylor, who became the first player to win a career Triple Crown in the process, having already won the World Championship and World Matchplay. [4] In 2006, Taylor won the World Championship, Matchplay and Premier League, becoming the first player to win all three tournaments in the same year, and repeated the feat in 2010. [5] He remains the only player to have won all three Triple Crown tournaments in a single year. By 2015, the three tournaments were referred to as the Triple Crown, with Michael van Gerwen being next to achieve the career Triple Crown at the 2015 World Matchplay. [6] [7] In 2018, Anderson became the third player to complete the Triple Crown, winning the World Matchplay seven years after his first Triple Crown title. [8] [9] [10] In 2025, Luke Humphries and Luke Littler became the fourth and fifth players to complete the Triple Crown respectively. Both players took less than two years to complete the achievement, with Humphries doing so by winning the 2025 Premier League while Littler completed the set at the 2025 World Matchplay. [11] [12]

The Triple Crown has been regarded by some as a presitigious achievement and goal of players owing to its rarity, with Luke Humphries describing the achievement as "really, really special" upon becoming the fourth player to win the Triple Crown. [13] Luke Littler, the most recent Triple Crown winner described the Triple Crown as an achievement had was "focused on" prior to completing it at the 2025 World Matchplay, though he also said that he hadn't previously "realised the Triple Crown was a thing". [14] However, the status of the Triple Crown has been controversial, with critics such as former Players Champion and pundit Paul Nicholson pointing out its lack of official designation by the PDC. [15] Other critics have suggested that the inclusion of the Premier League undermines the acheivement as it is an invitational tournament. [16]

Career Triple Crown winners

Five players have completed a career Triple Crown: Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson, Luke Humphries, and Luke Littler. Only Taylor has won all three Triple Crown events in the same year, a feat he achieved twice, in 2006 and 2010. After winning the World Championship in 2017, van Gerwen held all 3 Triple Crown titles simultaneously (having won both the Premier League and the Matchplay in 2016). [17]

PlayerTotalWorld
Championship
World
Matchplay
Premier
League
Winning
span
Career Triple Crown
first achieved
Single year
Triple Crown
Ref.
Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor 36141661995–2017 2005 Premier League 2006
2010
[5]
Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Michael van Gerwen 133372013–2023 2015 World Matchplay [18]
Flag of Scotland.svg   Gary Anderson 52122011–2018 2018 World Matchplay [10]
Flag of England.svg   Luke Humphries 31112024–2025 2025 Premier League [19]
Flag of England.svg   Luke Littler 31112024–2025 2025 World Matchplay [20]
Legend
The names of active players are marked in bold.

Other tournament winners

One win away from Triple Crown

James Wade has won the Premier League and World Matchplay once each, meaning he needs to win the World Championship to complete the Triple Crown. [21] Peter Wright is yet to win the Premier League, but does have two World Championship titles and a World Matchplay title to his name. With three Triple Crown competition wins, he has the highest number of Triple Crown titles of any player who has not completed the set. [22] Rob Cross also needs to win the Premier League to complete the Triple Crown having won the World Championship in 2018 and World Matchplay in 2019. [23] Raymond van Barneveld has won the Premier League and World Championship once each, and needs to win a Matchplay to complete the set. [24]

Wright, van Barneveld and Cross have all reached the final of their respective missing Triple Crown tournaments, whereas Wade is a four-time World Championship semi-finalist. [17] [25]

Players with at least two different PDC Triple Crown titles
PlayerTotalWorld ChampionshipWorld MatchplayPremier LeagueWinning span
Flag of England.svg   Phil Taylor 36141661995–2017
Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Michael van Gerwen 133372013–2023
Flag of Scotland.svg   Gary Anderson 52122011–2018
Flag of Scotland.svg   Peter Wright 32102020–2022
Flag of England.svg   Luke Humphries 31112024–2025
Flag of England.svg   Luke Littler 31112024–2025
Flag of England.svg   Rob Cross 21102018–2019
Flag of the Netherlands.svg   Raymond van Barneveld 21012007–2014
Flag of England.svg   James Wade 20112007–2009
Legend
Player, marked in bold, won all three Triple Crown tournaments.
Player won two of the three Triple Crown tournaments.

References

  1. "Anderson seals thrilling Matchplay win". BBC Sport. 29 July 2018.
  2. "World Matchplay: What if Gary Anderson wins the triple crown?". Sky Sports.
  3. "World Matchplay 2025: Luke Littler beats James Wade to win Phil Taylor Trophy and complete Triple Crown in Blackpool". Sky Sports. 27 July 2025.
  4. "Premier League Darts 2005". www.darts1.de (in German). Retrieved 29 August 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Phil Taylor - Won Titles". Mastercaller.
  6. "Gary Anderson off to winning start at the World Matchplay". Sky Sports. 19 July 2015.
  7. Mirza, Raz (28 July 2015). "Michael van Gerwen wins World Matchplay: What did we learn?". Sky Sports.
  8. "World Matchplay: Gary Anderson wins to complete 'triple crown' of darts". BBC Sport. 29 July 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
  9. Mirza, Raz (30 July 2018). "Gary Anderson wins maiden World Matchplay title at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool". Sky Sports. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
  10. 1 2 "Gary Anderson - Won Titles". Mastercaller.
  11. "Luke Humphries: Premier League Darts winner on personal struggles, Phil Taylor's advice and Luke Littler". BBC Sport. 30 May 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
  12. "Luke Littler wins World Matchplay Darts final against James Wade to complete Triple Crown". BBC Sport. 27 July 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
  13. "Luke Humphries: Premier League Darts winner on personal struggles, Phil Taylor's advice and Luke Littler". BBC Sport. 30 May 2025. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  14. "Luke Littler eyeing World Matchplay glory to join 'Triple Crown' exclusive club alongside Luke Humphries". Sky Sports. 19 July 2025. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  15. Gill, Samuel (5 August 2025). ""The Triple Crown is made up, it's not a thing": Paul Nicholson urges PDC to act amid ongoing contentious debate". Darts News. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  16. Prescott, Connor (2 August 2025). "What is the darts 'Triple Crown': Why is it controversial?". Darts News. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  17. 1 2 "PDC Roll of Honour, Darts Championships - PDC". PDC. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  18. "Michael van Gerwen - Won Titles". Mastercaller.
  19. "Luke Humphries - Won Titles". Mastercaller.
  20. "Luke Littler - Won Titles". Mastercaller.
  21. "James Wade - Won Titles". Mastercaller.
  22. "Peter Wright - Won Titles". Mastercaller.
  23. "Rob Cross - Won Titles". Mastercaller.
  24. "Raymond van Barneveld - Won Titles". Mastercaller.
  25. "James Wade". PDC. Retrieved 2025-08-31.