Even though darts is not a well-known sport around the world, it has produced some of the best top darts players in the world.
Darts is a more traditional game that is played in bars. It is most widespread in the United Kingdom, which is why many darts players are English.
There are a few professional darts players that are not European. However, no matter how minor the game is in terms of recognition, it has never failed to entertain its audience.
As a result of the World Darts Championship and Premier League, several darts players achieve celebrity. But who is the greatest darts player of all time?
This is a difficult question. This article, however, has whittled it down to 12 players who have taken the darts game to the next level.
As a result, without further ado, here are the best 12 darts players of all time.
The 12 Greatest Darts Players of All Time
The players listed below were chosen based on their accomplishments and influence in the darts community. The majority of them are from BBC.co.uk, Pledgesports.org, and sportsbrowser.net.
Furthermore, before delving into the intricacies of the 12 greatest darts players of all time, let us take a short look at the names on the list.
| Dart Players | Country |
| 12. Dennis Priestley | England |
| 11. Glen Durrant | England |
| 10. John Part | Canada |
| 9. Martin Adams | England |
| 8. John Lowe | England |
| 7. Adrian Lewis | England |
| 6. Gary Anderson | Scotland |
| 5. James Wade | England |
| 4. Michael van Gerwen | Netherlands |
| 3. Eric Bristow | England |
| 2. Raymond van Barneveld | Netherlands |
| 1. Phil Taylor | England |
12. Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley is a former professional darts player from England. He was a member of the British Darts Organization and the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).
He is a founder member of the PDC. He quit B.D.O. with six other best darts players to start their organization, World Darts Corporation.
He won two major titles in the B.D.O. during his career: the 1992 World Championship and the 1992 World Master Championship.
However, Priestley was unable to maintain his dominance following his spectacular victory, since he never won another major title. He won the first World Championships in 1994 after establishing the PDC.
This was his lone major title win in the PDC. Aside from it, he won 31 tournaments during his career.
Not to mention that in April 1995, W.D.C. ranked him as world number one. Furthermore, this was his first and only time ranking that high.
Nonetheless, he was a fantastic player. At the age of 40, Priestley began his darts career. Previously, he worked as a coal merchant.
As a result, compared to other sports such as basketball or cricket, darts are an appropriate age to play.
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11. Glen Durrant
Glen Durrant, an English professional darts player, presently competes for the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Durrant was also a former British Darts Organization player.
He was a three-time World and Finder Master Champion in B.D.O. As a result, he is one of just six darts players to have competed in the World Championship three times or more.
Likewise, he won the World Masters twice and the World Darts Trophy once. He holds nine major titles in the B.D.O.
He won the Premier League after joining PDC in 2019. He did not win any more titles, but if he keeps up his performance, he will undoubtedly win all of them.
Aside from the PDC and B.D.O., he has 29 title victories in other competitions. He is now ranked 31st in the world.
Nonetheless, this ranking will almost probably rise during the year.
10. John Part
John Part is a recently retired professional darts player from Canada. He has played for the British Darts Organization and the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).
He currently works as a commentator for the BBC. Part is regarded as having a keen eye and in-depth understanding of the game, making him an ideal candidate for commentating.
He started this employment in 1994 and kept it until today. Due to his concentration on darts, he used to conduct commentating on the side.
Part, however, became a full-time commentator covering most World Championship events after retiring in 2020.
In addition, he is one of only six darts players who have won three World Championships in 1994, 2003, and 2008. Not to mention that he won the World Championship in 1994 on his debut.
John also became the first non-European to win the PDC World Championships. Similarly, he is the first player from outside the United Kingdom to win the World Championship.
9. Martin Adams
Martin Adams, an English professional darts player, now represents the World Darts Federation. Adams was also a past member of the PDC and the B.D.O.
Adams has won three B.D.O. World Championships. As a result, he is one of just six darts players who have won the World Championships three times or more.
Likewise, he is a three-time World Master Champion. Martin was also the captain of team England while competing at the county darts level.
He was captain for exactly 20 years, from 1993 to 2013. This is the longest any player in darts history has held the position.
Aside from that, with 25 World Championship appearances, Adams holds the record for the most consecutive World Championship appearances. He qualified every time from 1993 until 2018.
His long streak, however, came to an end when he failed to qualify in 2019. He even qualified in 2016, when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in April of that year.
Despite this, he fought cancer with therapies and drugs. As a result, Martin was given the green light to play and prepare for the World Championships as soon as possible.
Furthermore, he frequently serves as a pundit and analyst for B.D.O. events. As a result, he frequently serves as a pundit for TV coverage of B.D.O. tournaments.
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8. John Lowe
Former English darts player John Lowe He has played for the British Darts Organization and the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).
Not to note that Lowe is a founder member of PDC. He and other key players quit the B.D.O. to join the PDC, which was previously known as the World Darts Council.
He helped shape the darts game industry, along with Eric Bristow and Jock Wilson. They were the best darts players in the 1980s.
Most of the tournaments were won by one of these three elite darts players.
In the World Championships platforms, Lowe faced off against Bristow six times. Unfortunately, Jhon was defeated in the first four attempts by his fiercest opponent, Bristow.
However, he defeated Bristow for the sixth time, marking his first victory over him. Outside of the competing circumstance, they have a very amicable relationship.
Aside from that, Lowe has 15 B.D.O. and W.D.F. titles to his name. In addition, he held the world number one ranking four times.
Likewise, he won three World Championships in 1979, 1987, and 1993. He also became one of just six players to have won the World Championships three times or more.
John was also the only individual to win World Championships in three distinct decades. He is one of two people to accomplish this achievement, along with Phil Taylor.
7. Adrian Lewis
Adrian Lewis is a darts player from England. He has been a member of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) since 2004.
He began as a member of the British Darts Organization (BDC), which subsequently evolved into the PDC. Lewis, on the other hand, only spends one year in BDC before entering the PDC.
Furthermore, he was a protégé of the Greatest of All Time, Phil Taylor, whom he trained. As a result, he was supposed to walk straight into the path of success.
However, throughout the early stages of his career, Lewis struggled to win events. Despite this, he gradually adapted to a new technique that improved his throwing ability.
As a result, Adrian came to prominence quickly, winning two consecutive PDC World Championships in 2011 and 2012.
He also won the 2013 European Championships and the 2014 British Open. In addition, he won the PDC World Cup of Darts four times.
As a result, his world rating rose, propelling him to the number two spot. However, Lewis was suspended by the PDC in 2018 for his altercation with Jose Justicia.
Adrian received a three-month ban and a £3,000 fine as a result of the altercation. Likewise, when he returned from suspension, his form was completely out of whack.
As a result, he fell to 41st place in the world. Nonetheless, he is regarded as one of the finest darts players of his period.
6. Gary Anderson
Gary Anderson is a professional darts player from Scotland. He is now a member of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).
He was a former B.D.O. and W.D.F. player who was also ranked as their global no. 1 at the time. He won two PDC world championships in a row in 2015 and 2016.
Anderson defeated Phil Taylor 7-6 in the 2015 tournament. Similarly, in the 2016 competition, he defeated Adrian Lewis 7-5.
Furthermore, the player is known for his high-scoring ability and smooth throws. As a result, he is known as “The Flying Scotsman,” after a renowned Scottish steam locomotive.
The Flying Scotsman presently ranks sixth in the world. As of February 2020, this ranking was derived from his 31 PDC Pro Tour victories.
With 31 victories, he is third all-time after Phil Taylor (70) and Michael van Gerwen (75).
Anderson has also won over 85 different competitions. Furthermore, he hopes to increase this number throughout the years.
5. James Wade
James Wade is a professional darts player from England. He is presently ranked fourth in the Professional Darts Corporation.
In addition, at the age of 24, he was the former youngest player to win a major PDC title. However, at the age of 17, Michael van Gerwen has since broken this record.
Similarly, his eleven PDC triumphs place him third all-time, trailing only Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen. Wade has won 42 different events in all.
Despite being a world-class player, James has yet to win a World Championship. He has reached the semi-finals four times but has each time lost.
Nonetheless, Wade’s ambition to win a World Championship and become world number one continues.
Aside from that, he is the first player in Premier League history to defeat the famous Phil Taylor. Phil was unbeatable before him, and no one expected him to lose.
However, losing is a natural element of the game. As a result, while it was not a big issue for the professional darts players to lose, it was a major deal for Wade to win the game.
He also said it was the best match of his life. He relished every moment of his brawl with his idol Phil.
4. Van Gerwen, Michael
Michael van Gerwen is a professional darts player from the Netherlands. Van is only the second Dutch player to be ranked world number one multiple time. Raymond Barneveld is the first player.
He is now ranked number three in the world. However, a string of triumphs would propel him to the top of the rankings. He was also ranked world number one from 2014 until 2021.
Aside from that, Gerwen has won 148 tournaments over his career. As a result, he was named the second most successful player in PDC history, after only Phil Taylor.
Similarly, if Gerwen maintains his current form, he will soon have more tournament victories than Taylor.
During the 2019 PDC Europe Darts Matchplay, Michael van Gerwen (Source: Wikimedia.org)
Michael began playing darts when he was 13 years old. By the age of 17, he had won the B.D.O. ranking tournament, the 2006 World Masters, and the Winmau World Masters.
Given his early performance, he was expected to dominate the competitive environment. Despite this, Gerwen suffered in the early stages of his career.
However, he flipped the script in his breakout year of 2012. In just one year, he rose from 38th to 4th in the world rankings.
Gerwen has never looked back since his breakout year. He has consistently produced in every tournament and has proven himself deserving of the world’s number one ranking.
3. Bristow, Eric
Eric Bristow is a late English professional darts player. In 1980, 1981, and 1983-1985, the World Darts Federation named his world number one five times.
Throughout his playing career, he has won a total of 82 trophies. W.D.F. and B.D.O. major titles account for 22 of his overall titles. Likewise, 62 of them are individual job titles.
In addition, he has 20 team event titles to his name. Nonetheless, winning the World and World Masters Championships five times stands out among all of these titles.
In addition, in 1989, the M.B.E. committee appointed Bristow as a Member of the Order of the British Empire.
As a result, one could say that he was extremely successful throughout his time. He came into the company just as sports began to be televised.
His popularity grew as fans admired his haughty demeanor and great gameplay. He rose to prominence in the darts community as a result of his television appearance.
During his rookie years, even the legendary Phil Taylor looked up to Eric. Bristow shaped the great Phil Taylor into who he is today.
Not to mention that he gave him £10,000 to help with game production. This also aided Phil’s development into one of the top darts players.
Furthermore, the darts player retired in 2007 and went on to work as a commentator. He did, however, continue to play darts, albeit not competitively.
2. Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld is a professional darts player from the Netherlands. Barneveld is difficult to overlook when discussing elite darts players.
The 55-year-old is currently one of the most successful Dutch darts players. He is also responsible for the increased popularity of darts in the Netherlands.
Barneveld has almost 15 major titles to his name, including five world championships. In addition, he owns a Primer League trophy.
He is also one of only three darts players to have won five world championships. This accomplishment propels Raymond to the next level.
Many fans believe Barneveld is the best darts player of all time, even surpassing Phil Taylor. Raymond, on the other hand, was not convinced.
Furthermore, he stated that it was an honor to be in the same room with the famous Phil Taylor. Barneveld has defeated Taylor on several occasions.
The 2007 PDC World Championships, for example, saw the Dutch darts player prevail over the famous Phil Taylor.
He was also the world’s number one ranked player from January to June of 2008. He is now ranked 55th in the world.
1. Phil Taylor
Phil Taylor is a former professional darts player from England. When it comes to darts, he is just the best. He has outrun numerous darts players with his solid hands.
Taylor dominated the darts competition scene for nearly two decades. During his 31-year professional career, he won 214 professional events.
There are 85 major titles and 16 world titles among the 214 titles. The fact that he won these titles in two eras is very intriguing.
From 1955 through 2002, he was known as the “King of the Global Championship,” having won eight straight world titles.
Nobody in this era could have anticipated winning the title. Every participant understood that defeating Taylor would require more than just dedication.
Throughout his career, he has consistently demonstrated quality and consistency. Many good players came and went, but Phil always delivered.
Furthermore, darts throwing is not as physically demanding as other sports like football or basketball.
As a result, unless the player has a vision issue, they can have a long-lasting career. Similarly, they can have a long-lasting prime in Phil’s case.
Furthermore, fans dubbed Tylor “The Power” because of his exceptional and strong dart-throwing style.
Conclusion
Darts may not be as physically demanding as other sports. However, this sport is just as difficult as any other.
Maintaining a stable hand to make a decent throw is a difficult skill to perfect. However, no matter how difficult a situation is, it has never prevented people from attempting it.
As a result, these individuals have set the standard for darts play. Their passion and hard work in their game are incredible.
As a result, let us salute the legendary darts player who made the game what it is today.
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