Phil Taylor
16 world titles (2 BDO + 14 PDC), 16 World Matchplays, 11 World Grand Prix. The most decorated darts player in history, and the man who turned professional darts from a pub-circuit side hustle into a legitimate sporting career.
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Best of British
The story of darts is hard to tell without Britain. Not because the sport belongs to any one country, but because the players, pubs, television studios and venues that turned darts into something watched by millions were nearly all British. This page is the definitive archive of the British players who built that reputation.
01
The foundational quartet
Four players are non-negotiable for any Best of British list. Between them they hold 30 world titles across BDO and PDC, three MBEs, and enough television footage to fill a dedicated channel. Britain's television boom in darts was, in practical terms, their story.
Eric Bristow MBE
Five BDO world titles between 1980 and 1986, five World Masters, and the first genuine television star the sport produced. Mentored the young Phil Taylor and funded his entry to professional darts.
John Lowe MBE
Three BDO world titles spanning three separate decades (1979, 1987, 1993). First man to throw a televised nine-darter at the 1984 MFI World Matchplay, claiming a then-record £102,000 bonus. Founder member of the PDC.
Jocky Wilson
Two BDO world titles in 1982 and 1989, first Scottish world champion, and subject of the Dexys Midnight Runners "Jocky Wilson said!" moment on Top of the Pops during Come On Eileen.
02
The supporting cast that made television darts
Beyond the foundational four, a much wider group of British players gave darts the depth of personality the sport needed for television to work as a long-running format.
Bobby George
Finalist at the 1980 and 1994 BDO World Championships, but the career matters less than the showman. The candelabra, the cape, the "Bobby Dazzler!" catchphrase. One of the most instantly recognisable darts players ever, and a cornerstone of BBC coverage.
Dennis Priestley
1991 BDO World Champion and 1994 PDC World Champion. One of the sixteen players who signed the 1993 PDC breakaway letter. Known as "The Menace" and one of the most consistent players of the 1990s.
Mike Gregory
Lost a classic 1992 BDO World final to Phil Taylor 6-5, a match still cited as one of the best in the BDO era. A reminder that some of British darts' defining moments belong to runners-up as much as winners.
Rod Harrington
Two-time World Matchplay champion (1998, 1999) and one of the PDC's earliest title-winners. "The Prince of Style" came closest to breaking Taylor's dominance in that era.
Rob Cross
2018 PDC World Champion at his first attempt, beating Phil Taylor 7-2 in Taylor's farewell final. "Voltage" is the only player to have retired Phil Taylor.
Luke Humphries
2024 PDC World Champion. At the time of his world title, the dominant scorer on the PDC tour, and a player widely expected to be a multi-major winner across the late 2020s.
Luke Littler
2025 PDC World Champion, becoming the youngest ever at 17. Finalist a year earlier at 16. The biggest teenage talent the sport has ever produced and the most commercially significant British darts story since Taylor.
James Wade
Eleven major titles including the 2007 World Matchplay and 2009 Premier League. On the receiving end of Taylor's famous two-in-a-final nine-darters in the 2010 Premier League final, and one of the PDC era's most reliable left-handed finishers.
03
Women's game - British pioneers
British women's darts has its own long line of champions, often undercounted in heritage lists and worth its own dedicated attention.
Trina Gulliver MBE
Ten-time BDO Women's World Champion between 2001 and 2011. The most successful female darts player of the modern era and the standard every British woman entering the sport has measured against.
Lisa Ashton
Four BDO Women's World titles between 2014 and 2020, plus pioneer of the women's PDC circuit after earning a PDC Tour Card in 2020.
Fallon Sherrock
In December 2019, became the first woman to win a match at the PDC World Championship, beating Ted Evetts and then Mensur Suljović. Remains the single biggest global story women's darts has produced.
Read the full women's darts archive for a deeper treatment of the British pioneers and the international players now reshaping the field.
04
Voices, venues and commentary
The Best of British case does not stop with players. The sport's television character was built by British commentators and British venues as much as by the athletes themselves.
| Figure / venue | Role | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Sid Waddell | BBC and Sky commentator | "When Alexander the Great was 33, he cried salt tears because there were no more worlds to conquer. Bristow's only 27." The writerly, operatic style that defined darts on British television. |
| Tony Green | BBC BDO commentator | "One hundred and EIGHTY!" The sound of BDO darts on British television from the 1970s into the 2000s. |
| Russ Bray | PDC caller | The gravel-voiced "ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY" that became the soundtrack of PDC televised events from the late 1990s onwards. |
| Circus Tavern, Purfleet | PDC World Championship home 1994-2007 | The low-ceilinged Essex venue where the modern PDC world final was established. Tight, intimate, and part of the tour's founding mythology. |
| Alexandra Palace, London | PDC World Championship home 2008-present | The move to Ally Pally turned the World Championship into a multi-thousand-capacity arena event and, with fancy dress nights added, cemented darts as a Christmas fixture on British television. |
| Winter Gardens, Blackpool | World Matchplay home since 1994 | The sport's spiritual summer venue. Heat, packed balconies, and a crowd that sings every leg. |
| Lakeside, Frimley Green | BDO World Championship home 1986-2019 | The Surrey country club that hosted the BDO world final for over three decades. Synonymous with the Embassy and Lakeside brands of world championship darts. |