PDC World Darts Championship
Annual darts tournament
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The PDC World Darts Championship, officially known as the Paddy Power World Darts Championship for sponsorship reasons, 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 stage at the 2016 edition | |
| Founded | 1994 |
|---|---|
| First season | 1994 |
| Organizing body | Professional Darts Corporation |
| Country | England |
| Venues | Circus Tavern (1994–2007) Alexandra Palace (since 2008) |
| Most recent champion |  Luke Littler (2026) |
| Broadcaster | Sky Sports (1993–) |
| Tournament format | Sets |
 2026 PDC World Darts Championship | |
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.
There have been thirteen different winners since the tournament's inception. With 14 wins from 25 appearances, Phil Taylor dominated the competition until last winning it in 2013. Other players to win more than once are John Part (2003 & 2008), Adrian Lewis (2011 & 2012), Gary Anderson (2015 & 2016), Michael van Gerwen (2014, 2017 & 2019), Peter Wright (2020 & 2022) and Luke Littler (2025 & 2026). The one-time winners are the inaugural champion Dennis Priestley (1994), Raymond van Barneveld (2007), Rob Cross (2018), Gerwyn Price (2021), Michael Smith (2023) and Luke Humphries (2024).
History
In 1992, some high-profile players, including all previous winners of the BDO World Darts Championship still active in the game, formed the WDC, and in 1994, held their first World Championship. Dennis Priestley won the inaugural competition.
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 prize fund for the tournament was £2.5 million with £500,000 to the winner from 2019. The 2025/26 World Championship will see the field expand to 128 players with the prize fund increasing to £5 million with a record £1 million to the champion.
In the 2001 PDC World Darts Championship Gayl King became the first woman to play in the PDC World Darts Championship. Since then Anastasia Dobromyslova, Deta Hedman, Lisa Ashton, Fallon Sherrock, Mikuru Suzuki, Beau Greaves and Noa-Lynn van Leuven have all played in the PDC World Darts Championship. In the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship Sherrock became the first woman to defeat a man in the PDC World Darts Championship, when she defeated Ted Evetts. In the next round she also defeated Mensur Suljovic before losing to Chris Dobey. Sherrock remains the only woman to defeat a man in the PDC World Darts Championship.
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] From the edition of 2027, the play will take place at the Great Hall, which expands the capacity to 5,000.[4]
List of finals
| Year | Champion (average in final)[5] | Score | Runner-up (average in final) | Prize money | Sponsor | Venue | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total[6] | Champion | Runner-up | ||||||
| 1994 | Dennis Priestley (94.38) |
6–1 | Phil Taylor (85.62) |
£64,000 | £16,000 | £8,000 | Skol | Circus Tavern, Purfleet |
| 1995 | Phil Taylor (94.11) |
6–2 | Rod Harrington (87.15) |
£55,000 | £12,000 | £6,000 | Proton Cars | |
| 1996 | Phil Taylor (98.52) |
6–4 | Dennis Priestley (101.48) |
£62,500 | £14,000 | £7,000 | Vernon's Pools | |
| 1997 | Phil Taylor (100.92) |
6–3 | Dennis Priestley (96.78) |
£99,500 | £45,000 | £10,000 | Red Band | |
| 1998 | Phil Taylor (103.98) |
6–0 | Dennis Priestley (90.75) |
£72,500 | £20,000 | Skol | ||
| 1999 | Phil Taylor (97.11) |
6–2 | Peter Manley (93.63) |
£104,000 | £30,000 | £16,000 | ||
| 2000 | Phil Taylor (94.42) |
7–3 | Dennis Priestley (91.80) |
£111,000 | £31,000 | £16,400 | ||
| 2001 | Phil Taylor (107.46) |
7–0 |  John Part (92.58) |
£125,000 | £33,000 | £18,000 | ||
| 2002 | Phil Taylor (98.47) |
7–0 | Peter Manley (91.35) |
£205,000 | £50,000 | £25,000 | ||
| 2003 | John Part (96.87) |
7–6 | Phil Taylor (99.98) |
£237,000 | Ladbrokes | |||
| 2004 | Phil Taylor (96.03) |
7–6 | Kevin Painter (90.48) |
£257,000 | ||||
| 2005 | Phil Taylor (96.14) |
7–4 | Mark Dudbridge (90.66) |
£300,000 | £60,000 | £30,000 | ||
| 2006 | Phil Taylor (106.74) |
7–0 | Peter Manley (91.72) |
£500,000 | £100,000 | £50,000 | ||
| 2007 |  Raymond van Barneveld (100.93) |
7–6 | Phil Taylor (100.86) | |||||
| 2008 | John Part (92.86) |
7–2 | Kirk Shepherd (85.10) |
£589,000 | Alexandra Palace, London | |||
| 2009 | Phil Taylor (110.94) |
7–1 | Raymond van Barneveld (101.18) |
£724,000 | £125,000 | £60,000 | ||
| 2010 | Phil Taylor (104.38) |
7–3 |  Simon Whitlock (100.51) |
£1,000,000 | £200,000 | £100,000 | ||
| 2011 | Adrian Lewis (99.40) |
7–5 |  Gary Anderson (99.41) | |||||
| 2012 | Adrian Lewis (93.06) |
7–3 | Andy Hamilton (90.83) | |||||
| 2013 | Phil Taylor (103.04) |
7–4 | Michael van Gerwen (100.66) | |||||
| 2014 | Michael van Gerwen (100.10) |
7–4 | Peter Wright (95.71) |
£1,050,000 | £250,000 | |||
| 2015 | Gary Anderson (97.68) |
7–6 | Phil Taylor (100.69) |
£1,250,000 | £120,000 | William Hill | ||
| 2016 | Gary Anderson (99.26) |
7–5 | Adrian Lewis (100.23) |
£1,500,000 | £300,000 | £150,000 | ||
| 2017 | Michael van Gerwen (108.06) |
7–3 | Gary Anderson (104.93) |
£1,650,000 | £350,000 | £160,000 | ||
| 2018 | Rob Cross (107.67) |
7–2 | Phil Taylor (102.26) |
£1,800,000 | £400,000 | £170,000 | ||
| 2019 | Michael van Gerwen (102.21) |
7–3 | Michael Smith (95.29) |
£2,500,000 | £500,000 | £200,000 | ||
| 2020 | Peter Wright (102.79) |
7–3 | Michael van Gerwen (102.88) | |||||
| 2021 |  Gerwyn Price (100.08) |
7–3 | Gary Anderson (94.25) | |||||
| 2022 | Peter Wright (98.34) |
7–5 | Michael Smith (99.22) | |||||
| 2023 | Michael Smith (100.71)[7] |
7–4 | Michael van Gerwen (99.58) |
Cazoo | ||||
| 2024 | Luke Humphries (103.67) |
7–4 | Luke Littler (101.13) |
Paddy Power | ||||
| 2025 | Luke Littler (102.73) |
7–3 | Michael van Gerwen (100.69) | |||||
| 2026 | Luke Littler (106.02) |
7–1 | Gian van Veen (99.94) |
£5,000,000 | £1,000,000 | £400,000 | ||
Records and statistics
- As of 3 January 2026.
Total finalist appearances
| Rank | Player | Winner | Runner-up | Finals | Apps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phil Taylor |
14 | 5 | 19 | 25 |
| 2 | Michael van Gerwen |
3 | 4 | 7 | 18 |
| 3 | Gary Anderson |
2 | 3 | 5 | 16 |
| 4 | John Part |
2 | 1 | 3 | 18 |
| Adrian Lewis |
2 | 1 | 3 | 18 | |
| Peter Wright |
2 | 1 | 3 | 16 | |
| Luke Littler |
2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | |
| 8 | Dennis Priestley |
1 | 4 | 5 | 19 |
| 9 | Michael Smith |
1 | 2 | 3 | 14 |
| 10 | Raymond van Barneveld |
1 | 1 | 2 | 18 |
| 11 | Luke Humphries |
1 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Rob Cross |
1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | |
| Gerwyn Price |
1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | |
| 14 | Peter Manley |
0 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
| 15 | Rod Harrington |
0 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Kevin Painter |
0 | 1 | 1 | 17 | |
| Mark Dudbridge |
0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| Kirk Shepherd |
0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| Simon Whitlock |
0 | 1 | 1 | 15 | |
| Andy Hamilton |
0 | 1 | 1 | 13 | |
| Gian van Veen |
0 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
- Active players are shown in bold
- Only players who reached the final are included
- In the event of identical records, players are sorted by date first achieved
Champions by country
| Country | Players | Total | First title | Last title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England |
7 | 22 | 1994 | 2026 |
| Netherlands |
2 | 4 | 2007 | 2019 |
| Scotland |
2 | 4 | 2015 | 2022 |
| Canada |
1 | 2 | 2003 | 2008 |
| Wales |
1 | 1 | 2021 | 2021 |
Nine-dart finishes
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.
| Number | Player | Year (+ Round) | Method | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Raymond van Barneveld |
2009, Quarter-Final | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Jelle Klaasen |
Won |
| 2. | Raymond van Barneveld |
2010, 2nd Round | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 |  Brendan Dolan |
Won |
| 3. | Adrian Lewis |
2011, Final | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Gary Anderson |
Won |
| 4. | Dean Winstanley |
2013, 2nd Round | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Vincent van der Voort |
Lost |
| 5. | Michael van Gerwen |
2013, Semi-Final | 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 | James Wade |
Won |
| 6. | Terry Jenkins |
2014, 1st Round | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 |  Per Laursen |
Lost |
| 7. | Kyle Anderson |
2014, 1st Round | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Ian White |
Lost |
| 8. | Adrian Lewis |
2015, 3rd Round | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Raymond van Barneveld |
Lost |
| 9. | Gary Anderson |
2016, Semi-Final | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Jelle Klaasen |
Won |
| 10. | James Wade |
2021, 3rd Round | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Stephen Bunting |
Lost |
| 11. | William Borland |
2022, 1st Round | 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 | Bradley Brooks |
Won |
| 12. |  Darius Labanauskas |
2022, 1st Round | T20, 2 x T19; 3 x T20; T20, T17, D18 |  Mike De Decker |
Lost |
| 13. | Gerwyn Price |
2022, Quarter-Final | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T19, T20, D12 | Michael Smith |
Lost |
| 14. | Michael Smith |
2023, Final | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Michael van Gerwen |
Won |
| 15. | Christian Kist |
2025, 1st Round | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 |  Madars Razma |
Lost |
| 16. | Damon Heta |
2025, 3rd Round | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Luke Woodhouse |
Lost |
Averages
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.
In 2010 Phil 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.
| Ten highest PDC World Championship one-match averages[8] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Player | Year (+Round) | Opponent | Result |
| 114.05 | Michael van Gerwen |
2017, Semi-Final | Raymond van Barneveld |
6–2 |
| 111.21 | Phil Taylor |
2002, 2nd Round | Shayne Burgess |
6–1 |
| 110.94 | Phil Taylor |
2009, Final | Raymond van Barneveld |
7–1 |
| 109.34 | Raymond van Barneveld |
2017, Semi-Final | Michael van Gerwen |
2–6 |
| 109.23 | Michael van Gerwen |
2016, 2nd Round | Darren Webster |
4–0 |
| 109.00 | Phil Taylor |
2007, 2nd Round |  Mick McGowan |
4–1 |
| 108.98 | Michael van Gerwen |
2021, 2nd Round | Ryan Murray |
3–1 |
| 108.80 | Phil Taylor |
2009, Quarter-Final | Co Stompé |
5–0 |
| 108.74 | Luke Humphries |
2024, Semi-Final | Scott Williams |
6–0 |
| 108.65 | Michael van Gerwen |
2018, 2nd Round | James Wilson |
4–0 |
| Five highest losing averages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Player | Year (+Round) | Opponent | Result |
| 109.34 | Raymond van Barneveld |
2017, Semi-Final | Michael van Gerwen |
2–6 |
| 106.09 | Jeffrey de Zwaan |
2019, 2nd Round | Rob Cross |
1–3 |
| 106.07 |  Cristo Reyes |
2017, 2nd Round | Michael van Gerwen |
2–4 |
| 105.78 | Michael van Gerwen |
2016, 3rd Round | Raymond van Barneveld |
3–4 |
| 104.93 | Gary Anderson |
2017, Final | Michael van Gerwen |
3–7 |
| Players with 5 or more 100+ match average (updated 3 January 2026) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Total | Highest Av. | Year (+Round) |
| Phil Taylor |
56 | 111.21 | 2002, 2nd Round |
| Michael van Gerwen |
42 | 114.05 | 2017, Semi-Final |
| Gary Anderson |
26 | 108.39 | 2011, 3rd Round |
| Luke Littler |
16 | 107.09 | 2026, 3rd Round |
| Peter Wright |
16 | 105.86 | 2020, Quarter-Final |
| Adrian Lewis |
15 | 106.51 | 2010, 1st Round |
| Raymond van Barneveld |
13 | 109.34 | 2017, Semi-Final |
| Michael Smith |
13 | 106.32 | 2022, 2nd Round |
| Rob Cross |
7 | 107.67 | 2018, Final |
| Dave Chisnall |
7 | 107.34 | 2021, Quarter-Final |
| Stephen Bunting |
7 | 107.28 | 2024, 2nd Round |
| Simon Whitlock |
7 | 105.37 | 2010, Quarter-Final |
| Luke Humphries |
6 | 108.74 | 2026, Quarter-Final |
| Dimitri Van den Bergh |
6 | 105.61 | 2021, 2nd Round |
| Gerwyn Price |
5 | 104.20 | 2020, 3rd Round |
| Chris Dobey |
5 | 103.09 | 2024, 2nd Round |
| Ten highest tournament averages (min 3 matches) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Player | Year | Round (+ result) | Reference |
| 106.37 | Michael van Gerwen |
2017 | Final (won) | [9] |
| 104.68 | Michael van Gerwen |
2016 | 3rd Round | [10] |
| 104.63 | Phil Taylor |
2010 | Final (won) | [11] |
| 104.19 | Adrian Lewis |
2010 | Quarter-Final | [11] |
| 104.08 | Phil Taylor |
2009 | Final (won) | [12] |
| 104.05 | Michael van Gerwen |
2018 | Semi-Final | [13] |
| 103.98 | Luke Littler |
2026 | Final (won) | |
| 103.64 | Michael van Gerwen |
2021 | Quarter-Final | |
| 103.45 | Gary Anderson |
2017 | Final (loss) | [9] |
| 103.38 | Michael van Gerwen |
2019 | Final (won) | [14] |
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" divided by the "number of darts used". The real 2017 tournament average for Michael van Gerwen was 107.06.
Records
- Most titles: 14, Phil Taylor. Taylor's two BDO titles take his total to 16, a record across both organisations.[15][16]
- Most finals: 19, Phil Taylor, 1994–2007, 2009–2010, 2013, 2015 and 2018.[15] Taylor's two BDO finals take his total to 21, a record across both organisations.[15][16]
- 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.[17][18][19]
- Longest unbeaten run: 44 matches, Phil Taylor, 1995–2003, between his defeats in the 1994 and 2003 finals.
- Most 180s in a tournament (total): 1,127 (2026).
- Most 180s in a tournament (individual): 83, Michael Smith (2022)[20]
- Most 180s in a match: 24, Peter Wright (2022 semi-final) and Michael Smith (2022 final) [21][22]
- Most 180s in a match (both players): 42, Gary Anderson (22) and Michael van Gerwen (20) (2017 final)
- Longest streak of 100+ averages: 19 matches, Michael van Gerwen, 2016–2019[23]
- Highest Average for one set: 140.91, Luke Littler, 2nd round 2025 championship.[24]
- Most appearances: 25, Phil Taylor.
- 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)[25]
- 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.[26]
- Won both World Championships: Four players. Dennis Priestley was the first player to win both versions of the World Championship,[27][28] winning the 1991 BDO Championship and the 1994 PDC Championship. Phil Taylor, John Part and Raymond van Barneveld have since matched the feat.[27][28]
- 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.
- Oldest Player to win a match: Paul Lim was 71 years and 323 days when he won a match in 2026 event.[29]
- Youngest Player to win a match: Luke Littler was 16 years and 333 days when he won a match in 2024 event.[30]
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.
The current presenting team is as follows: [31]
Presenters:
- Emma Paton: (2020–present)
- Anna Woolhouse: (2022–present)
- Michael Bridge: (2023–present)
Commentators:
- Stuart Pyke: (2003–present)
- Rod Studd: (2009–present)
- Dan Dawson: (2022–present)
- Abi Davies: (2024–present)
Co-commentators/pundits:
- Wayne Mardle: (2010–2024; 2025–present)[32]
- John Part: (2013–present)
- Mark Webster: (2018–present)
- Laura Turner: (2019–present)
- Glen Durrant: (2023–present)
Former presenters and commentators have been:
- Dave Lanning: (1993–2010; 2013)
- John Gwynne: (1993–2013; 2016)
- Sid Waddell: (1994–2012)
- Jeff Stelling: (1993–2002; 2005)
- David Bobin: (1994; 2002–2003)
- Helen Chamberlain: (2003–2009)
- Jonathan Green: (2000)
- Laure James (2014–2016)
- Eric Bristow: (1993–2016)
- Dave Clark: (2001–2020)
- Colin Lloyd: (2020)
- Rod Harrington: (2005–2020)
- Nigel Pearson (2006–2022)
- David Croft: (2013–2021)
- Laura Woods: (2018–2022)
- Devon Petersen: (2019–2022)
- Adam Smith: (2020–2022)
- Corrine Hammond: (2022–2023)
Overseas broadcasters
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: [33]
| Year | Broadcaster | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sky UK | Germany SPORT1 | Netherlands | |
| 2026 | 2,500,000 peak [34] | ||
| 2025 | |||
| 2024 | 3.68 million peak[35] | 2.86 million peak[36] | |
| 2023 | 2,360,000[37] |
||
| 2022 | 1,490,000[38] |
1,650,000[39] |
|
| 2021 | 1,000,000[40] |
1,550,000[41] |
|
| 2020 | 1,006,553[42] | 1,590,000 [43] | 1,200,000 (RTL 7)[44] |
| 2019 | 658,300 | 1,490,000 [45] | 1,540,000 (RTL 7)[46] |
| 2018 | 1,400,000 | 2,150,000 [47] | 864,000 (RTL 7) |
| 2017 | 607,000 | 1,480,000[48] | 2,170,000 (RTL 7)[49] |
| 2016 | 908,000 | 950,000[50] | 869,000 (RTL 7)[51] |
| 2015 | 1.5 million peak[52] | 1,360,000[53] | 908,000 (RTL 7)[54] |
| 2014 | 668,000 | 560,000[55] | 2,054,000 (RTL 7) |
| 2013 | 1,270,000[56] | 810,000 | 1,748,000 (RTL 7) |
| 2012 | 728,000 | 762,000 (RTL 7) | |
| 2011 | 920,000 | 435,000 (SBS6) | |
| 2010 | 888,000 | 730,000 | 854,000 (SBS6) |
| 2009 | 809,000 | 490,000 | 1,441,000 (SBS6) |
| 2008 | 731,000 | 340,000 | 211,000 (compilation SBS6) |
| 2007 | 1,028,000 | 1,339,000 (SBS6) | |
| 2006 | 761,000 | ||
| 2005 | 530,000 | ||
| 2004 | 820,000 | ||
| 2003 | 610,000 | ||
| 2002 | Unavailable | ||
| 2001 | 420,000 | ||
| 2000 | 240,000 | ||
| 1999 | 200,000 | ||
Webcasting
The PDC world championship events are now broadcast on video.pdc.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.
Their first game PDC World Championship Darts was developed by Mere Mortals for the PlayStation 2 and PC. The second game in the series was PDC World Championship Darts 2008 developed by Mere Mortals for the PlayStation 2, PC, PlayStation Portable, Wii and Xbox 360. A year later Rebellion Developments took over development of the series, releasing PDC World Championship Darts 2009 for the Wii and Nintendo DS.
The most recent PDC World Darts Championship console game to be released was PDC World Championship Darts Pro Tour a darts video game for the PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360. This game is the most comprehensive of the series featuring ten professional players and five official PDC tournaments including the PDC World Grand Prix, Las Vegas Desert Classic, PDC UK Open and the Holland Open.
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.[57]
Sponsor
The tournament has been sponsored by bookmaker Paddy Power in 2024. Previous sponsors have been:
- Skol (1994)
- Proton Cars (1995)
- Vernon's Pools (1996)
- Red Band (1997)
- Skol (1998–2002)
- Ladbrokes (2003–2014)
- William Hill (2015–2022)
- Cazoo (2023)
- Paddy Power (2024–)
Trophy
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.[58]