The sport of darts is more popular than ever, with millions of fans regularly watching these talented players compete in tournaments around the world. The year ends with the prestigious PDC World Darts Championship at a packed-out Alexandra Palace in London, a venue with one of the greatest atmospheres in sport. The current World Champion is Michael Smith who defeated Michael van Gerwen in a thrilling 7-4 victory to claim his first-ever World title and upset the pre-tournament darts betting.
Professional Darts Tournaments
The most prestigious Darts tournaments are:-
- PDC World Darts Championship
- World Matchplay
- The World Grand Prix
- Cazoo European Darts Championship
- World Cup of Darts
- Players Championship Finals
- UK Open
- Premier League Darts
- Grand Slam of Darts
Darts is popular for a whole host of reasons, but one major factor is the games simplicity. That means that anyone new to the sport can start playing in no time at all because the rules are simple.
Basic Rules of 501:
Most tournament darts play a game called 501. The object is for a player to be the first to reach zero from a starting total of 501. Two players take it in turns to throw three darts each, they then subtract the number of points scored from 501 and try to reach zero before their opponent. Importantly, in order to reach zero a player must finish by throwing a double. So, for example, if they have 40 points remaining, they must hit double 20 to win.
Best Darts players in the World
Michael Smith:
Nickname: Bully Boy
The current World Champion and World number one Smith was named PDC Player of the Year at the 2022 PDC Annual Awards. If follows an incredibly successful 2022 for the player that saw him add the Grand Slam of Darts and US Darts master’s title to his world crown. The Englishman was also named Selco Fans’ Player of the Year and PDPA Players’ Player of the Year.
Peter Wright
Nickname: Snakebite
The current world number 2 is renowned as one of the sport’s most flamboyant performers thanks to his colourful hairstyle and laid-back demeanour. The former World Champion has already picked up a title this year in the Viaplay Nordic Darts Masters. He defeated Gerwyn Price 11-5 in the final in Copenhagen and remains a big fan favourite.
Michael Van Gerwen
Nickname: Mighty Mike
Currently ranked number 3 in the world, Van Gerwen is one of the game’s all-time greats. He has won three World Championship titles and spent eight years as world number one. During his career he has won over 140 PDC titles and is the first and only player to achieve the full set of televised PDC titles.
Gerwyn Price
Nickname: The Iceman
Welshman Price has risen rapidly up the world rankings since joining the PDC circuit in 2014. The current world number 4 was crowned World Champion for the first time in January 2021 and won an impressive 5 tournaments in 2022, including the International Darts Open and the World Series of Darts Finals.
Players to watch out for
Josh Rock
Nickname: Rocky
The world number 37 was named PDC Young Player of the Year at the 2022 PDC Annual Awards, following an incredible year that saw him win five Development Tour titles and a maiden ProTour crown. The impressive 21-year-old also lifted the Winmau World Youth Championship and made a sensational run to the last 16 of the Cazoo World Darts Championship. The Northern Irishman is undoubtedly a star of the future and will be looking forward to adding more titles to his name in 2023.
Greatest moments in Darts history
2007 PDC World Championship final: Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld
There have been so many memorable matches over the years but ask any darts fan what the greatest game ever played is and they will probably say the 2007 PDC World Championship final between Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld – two of the greatest players to have ever played the game.
The 13-time world champion Phil Taylor played Dutchman Van Barneveld who was competing in his first-ever PDC final. Taylor dominated the early stages, taking the first three sets. But Van Barneveld started to find his range and levelled the match at 6-6, meaning a deciding set was required to discover who would be crowned world champion.
The first 10 legs went with the throw after Van Barneveld missed three match darts. Another opportunity presented itself in the sudden death leg but again he let it slip. However, Taylor couldn’t make him pay and Barney finally took his maiden crown with a double top.
2022 World Championship Final: Michael Smith vs Michael Van Gerwen
In just 61 seconds and 18 darts, the two best players in the world produced a scintillating display of darts that will go down as one of the greatest moments in sporting history. In the third leg of the second set, both men had thrown six perfect darts, leaving the packed crowd at the Alexandra Palace in raptures. Could they be about to witness a nine-dart finish?
Van Gerwen stepped up first and his next two darts were arrow perfect, leaving him double 12 for a history making leg. He missed. Smith was up next and just like Gerwen, his first two darts were perfect, leaving him with a double 12 to take the leg. The rest is history.
