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Nine-dart finish

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Standard dartboard

A nine-dart finish, also known as a nine-darter, is a perfect leg or single game in the sport of darts. The object of the game is to score a set number of points, most commonly 501; in order to win, a player must reach the target total exactly and hit a double scoring area with their last dart. When the target is 501, the minimum number of darts needed to reach it is nine. For example, one way to achieve a nine-dart finish is to score 60 (treble 20) on each of the first seven throws, then a 57 (treble 19) on the eighth, and lastly a 24 (double 12) on the ninth. It is regarded as an extremely difficult feat to achieve—even for the sport's top players—and is considered the highest single-game achievement in the sport, similar to a maximum 147 break in snooker or a 300-point game in bowling.

The feat was first achieved on television by John Lowe in 1984, and it has since been accomplished in televised matches a total of 93 times. Paul Lim was the first to hit a nine-darter in the World Championship, making history during the 1990 BDO World Darts Championship in a second-round victory over Jack McKenna. Phil Taylor has achieved the most on television, with 11, his first coming in 2002 and his last in 2015. Taylor is the only player to achieve two nine-darters in the same match, doing so in the final of the 2010 Premier League against James Wade. The following year, Brendan Dolan became the first to accomplish a nine-darter by starting and finishing with a double, as per the format of the World Grand Prix event of that year.

Adrian Lewis was the first player to hit a nine-darter in a World Championship final, doing so during the 2011 PDC World Darts Championship final against Gary Anderson. Twelve years later, Michael Smith repeated the feat in the 2023 PDC World Darts Championship final against Michael van Gerwen. In 2013, Terry Jenkins and Kyle Anderson were the first players to hit a nine-darter on the same day, doing so on the second day of the 2014 PDC World Darts Championship. Wade and Robert Thornton were the first players to both achieve a perfect leg in the same match, doing so during the 2014 World Grand Prix. In 2023, Fallon Sherrock became the first woman to achieve the feat on television.[1] At the 2024 Bahrain Darts Masters, Luke Littler became the youngest player to hit a televised nine-darter, accomplishing the feat two days before his 17th birthday.[2]

Methods of achievement

[edit]
See also: Darts § Scoring, and Darts § Games
A table depicting all paths to a nine-dart finish.
A table depicting all paths to a double-in double-out nine-dart finish.

A single game of darts (known as a leg) requires a player to score exactly 501 points, ending with either the bullseye or a double. Each shot consists of exactly three darts, and 60 is the maximum that can be scored with any one dart. Thus 180 is the maximum score from a shot, and nine throws are the minimum necessary to win.

Although many other combinations are possible, the traditional nine-dart finish requires a score of 60 (treble 20) with each of the first six throws: that is, with the first two shots of three.[3] That leaves 141 to score on the final shot (of three darts), known as the outshot.

This outshot of 141 is traditionally performed in one of three ways:

  • treble 20 (60), treble 19 (57) and double 12 (24)
  • treble 20 (60), treble 15 (45) and double 18 (36)
  • treble 17 (51), treble 18 (54) and double 18 (36)

Another way is to score 167 with each set of three darts, scoring a perfect 501 total, in the following way:

  • treble 20 (60), treble 19 (57) and bullseye (50)

By throwing each dart of a shot to a different place on the board, this eliminates the chance of any dart being deflected by an already thrown dart into the wrong scoring area but it is usually seen only in exhibition matches, as in tournaments, players are inclined to aim for the treble 20, only switching to the treble 19 for a cover shot.

Arguably the most difficult nine-dart finish would be 180 (3×T20), 171 (3×T19), and 150 (3×bullseye) – owing to the difficulty of getting all three darts in the bullseye: it is the smallest double on the board.

A nine-dart finish is also attainable in games which require a double to start scoring (a double-in; such games are thus termed double-in double-out with the existing double-out requirement). In such games, throwing for double 20 first can lead to a maximum score of 160 with the first shot, leaving the thrower commonly requiring 180 then 161 (T20, T17, bullseye) with their remaining six darts, though other outshots are possible. It is worth noting that in these games, only throwing for double 20, double 17, or bullseye to start the leg can result in a nine-dart finish, and if the bullseye is not the double-in, it must be the double-out (it can be both, although this would require a highly unorthodox finish using two bullseyes, such as T17-Bull-Bull for a 151).

The total number of different ways of achieving 501 with nine darts is 3,944,[4] of which 2,296 finish with the bullseye, 672 end on D20, 792 on D18, 56 end on D17, 120 end on D15, and 8 end on D12. 574 of the possible ways can be used in a double-in double-out game.

Nine-dart finishes in televised matches

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As of 8 August 2024, 96 nine-darters have been thrown in televised matches by 48 different players. 75 of those 101 hit two 180s and finished with a 141 check-out. English players have achieved a total of 49 nine-darters, 16 have been achieved by Dutch players, eight by Welsh players, six by Scottish players, four by Australians, three by Belgian and Irish players, two by Northern Irish, Portuguese and American[nb 1] players and one nine-darter has been achieved by players from Canada, Lithuania and Poland. The first televised nine-dart finish was achieved at the MFI World Matchplay on 13 October 1984 by John Lowe,[5] who checked out 141 with T17, T18, D18 after scoring two maximum 180s. For this he received a prize of £102,000, going on to win the whole event. This nine-dart finish was not broadcast live, nor was Paul Lim's at the 1990 BDO World Darts Championship. The first ever live broadcast nine-dart finish was performed by Shaun Greatbatch against Steve Coote in the final of the Dutch Open on 3 February 2002, while Phil Taylor achieved the first live nine-darter broadcast on British television during the 2002 World Matchplay.

Taylor has achieved the feat more than any other darts player on television,[6] having done so 11 times. His first came on 1 August 2002 during a quarter-final tie against Chris Mason at the 2002 World Matchplay in Blackpool, for which Taylor received £100,000.[7][8] Despite having achieved the feat a record 11 times, Taylor never hit a nine-darter in the World Championship, missing a chance on the outside wire of double 12 in his last match in the 2018 Final.

The youngest player to throw a televised nine-darter is Luke Littler, who hit the perfect leg in the quarter-finals of the 2024 Bahrain Darts Masters. The match was broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK. Littler was 16 years, 363 days old at the time.

The 2007 International Darts League became the first televised tournament to witness two nine-darters when Phil Taylor's nine-dart finish against Raymond van Barneveld was matched the following day by another one from Tony O'Shea against Adrian Lewis. In the second round of the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton, James Wade hit his first televised nine-dart-finish against Gary Anderson. The event was shown live on ITV4, making it the first time a nine-darter had been seen live on free-to-air television in the United Kingdom. Mervyn King hit his first televised nine-dart finish in the 2009 South African Masters in September 2009 against Wade, becoming the first player do so outside of Europe.[9]

On 24 May 2010, in the Premier League final against Wade, Taylor made history by being the first player to ever hit two nine-dart finishes in a single match. These were his seventh and eighth nine-dart finishes.[10][11] On 10 February 2017, Michael van Gerwen became the second player to hit two nine-dart finishes in a match, in a 2017 UK Open qualification event against Ryan Murray.[12]

Brendan Dolan was the first player ever to hit a nine-darter in a double-in double-out game, doing so in the semi-final of the 2011 World Grand Prix against James Wade on 8 October. He opened with double 20, before hitting successive treble 20s (160, 180) and then finished on 161 with T20, T17 and a bullseye.[13] He later changed his nickname to "The History Maker" to reflect his feat. In October 2014 at the World Grand Prix, Wade and his opponent Robert Thornton became the first players to both hit a nine-darter in the same match.[14][15] Wade is the only player to have hit a 'standard' nine-darter and a double-in double-out nine-darter in televised matches.[citation needed]

William Borland hit a nine-darter at the 2022 PDC World Darts Championship in his first-round matchup in the last leg of the match to become the first person to win a match on TV in the PDC by hitting a nine-darter.[16] On 17 February 2022, Gerwyn Price achieved two nine-dart finishes on the same day, doing so in two separate matches during night 3 of the 2022 Premier League Darts during a win against Michael van Gerwen in the semi-final, and then against James Wade in the final.[17] In total, Price achieved four nine-dart finishes in 2022; no player had previously managed more than two.[18]

World Championship nine-darters

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The first player to manage the outshot in the World Championship was Paul Lim on 9 January 1990 against Jack McKenna.[19] Lim won a £52,000 bonus for the feat, more than the £24,000 Phil Taylor received for winning the event. In the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship, Lim missed double 12 in his second round match against Gary Anderson, which would have made him the first player to do a nine-dart finish in both versions of the World Darts Championship. Even with two versions of the World Championship in operation, Lim's achievement was not repeated for nearly 19 years until 2 January 2009, when Raymond van Barneveld became the second person to achieve the feat and the first since the split in darts.[20] The finish came against Jelle Klaasen in the quarter-final of the 2009 World Championship at Alexandra Palace, and he claimed a £20,000 bonus prize. On 28 December 2009 he repeated the feat at the 2010 World Championship during his second round clash with Brendan Dolan.[21]

Adrian Lewis achieved a nine-dart finish in the third leg of the 2011 World Championship final against Gary Anderson.[22] On 23 December 2012 at the 2013 World Championship, Dean Winstanley hit a nine-dart finish in the third leg of the third set in his second round defeat to Vincent van der Voort.[23] Another nine-dart finish at this Championship was achieved by Michael van Gerwen in his semi-final victory over James Wade in the third leg of the fifth set. The leg after the nine-darter (the fourth leg of the fifth set) van Gerwen hit another eight perfect darts but missed the last dart at the double to achieve consecutive nine-dart finishes.[24]

On 14 December 2013 at the 2014 World Championship, Terry Jenkins and Kyle Anderson both hit nine-darters in their first round losses against Per Laursen and Ian White, respectively.[25] On 30 December 2014 in the third round of the 2015 World Championship, Adrian Lewis hit his second World Championship nine-dart finish and his third overall, though he lost the match 3–4 to Van Barneveld. On 2 January 2016 in the semi-finals of the 2016 World Championship, Gary Anderson hit a nine-dart finish to defeat Klaasen 6–0 to reach his third World Championship final.[26]

On 17 December 2021, during the first round of the 2022 World Championship, William Borland hit a nine-dart finish to defeat Bradley Brooks 3–2 in a last leg decider to reach the second round, becoming the first player in PDC history to win a televised match with a nine-dart finish.[27] He described it as "the best night of my life".[28] The following day, Darius Labanauskas achieved the feat during a 3–1 loss to Mike De Decker.[29] In the quarter-final, defending champion Gerwyn Price hit the third of the tournament in a loss to Michael Smith.[30]

On 3 January 2023, in the 2023 PDC World Darts Championship Final, Michael Smith and Michael van Gerwen both had three darts left to achieve a nine-dart finish in the same leg, later dubbed "the greatest leg in the history of darts". After van Gerwen missed on his ninth dart, Smith checked out 141, becoming the first player to register a nine-dart finish in the same leg that an opponent had missed-out by one dart. He thus became the second player to hit a 'nine-darter' in the final of the event. After Smith successfully completed his finish, popular commentator Wayne Mardle famously said 'I can't speak! I can't speak'.[31]

List of televised nine-dart finishes

[edit]
No. Date Player Opponent Tournament Method Broadcast Ref.
1 13 October 1984 England John Lowe England Keith Deller MFI World Matchplay 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T17, T18, D18 ITV
2 9 January 1990 United States Paul Lim Republic of Ireland Jack McKenna BDO World Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 BBC
3 3 February 2002 England Shaun Greatbatch England Steve Coote Dutch Open 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T15, D18 SBS6 [32]
4 1 August 2002 England Phil Taylor England Chris Mason World Matchplay 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Sky Sports
5 5 June 2004 England Phil Taylor (2) England Matt Chapman UK Open 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
6 12 June 2005 England Phil Taylor (3) Netherlands Roland Scholten UK Open 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
7 23 March 2006 Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld England Peter Manley Premier League Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [33]
8 17 February 2007 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld Masters of Darts T20, 2 x T19; 3 x T20; T20, T17, D18 SBS6 [34]
9 8 May 2007 England Phil Taylor (4) Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld International Darts League 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
10 9 May 2007 England Tony O'Shea England Adrian Lewis 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
11 9 June 2007 England Phil Taylor (5) England Wes Newton UK Open 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Sky Sports [35]
12 17 November 2007 England John Walton Wales Martin Phillips World Masters 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 BBC [36]
13 6 June 2008 England Phil Taylor (6) Scotland Jamie Harvey UK Open 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 Sky Sports [37]
14 20 November 2008 England James Wade Scotland Gary Anderson Grand Slam of Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 ITV
15 2 January 2009 Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld (2) Netherlands Jelle Klaasen PDC World Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Sky Sports [38]
16 27 September 2009 England Mervyn King England James Wade South African Masters 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
17 13 December 2009 England Darryl Fitton Scotland Ross Montgomery Zuiderduin Masters 2 x T20, T19; 3 x T20; 2 x T20, D12
18 28 December 2009 Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld (3) Northern Ireland Brendan Dolan PDC World Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Sky Sports [39]
19 29 April 2010 Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld (4) England Terry Jenkins Premier League Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [40]
20 24 May 2010 England Phil Taylor (7) England James Wade T20, 2 x T19; 3 x T20; T20, T17, D18 [41]
21 England Phil Taylor (8) England James Wade 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [41]
22 5 June 2010 England Mervyn King (2) Scotland Gary Anderson UK Open 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [42]
23 17 July 2010 Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld (5) England Denis Ovens World Matchplay 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [43][44]
24 3 January 2011 England Adrian Lewis Scotland Gary Anderson PDC World Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [45][46]
25 16 July 2011 Canada John Part Wales Mark Webster World Matchplay 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [47]
26 31 July 2011 England Adrian Lewis (2) Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld European Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 ITV [48]
27 8 October 2011 Northern Ireland Brendan Dolan England James Wade World Grand Prix double-in double-out
D20, 2 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T17, bullseye 		Sky Sports [49]
28 16 February 2012 England Phil Taylor (9) England Kevin Painter Premier League Darts 3 x T20; T20, 2 x T19; T20, T17, D18 [50]
29 17 May 2012 Australia Simon Whitlock England Andy Hamilton 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T15, D18 [51]
30 8 June 2012 Scotland Gary Anderson England Davey Dodds UK Open 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [52]
31 25 July 2012 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen (2) England Steve Beaton World Matchplay 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
32 26 July 2012 England Wes Newton England Justin Pipe 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 [53]
33 23 December 2012 England Dean Winstanley Netherlands Vincent van der Voort PDC World Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [54]
34 30 December 2012 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen (3) England James Wade 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 [55]
35 14 December 2013 England Terry Jenkins Denmark Per Laursen PDC World Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
36 Australia Kyle Anderson England Ian White 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
37 23 July 2014 England Phil Taylor (10) England Michael Smith World Matchplay 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12
38 8 October 2014 England James Wade (2) Scotland Robert Thornton World Grand Prix double-in double-out
D20, 2 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T17, bullseye
39 Scotland Robert Thornton England James Wade double-in double-out
D20, 2 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T17, bullseye
40 26 October 2014 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen (4) Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld European Championship 2 x T20, T19; 3 x T20; 2 x T20, D12 ITV
41 14 November 2014 Belgium Kim Huybrechts Netherlands Michael van Gerwen Grand Slam of Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Sky Sports
42 30 December 2014 England Adrian Lewis (3) Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld PDC World Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
43 1 February 2015 England Darryl Fitton (2) England Martin Adams Dutch Open 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
44 22 August 2015 England Phil Taylor (11) Scotland Peter Wright Sydney Darts Masters 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 ITV
45 8 November 2015 England Dave Chisnall Scotland Peter Wright Grand Slam of Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Sky Sports
46 2 January 2016 Scotland Gary Anderson (2) Netherlands Jelle Klaasen PDC World Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
47 5 March 2016 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen (5) England Rob Cross UK Open 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 ITV
48 14 April 2016 England Adrian Lewis (4) England James Wade Premier League Darts 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 Sky Sports
49 25 November 2016 England Alan Norris (4) England Michael Smith 2016 Players Championship Finals 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 ITV
50 13 April 2017 England Adrian Lewis (5) Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld Premier League Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Sky Sports
51 29 October 2017 Australia Kyle Anderson (2) Netherlands Michael van Gerwen European Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 ITV
52 26 July 2018 Scotland Gary Anderson (3) England Joe Cullen World Matchplay 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Sky Sports
53 14 November 2018 Belgium Dimitri Van den Bergh England Stephen Bunting Grand Slam of Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
54 23 November 2019 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen (6) England Adrian Lewis Players Championship Finals 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 ITV [56]
55 27 February 2020 England Michael Smith Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney Premier League Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Sky Sports
56 7 March 2020 Wales Jonny Clayton England Chris Dobey UK Open 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 ITV [57]
57 8 March 2020 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen (7) Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [58]
58 29 August 2020 Scotland Peter Wright Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney Premier League Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Sky Sports [59]
59 29 October 2020 Portugal José de Sousa Netherlands Jeffrey de Zwaan European Championship 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 ITV [60]
60 29 December 2020 England James Wade (3) England Stephen Bunting PDC World Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Sky Sports
61 7 April 2021  Jonny Clayton (2)  José de Sousa Premier League Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Sky Sports
62 8 April 2021  José de Sousa (2)  Nathan Aspinall 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
63 28 August 2021  Richie Burnett  Scott Williams Online Darts Live League 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T15, D18 Sporty Stuff TV [61]
64 1 September 2021 England Martin Adams England Jamie Caven 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [62]
65 9 September 2021 England Colin Osborne  John O'Shea 3 x T20; 2 x T19, T20; 2 x T20, D12
66 22 November 2021 England Martin Adams (2)  Scott Williams 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [63]
67 17 December 2021  William Borland  Bradley Brooks PDC World Championship 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 Sky Sports
68 18 December 2021  Darius Labanauskas  Mike De Decker T20, 2 x T19; 3 x T20; T20, T17, D18
69 1 January 2022  Gerwyn Price  Michael Smith 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T19, T20, D12
70 17 February 2022  Gerwyn Price (2)  Michael van Gerwen Premier League Darts 2 x T20, T19; 3 x T20; 2 x T20, D12
71  Gerwyn Price (3)  James Wade 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T19, T20, D12
72 5 March 2022  James Wade (4)  Boris Krčmar UK Open 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 ITV
73  Michael Smith (2)  Mensur Suljović 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
74 2 July 2022 Republic of Ireland Conor Heneghan  Thibault Tricole Online Darts Live League 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Sporty Stuff TV [64]
75 22 July 2022  Graham Usher England Dan Read 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [65]
76 23 July 2022  Gerwyn Price (4)  Danny Noppert World Matchplay 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T19, T20, D12 Sky Sports
77 16 September 2022 Republic of Ireland Conor Heneghan (2)  Adam Smith-Neale MODUS Super Series 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Sporty Stuff TV [66]
78 17 November 2022  Josh Rock  Michael van Gerwen Grand Slam of Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Sky Sports
79 27 November 2022  Michael van Gerwen (8)  Rob Cross Players Championship Finals 2 x T20, T19; 3 x T20; 2 x T20, D12 ITV
80 3 January 2023  Michael Smith (3)  Michael van Gerwen PDC World Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Sky Sports
81 9 March 2023 Republic of Ireland Conor Heneghan (3)  Alan Norris MODUS Super Series 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Sporty Stuff TV [67]
82 4 August 2023  Steve West England Luke Littler 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [68]
83 15 August 2023 England Darryl Pilgrim England Scott Taylor 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T15, D18 [69]
84 25 August 2023  Fallon Sherrock England Adam Lipscombe 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [70][71]
85 17 September 2023  Michael van Gerwen (9) England Luke Humphries World Series of Darts Finals T20, 2 x T19; 3 x T20; T20, T17, D18 ITV [72]
86 2 November 2023  Sebastian Białecki  Anton Östlund MODUS Super Series 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 Sporty Stuff TV [73]
87 13 November 2023  Ryan Searle  Nathan Rafferty Grand Slam of Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Sky Sports [74]
88 25 November 2023  Leonard Gates England Martin Thomas MODUS Super Series 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 Sporty Stuff TV [75]
89 26 November 2023  Michael van Gerwen (10)  Luke Humphries Players Championship Finals 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 ITV [76]
90 10 December 2023 Sweden Andreas Harrysson Denmark Andreas Toft-Jørgensen Modus Super Series 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T15, D18 Sporty Stuff TV [77]
91 19 January 2024  Luke Littler  Nathan Aspinall Bahrain Darts Masters 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 ITV [78]
92 4 April 2024  Gerwyn Price (5)  Michael Smith Premier League Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T19, T20, D12 Sky Sports [79]
93 23 May 2024  Luke Littler (2)  Luke Humphries 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [80]
94 14 July 2024  Dimitri Van den Bergh (2)  Martin Schindler World Matchplay 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12

Statistics

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Multiple nine-darters in televised matches

[edit]

The following table lists the number of perfect legs recorded by players who have scored multiple nine-darters in televised matches.

As of 8 August 2024

Rank Player Nine-darters Last
1 England Phil Taylor 11 2015
2 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 10 2023
3 Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld 5 2010
England Adrian Lewis 2017
Wales Gerwyn Price 2024
6 England James Wade 4 2022
7 Scotland Gary Anderson 3 2018
England Michael Smith 2023
Republic of Ireland Conor Heneghan 2023
10 England Mervyn King 2 2010
England Darryl Fitton 2015
Australia Kyle Anderson 2017
Wales Jonny Clayton 2021
Portugal José de Sousa 2021
England Martin Adams 2021
England Luke Littler 2024
Belgium Dimitri Van den Bergh 2024

Nine-darter in televised matches by tournament

[edit]
Tournament Total Org. Achieved by Last
Premier League Darts 16 PDC Phil Taylor (3), Gerwyn Price (3), Raymond van Barneveld (2), Adrian Lewis (2), Simon Whitlock, Michael Smith, Peter Wright, Jonny Clayton, José de Sousa, Luke Littler 2024
PDC World Darts Championship 14 PDC Raymond van Barneveld (2), Adrian Lewis (2), Dean Winstanley, Michael van Gerwen, Terry Jenkins, Kyle Anderson, Gary Anderson, James Wade, William Borland, Darius Labanauskas, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith 2023
UK Open 11 PDC Phil Taylor (4), Michael van Gerwen (2), Mervyn King, Gary Anderson, Jonny Clayton, James Wade, Michael Smith 2022
PDC World Matchplay 9 PDC Phil Taylor (2), Raymond van Barneveld, John Part, Michael van Gerwen, Wes Newton, Gary Anderson, Gerwyn Price, Dimitri Van den Bergh 2024
MODUS Super Series 8 ADC Conor Heneghan (2), Steve West, Darryl Pilgrim, Fallon Sherrock, Sebastian Białecki, Leonard Gates, Andreas Harrysson 2024
Online Darts Live League 6 ADC Martin Adams (2), Richie Burnett, Colin Osborne, Connor Heneghan, Graham Usher 2022
Grand Slam of Darts 6 PDC James Wade, Kim Huybrechts, Dave Chisnall, Dimitri Van den Bergh, Josh Rock, Ryan Searle 2023
European Championship 4 PDC Adrian Lewis, Michael van Gerwen, Kyle Anderson, José de Sousa 2020
Players Championship Finals 4 PDC Michael van Gerwen (3), Alan Norris 2023
World Grand Prix 3 PDC Brendan Dolan, James Wade, Robert Thornton 2014
International Darts League 2 BDO Phil Taylor, Tony O'Shea 2007
Dutch Open 2 BDO Shaun Greatbatch, Darryl Fitton 2015
MFI World Matchplay 1 BDO John Lowe 1984
BDO World Darts Championship 1 BDO Paul Lim 1990
Masters of Darts 1 PDC

BDO

Michael van Gerwen 2007
World Masters 1 BDO John Walton 2007
South African Masters 1 PDC Mervyn King 2009
Zuiderduin Masters 1 BDO Darryl Fitton 2009
Sydney Darts Masters 1 PDC Phil Taylor 2015
World Series of Darts Finals 1 PDC Michael van Gerwen 2023
Bahrain Darts Masters 1 PDC Luke Littler 2024

Nine-dart-finish prize money

[edit]

In 1984, John Lowe pocketed £102,000 for the first TV perfect leg. With nine-dart finishes now thrown on a regular basis the reward for throwing one has decreased. Until 2013 the PDC had a rolling £400 prize-pool for a nine-dart leg.[81] As long as it wasn't won, it increased by £400 for the next event. In 2013 the bonus stopped being awarded.[82] For all PDC Premier events, the PDC formerly had a rolling £5000 prize-pool for a nine-dart leg.[83] As long as it isn't won, the prize for hitting a nine-dart leg is increased by £5000. If multiple players hit a nine-dart finish in one premier event, the money is split evenly across all players who achieved a nine-dart finish in that event. So the prize for a nine-darter varies for every PDC premier event. In the 2015 tournament, achieving the perfect leg in the PDC World Championships would win £10,000, (in the 2014 tournament the prize was £30,000). The reward for a nine-darter during the most recent BDO World Darts Championship was £52,000.[citation needed]

In 2019, a special prize of £100,000 was available to any player who hits two nine-dart finishes at the PDC World Championships, a feat which has never previously been achieved at any World Championship. As such, it didn't happen, and by the end of 2019, all prize money for nine-dart finishes were withdrawn, owing to the ever increasing prize fund for tournaments.

Women's nine-darters

[edit]

Mandy Solomons was the first woman to ever record a nine-dart finish in competition. It came in a match against Robert Hughes during the qualifying rounds for the 1996 BDO World Championship on 30 November 1995 at Earls Court, London. It was the first time female players were allowed to enter the qualifying rounds for the BDO World Championship. Hughes did end up winning the match 2–0, however.[84] Solomons was also one of the first women to record a nine-dart finish in a regional Super League match.[85]

Claire Stainsby and Glen Durrant made history when they recorded the first ever nine-dart finish in mixed pairs competition at the 2013 BDO International Open in Brean, Somerset.[86][87] Durrant opened up with a 177, and then Stainsby followed that up with a 180 to leave Durrant on 144, which he ended up taking out for the first nine-dart finish in mixed pairs competition.[88] As a result, Claire Stainsby was inducted into the BDO 9 Dart Club, thus becoming the first and so far only female to be inducted.[89]

Ten-time World Champion Trina Gulliver revealed she has twice missed her last dart to record a nine-dart finish. One was a double 18 for $100,000 at an event in Canada and another missed double was for a car at an event in Ireland.[90]

15-year-old Beau Greaves hit a nine-darter in a competition at Balby Bridge on 17 April 2019.[91]

In 2023, during her 5–3 victory over Marco Verhofstad, Fallon Sherrock became the first woman to hit a nine-darter at a PDC event.[92]

On 25 August 2023, Sherrock made history once again, as she became the first woman ever, to hit a televised 9 darter, during the Modus Super Series: Online Darts Live League.[93]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Paul Lim was representing the United States when he threw his nine-darter. He has subsequently represented Singapore.

References

[edit]
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