Darts Highlights
The moments that every darts fan of a certain generation remembers by year alone. Some are great matches; others are single legs, single finishes, single sentences from the commentary box. Together they are the televised story of professional darts.
Era by era
Bristow's first title at Jollees
Eric Bristow beats Bobby George 5-3 in the BDO World final at Jollees, Stoke-on-Trent. First crowning of the Crafty Cockney. BBC finishes the programme with the young Bristow mugging to camera.
Jocky Wilson's first world title and Top of the Pops
First Scottish world champion, then the cultural crossover nobody saw coming: Dexys Midnight Runners reference him on Top of the Pops during Come On Eileen. "Jocky Wilson said!"
Lowe's first televised nine-darter
John Lowe throws the first ever televised nine-darter at the MFI World Matchplay, claiming £102,000 in prize money - the largest single-shot bonus in the sport to that date.
Taylor 6-1 Bristow
The pupil beats the master in the BDO World final. Phil Taylor's first world title. Bristow never wins another.
Taylor 6-5 Gregory
Mike Gregory leads 5-3, misses six darts at double to win, Taylor recovers to take the final leg 6-5. Still cited as the greatest BDO world final.
Van Barneveld 7-6 Taylor
The PDC World Championship final that settled the BDO-vs-PDC argument in a single match. Raymond van Barneveld beats Phil Taylor 7-6 in a sudden-death leg. The night darts felt truly international.
Two nine-darters in one final
Phil Taylor throws two televised nine-darters in the Premier League final against James Wade. The only instance of two perfect legs in a single televised match. Sky Sports replays it for a decade.
MVG 123.52 average vs Smith
Michael van Gerwen averages 123.52 against Michael Smith in the PDC World Championship semi-final. The highest televised match average ever recorded.
Cross 7-2 Taylor
Rob Cross beats Phil Taylor in Taylor's farewell final. The 16-time world champion retires to a standing ovation. First-time major finalist becomes a world champion.
Sherrock beats Evetts at Ally Pally
Fallon Sherrock becomes the first woman to win a match at the PDC World Championship, beating Ted Evetts 3-2. She backs it up with a second-round win over Mensur Suljović.
Humphries 7-4 Littler
Luke Humphries wins the PDC World Championship, but the story of the night is his sixteen-year-old opponent. Littler becomes a national news story on New Year's Day.
Littler 7-3 van Gerwen
Seventeen-year-old Luke Littler beats Michael van Gerwen in the PDC World final. Youngest world champion in the sport's history. Peak UK television audience for the match exceeds four million.
The commentary moments
Some darts highlights are not passages of play at all. They are single sentences that have outlived the matches they described.
What counts as a highlight
We have kept this list to moments that satisfy at least one of three tests: they changed the television audience's relationship with the sport, they broke a record that was not broken again for a decade, or they are referenced by commentators as benchmark moments every time the championship returns. The full match-by-match treatment lives on the Greatest Matches page.