PDC World Championship
The PDC World Darts Championship is the sport's single biggest event. Held annually at Alexandra Palace in London from mid-December to early January, it combines a 96-player field, a £2.5 million prize fund, and a Christmas-to-New Year television slot that now regularly exceeds 4 million peak UK viewers.
Format
- Field
- 96 players. Top 32 from the PDC Order of Merit are seeded, remaining 64 come through qualifiers and regional routes.
- Round structure
- Round 1 (best of 5 sets) → Round 2 (best of 7) → Round 3 (best of 7) → Round 4 (best of 7) → QF (best of 9) → SF (best of 11) → Final (best of 13 sets).
- Set format
- Each set is first to 3 legs. Leg format: 501, straight-start, double-finish.
- Tie-break
- From 2023: in the deciding set, if tied at 5-5 in legs the match goes to a sudden-death leg.
Venue history
| Years | Venue | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| 1994-2007 | Circus Tavern, Purfleet | ~1,000 |
| 2008-present | Alexandra Palace, London | ~3,200 |
The move to Ally Pally in 2008 transformed the event from a cramped Essex venue into a mass-market arena experience. Fancy dress, long tables, and the fan-soundtrack atmosphere are now core to the tournament's identity.
Roll of honour
| Year | Champion | Runner-up | Final score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Luke Littler | Gian van Veen | 7-1 |
| 2025 | Luke Littler | Michael van Gerwen | 7-3 |
| 2024 | Luke Humphries | Luke Littler | 7-4 |
| 2023 | Michael Smith | Michael van Gerwen | 7-4 |
| 2022 | Peter Wright | Michael Smith | 7-5 |
| 2021 | Gerwyn Price | Gary Anderson | 7-3 |
| 2020 | Peter Wright | Michael van Gerwen | 7-3 |
| 2019 | Michael van Gerwen | Michael Smith | 7-3 |
| 2018 | Rob Cross | Phil Taylor | 7-2 |
| 2017 | Michael van Gerwen | Gary Anderson | 7-3 |
| 2016 | Gary Anderson | Adrian Lewis | 7-5 |
| 2015 | Gary Anderson | Phil Taylor | 7-6 |
| 2014 | Michael van Gerwen | Peter Wright | 7-4 |
| 2013 | Phil Taylor | Michael van Gerwen | 7-4 |
| 2012 | Adrian Lewis | Andy Hamilton | 7-3 |
| 2011 | Adrian Lewis | Gary Anderson | 7-5 |
| 2010 | Phil Taylor | Simon Whitlock | 7-3 |
| 2009 | Phil Taylor | Raymond van Barneveld | 7-1 |
| 2007 | Raymond van Barneveld | Phil Taylor | 7-6 |
Taylor holds the championship record with 14 PDC titles and a further two BDO world titles (1990, 1992) for a combined 16.
Why it matters
More than any other event, the PDC World Championship is responsible for darts' modern commercial position. Its December-January slot made it the default Christmas sport on British television. Its fancy-dress crowd made it the one major event whose audience has become part of the broadcast. Its prize money moved the sport from expenses-only in 1994 to career-level rewards today.