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Organised by the Professional Darts Corporation
Darts tournament
The Players Championship Finals is a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation . The tournament originally featured the top 32 players from the Players Championship Order of Merit, a separate ranking system that only takes into account the non-televised Players Championship events on the PDC Pro Tour . In 2016, the field increased to 64 players.[ 1]
The tournament was first announced at the PDC Awards Dinner in January 2008 by PDC chairman Barry Hearn .[ 2] It was initially held from late January to February,[ 3] and originally took place at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet , the venue for the first 14 PDC World Championships .[ 4] For the third edition, the event moved to the Doncaster Dome .[ 5] The 2012 edition took place in December at Butlins Minehead and has remained at that venue for all subsequent tournaments,[ 6] with the exception of the 2020 tournament, which was moved to Coventry , due to the COVID-19 pandemic .
Year
Champion (average in final)
Score
Runner-up (average in final)
Prize money
Sponsor
Venue
Total
Champion
Runner-up
2009
Phil Taylor (98.04)
16–9
Robert Thornton (88.52)
£200,000
£50,000
£25,000
Coral.co.uk
Circus Tavern , Purfleet
2010
Paul Nicholson (92.75)
13–11
Mervyn King (89.74)
£250,000
£60,000
£24,000
totesport.com
2011 (Feb )
Phil Taylor (97.01)
13–12
Gary Anderson (96.31)
Perform
Doncaster Dome , Doncaster
2011 (Dec )
Kevin Painter (96.28)
13–9
Mark Webster (93.31)
Cash Converters
2012
Phil Taylor (103.57)
13–6
Kim Huybrechts (91.70)
Butlins Resort , Minehead
2013
Michael van Gerwen (102.45)
11–7
Phil Taylor (102.64)
2014
Gary Anderson (101.01)
11–6
Adrian Lewis (95.37)
£300,000
£65,000
£35,000
2015
Michael van Gerwen (100.32)
11–6
Adrian Lewis (89.17)
2016
Michael van Gerwen (108.34)
11–3
Dave Chisnall (99.24)
£400,000
£75,000
2017
Michael van Gerwen (105.50)
11–2
Jonny Clayton (94.64)
£460,000
£100,000
£40,000
Mr Green Sport
2018
Daryl Gurney (95.61)
11–9
Michael van Gerwen (100.20)
Ladbrokes
2019
Michael van Gerwen (97.92)
11–9
Gerwyn Price (96.48)
£500,000
£50,000
2020
Michael van Gerwen (104.98)
11–10
Mervyn King (99.78)
Ricoh Arena , Coventry
2021
Peter Wright (95.49)
11–10
Ryan Searle (92.10)
Butlins Resort , Minehead
2022
Michael van Gerwen (99.92)
11–6
Rob Cross (100.33)
Cazoo
2023
Luke Humphries (100.75)
11–9
Michael van Gerwen (103.19)
£600,000
£120,000
£60,000
2024
Luke Humphries (103.69)
11–7
Luke Littler (100.08)
Ladbrokes
Records and statistics [ edit ]
As of 24 November 2024
Total finalist appearances [ edit ]
Active players are shown in bold
Only players who reached the final are included
In the event of identical records, players are sorted in alphabetical order by family name
Champions by country [ edit ]
Four nine-darters have been thrown at the Players Championship Finals. The first one was in 2016, which is the only one of the four that wasn't done on the Main Stage.
Player
Year (+ Round)
Method
Opponent
Result
Alan Norris
2016, Last 64
3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
Michael Smith
Won
Michael van Gerwen
2019, Last 32
3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12
Adrian Lewis
Won
Michael van Gerwen
2022, Final
2 x T20, T19; 3 x T20; 2 x T20, D12
Rob Cross
Won
Michael van Gerwen
2023, Final
3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
Luke Humphries
Lost
Players Championship Finals ten highest one-match averages
Average
Player
Year (+ Round)
Opponent
Result
118.52
Michael van Gerwen
2023, Last 32
Ross Smith
6–1
112.73
Luke Littler
2024, Last 64
Rob Cross
6–0
112.27
Josh Rock
2023, Last 32
Gabriel Clemens
3–6
112.05
Dirk van Duijvenbode
2022, Last 16
Ryan Searle
10–9
111.58
Phil Taylor
2013, Quarter-Final
Raymond van Barneveld
9–2
111.12
Ian White
2018, Last 64
Scott Taylor
6–2
110.62
Gary Anderson
2014, Last 32
Christian Kist
6–5
110.02
Gary Anderson
2018, Quarter-Final
Jonny Clayton
10–4
110.01
Michael van Gerwen
2020, Quarter-Final
Dirk van Duijvenbode
10–5
109.88
Dave Chisnall
2023, Last 32
Chris Dobey
6–4
Different players with a 100+ match average – updated 24/11/24
Player
Total
Highest Av.
Year (+ Round)
Michael van Gerwen
40
118.52
2023, Last 32
Phil Taylor
18
111.58
2013, Quarter-Final
Gary Anderson
16
110.62
2014, Last 32
Luke Humphries
10
107.60
2020, Last 32
Daryl Gurney
8
108.81
2024, Last 64
Peter Wright
8
104.83
2020, Last 64
Stephen Bunting
7
107.03
2019, Last 16
Luke Littler
6
112.73
2024, Last 64
Ian White
6
111.12
2018, Last 64
Gerwyn Price
6
108.75
2019, Quarter-Final
Raymond van Barneveld
6
107.40
2016, Last 64
Mervyn King
6
105.12
2020, Last 64
Adrian Lewis
6
105.03
2014, Last 32
Rob Cross
6
104.17
2022, Quarter-Final
James Wade
6
102.95
2014, Last 32
Dirk van Duijvenbode
5
112.05
2022, Last 16
Dave Chisnall
5
109.88
2023, Last 32
Kim Huybrechts
5
108.10
2016, Last 32
Ryan Searle
5
106.62
2023, Last 32
Michael Smith
5
103.04
2020, Last 32
Jermaine Wattimena
4
107.12
2020, Last 32
Danny Noppert
3
106.59
2022, Last 64
Ross Smith
3
105.26
2024, Quarter-Final
Colin Lloyd
3
102.36
2010, Last 16
Simon Whitlock
2
109.54
2012, Last 16
Ryan Meikle
2
108.76
2021, Last 64
Jelle Klaasen
2
108.74
2014, Last 32
Alan Norris
2
106.24
2016, Last 64
Vincent van der Voort
2
104.86
2014, Last 32
Chris Dobey
2
103.50
2021, Last 64
Wes Newton
2
103.14
2011(Feb ), Last 32
José de Sousa
2
102.96
2020, Last 16
Gabriel Clemens
2
102.20
2019, Last 16
Nathan Aspinall
2
101.66
2020, Last 32
Andrew Gilding
2
100.91
2022, Last 64
Terry Jenkins
2
100.89
2014, Last 32
Andy Smith
2
100.36
2011(Feb ), Quarter-Final
Jeffrey de Zwaan
2
100.32
2020, Last 64
Josh Rock
1
112.27
2023, Last 32
Boris Krčmar
1
107.79
2020, Last 64
Robbie Green
1
105.79
2016, Last 32
Benito van de Pas
1
105.39
2015, Last 16
Krzysztof Ratajski
1
105.38
2018, Last 64
Ritchie Edhouse
1
105.35
2024, Last 32
Robert Thornton
1
104.21
2013, Last 32
Gian van Veen
1
104.21
2024, Last 64
Dean Winstanley
1
103.94
2014, Last 32
Ricardo Pietreczko
1
103.36
2023, Last 32
Darren Webster
1
103.32
2017, Last 32
William O'Connor
1
102.85
2020, Last 64
Mensur Suljović
1
102.79
2016, Last 64
Martin Schindler
1
102.17
2022, Last 64
Steve Lennon
1
102.16
2020, Last 64
Andy Hamilton
1
102.16
2012, Quarter-Final
Devon Petersen
1
101.46
2020, Last 64
Mike De Decker
1
101.33
2024, Last 32
Joe Cullen
1
101.33
2016, Last 32
Jonny Clayton
1
101.28
2020, Last 64
Jeffrey de Graaf
1
101.22
2016, Last 32
Scott Williams
1
101.08
2024, Last 16
Andy Boulton
1
100.86
2021, Last 64
Niels Zonneveld
1
100.85
2023, Last 64
Keane Barry
1
100.70
2022, Last 32
Christian Kist
1
100.40
2014, Last 32
Wayne Jones
1
100.13
2020, Last 64
Callan Rydz
1
100.10
2021, Last 32
Mark Webster
1
100.02
2011(Feb ), Last 32
Television coverage [ edit ]
In the UK and Ireland, the first two tournaments were broadcast on ITV4 with the third edition being screened by PDC TV. The fourth edition returned to ITV4 where it has stayed ever since and ITV4 signed a long-term deal to cover the European Championships, Players Championships, UK Open and new tournament the Masters from 2014 to 2016.[ 7]
TV broadcasters
2009–2010: ITV4
February 2011: PDC TV
December 2011–present: ITV4