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Nine-dart finish

A nine-dart finish, also known as a nine-darter, is a perfect leg or single game in the sport of darts. The object of the game is to score a set number of points, most commonly 501; in order to win, a player must reach the target total exactly and hit a double scoring area with their last dart. When the target is 501, the minimum number of darts needed to reach it is nine. For example, one way to achieve a nine-dart finish is to score 60 (treble 20) on each of the first seven throws, then a 57 (treble 19) on the eighth, and lastly a 24 (double 12) on the ninth. It is regarded as an extremely difficult feat to achieve—even for the sport's top players—and is considered the highest single-game achievement in the sport, similar to a maximum 147 break in snooker or a 300-point game in bowling.

Standard dartboard

The feat was first achieved on television by John Lowe in 1984, and it has since been accomplished in televised matches a total of 93 times. Paul Lim was the first to hit a nine-darter in the World Championship, making history during the 1990 BDO World Darts Championship in a second-round victory over Jack McKenna. Phil Taylor has achieved the most on television, with 11, his first coming in 2002 and his last in 2015. Taylor is the only player to achieve two nine-darters in the same match, doing so in the final of the 2010 Premier League against James Wade. The following year, Brendan Dolan became the first to accomplish a nine-darter by starting and finishing with a double, as per the format of the World Grand Prix event of that year.

Adrian Lewis was the first player to hit a nine-darter in a World Championship final, doing so during the 2011 PDC World Darts Championship final against Gary Anderson. Twelve years later, Michael Smith repeated the feat in the 2023 PDC World Darts Championship final against Michael van Gerwen. In 2013, Terry Jenkins and Kyle Anderson were the first players to hit a nine-darter on the same day, doing so on the second day of the 2014 PDC World Darts Championship. Wade and Robert Thornton were the first players to both achieve a perfect leg in the same match, doing so during the 2014 World Grand Prix. In 2023, Fallon Sherrock became the first woman to achieve the feat on television.[1] At the 2024 Bahrain Darts Masters, Luke Littler became the youngest player to hit a televised nine-darter, accomplishing the feat two days before his 17th birthday.[2]

Methods of achievement

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See also: Darts § Scoring, and Darts § Games
 
A table depicting all paths to a nine-dart finish.
 
A table depicting all paths to a double-in double-out nine-dart finish.

A single game of darts (known as a leg) requires a player to score exactly 501 points, ending with either the bullseye or a double. Each shot consists of exactly three darts, and 60 is the maximum that can be scored with any one dart. Thus 180 is the maximum score from a shot, and nine throws are the minimum necessary to win.

Although many other combinations are possible, the traditional nine-dart finish requires a score of 60 (treble 20) with each of the first six throws: that is, with the first two shots of three.[3] That leaves 141 to score on the final shot (of three darts), known as the outshot.

This outshot of 141 is traditionally performed in one of three ways:

  • treble 20 (60), treble 19 (57) and double 12 (24)
  • treble 20 (60), treble 15 (45) and double 18 (36)
  • treble 17 (51), treble 18 (54) and double 18 (36)

Another way is to score 167 with each set of three darts, scoring a perfect 501 total, in the following way:

  • treble 20 (60), treble 19 (57) and bullseye (50)

By throwing each dart of a shot to a different place on the board, this eliminates the chance of any dart being deflected by an already thrown dart into the wrong scoring area but it is usually seen only in exhibition matches, as in tournaments, players are inclined to aim for the treble 20, only switching to the treble 19 for a cover shot.

Arguably the most difficult nine-dart finish would be 180 (3×T20), 171 (3×T19), and 150 (3×bullseye) – owing to the difficulty of getting all three darts in the bullseye: it is the smallest double on the board.

A nine-dart finish is also attainable in games which require a double to start scoring (a double-in; such games are thus termed double-in double-out with the existing double-out requirement). In such games, throwing for double 20 first can lead to a maximum score of 160 with the first shot, leaving the thrower commonly requiring 180 then 161 (T20, T17, bullseye) with their remaining six darts, though other outshots are possible. It is worth noting that in these games, only throwing for double 20, double 17, or bullseye to start the leg can result in a nine-dart finish, and if the bullseye is not the double-in, it must be the double-out (it can be both, although this would require a highly unorthodox finish using two bullseyes, such as T17-Bull-Bull for a 151).

The total number of different ways of achieving 501 with nine darts is 3,944,[4] of which 2,296 finish with the bullseye, 672 end on D20, 792 on D18, 56 end on D17, 120 end on D15, and 8 end on D12. 574 of the possible ways can be used in a double-in double-out game.

Nine-dart finishes in televised matches

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As of 8 August 2024, 96 nine-darters have been thrown in televised matches by 48 different players. 75 of those 101 hit two 180s and finished with a 141 check-out. English players have achieved a total of 49 nine-darters, 16 have been achieved by Dutch players, eight by Welsh players, six by Scottish players, four by Australians, three by Belgian and Irish players, two by Northern Irish, Portuguese and American[nb 1] players and one nine-darter has been achieved by players from Canada, Lithuania and Poland. The first televised nine-dart finish was achieved at the MFI World Matchplay on 13 October 1984 by John Lowe,[5] who checked out 141 with T17, T18, D18 after scoring two maximum 180s. For this he received a prize of £102,000, going on to win the whole event. This nine-dart finish was not broadcast live, nor was Paul Lim's at the 1990 BDO World Darts Championship. The first ever live broadcast nine-dart finish was performed by Shaun Greatbatch against Steve Coote in the final of the Dutch Open on 3 February 2002, while Phil Taylor achieved the first live nine-darter broadcast on British television during the 2002 World Matchplay.

Taylor has achieved the feat more than any other darts player on television,[6] having done so 11 times. His first came on 1 August 2002 during a quarter-final tie against Chris Mason at the 2002 World Matchplay in Blackpool, for which Taylor received £100,000.[7][8] Despite having achieved the feat a record 11 times, Taylor never hit a nine-darter in the World Championship, missing a chance on the outside wire of double 12 in his last match in the 2018 Final.

The youngest player to throw a televised nine-darter is Luke Littler, who hit the perfect leg in the quarter-finals of the 2024 Bahrain Darts Masters. The match was broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK. Littler was 16 years, 363 days old at the time.

The 2007 International Darts League became the first televised tournament to witness two nine-darters when Phil Taylor's nine-dart finish against Raymond van Barneveld was matched the following day by another one from Tony O'Shea against Adrian Lewis. In the second round of the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton, James Wade hit his first televised nine-dart-finish against Gary Anderson. The event was shown live on ITV4, making it the first time a nine-darter had been seen live on free-to-air television in the United Kingdom. Mervyn King hit his first televised nine-dart finish in the 2009 South African Masters in September 2009 against Wade, becoming the first player do so outside of Europe.[9]

On 24 May 2010, in the Premier League final against Wade, Taylor made history by being the first player to ever hit two nine-dart finishes in a single match. These were his seventh and eighth nine-dart finishes.[10][11] On 10 February 2017, Michael van Gerwen became the second player to hit two nine-dart finishes in a match, in a 2017 UK Open qualification event against Ryan Murray.[12]

Brendan Dolan was the first player ever to hit a nine-darter in a double-in double-out game, doing so in the semi-final of the 2011 World Grand Prix against James Wade on 8 October. He opened with double 20, before hitting successive treble 20s (160, 180) and then finished on 161 with T20, T17 and a bullseye.[13] He later changed his nickname to "The History Maker" to reflect his feat. In October 2014 at the World Grand Prix, Wade and his opponent Robert Thornton became the first players to both hit a nine-darter in the same match.[14][15] Wade is the only player to have hit a 'standard' nine-darter and a double-in double-out nine-darter in televised matches.[citation needed]

William Borland hit a nine-darter at the 2022 PDC World Darts Championship in his first-round matchup in the last leg of the match to become the first person to win a match on TV in the PDC by hitting a nine-darter.[16] On 17 February 2022, Gerwyn Price achieved two nine-dart finishes on the same day, doing so in two separate matches during night 3 of the 2022 Premier League Darts during a win against Michael van Gerwen in the semi-final, and then against James Wade in the final.[17] In total, Price achieved four nine-dart finishes in 2022; no player had previously managed more than two.[18]

World Championship nine-darters

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The first player to manage the outshot in the World Championship was Paul Lim on 9 January 1990 against Jack McKenna.[19] Lim won a £52,000 bonus for the feat, more than the £24,000 Phil Taylor received for winning the event. In the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship, Lim missed double 12 in his second round match against Gary Anderson, which would have made him the first player to do a nine-dart finish in both versions of the World Darts Championship. Even with two versions of the World Championship in operation, Lim's achievement was not repeated for nearly 19 years until 2 January 2009, when Raymond van Barneveld became the second person to achieve the feat and the first since the split in darts.[20] The finish came against Jelle Klaasen in the quarter-final of the 2009 World Championship at Alexandra Palace, and he claimed a £20,000 bonus prize. On 28 December 2009 he repeated the feat at the 2010 World Championship during his second round clash with Brendan Dolan.[21]

Adrian Lewis achieved a nine-dart finish in the third leg of the 2011 World Championship final against Gary Anderson.[22] On 23 December 2012 at the 2013 World Championship, Dean Winstanley hit a nine-dart finish in the third leg of the third set in his second round defeat to Vincent van der Voort.[23] Another nine-dart finish at this Championship was achieved by Michael van Gerwen in his semi-final victory over James Wade in the third leg of the fifth set. The leg after the nine-darter (the fourth leg of the fifth set) van Gerwen hit another eight perfect darts but missed the last dart at the double to achieve consecutive nine-dart finishes.[24]

On 14 December 2013 at the 2014 World Championship, Terry Jenkins and Kyle Anderson both hit nine-darters in their first round losses against Per Laursen and Ian White, respectively.[25] On 30 December 2014 in the third round of the 2015 World Championship, Adrian Lewis hit his second World Championship nine-dart finish and his third overall, though he lost the match 3–4 to Van Barneveld. On 2 January 2016 in the semi-finals of the 2016 World Championship, Gary Anderson hit a nine-dart finish to defeat Klaasen 6–0 to reach his third World Championship final.[26]

On 17 December 2021, during the first round of the 2022 World Championship, William Borland hit a nine-dart finish to defeat Bradley Brooks 3–2 in a last leg decider to reach the second round, becoming the first player in PDC history to win a televised match with a nine-dart finish.[27] He described it as "the best night of my life".[28] The following day, Darius Labanauskas achieved the feat during a 3–1 loss to Mike De Decker.[29] In the quarter-final, defending champion Gerwyn Price hit the third of the tournament in a loss to Michael Smith.[30]

On 3 January 2023, in the 2023 PDC World Darts Championship Final, Michael Smith and Michael van Gerwen both had three darts left to achieve a nine-dart finish in the same leg, later dubbed "the greatest leg in the history of darts". After van Gerwen missed on his ninth dart, Smith checked out 141, becoming the first player to register a nine-dart finish in the same leg that an opponent had missed-out by one dart. He thus became the second player to hit a 'nine-darter' in the final of the event. After Smith successfully completed his finish, popular commentator Wayne Mardle famously said 'I can't speak! I can't speak'.[31]

List of televised nine-dart finishes

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No. Date Player Opponent Tournament Method Ref.
1 13 October 1984   John Lowe   Keith Deller MFI World Matchplay 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T17, T18, D18
2 9 January 1990   Paul Lim   Jack McKenna BDO World Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
3 3 February 2002   Shaun Greatbatch   Steve Coote Dutch Open 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T15, D18 [32]
4 1 August 2002   Phil Taylor   Chris Mason World Matchplay 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
5 5 June 2004   Phil Taylor (2)   Matt Chapman UK Open 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
6 12 June 2005   Phil Taylor (3)   Roland Scholten UK Open 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
7 23 March 2006   Raymond van Barneveld   Peter Manley Premier League Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [33]
8 17 February 2007   Michael van Gerwen   Raymond van Barneveld Masters of Darts T20, 2 x T19; 3 x T20; T20, T17, D18 [34]
9 8 May 2007   Phil Taylor (4)   Raymond van Barneveld International Darts League 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
10 9 May 2007   Tony O'Shea   Adrian Lewis 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
11 9 June 2007   Phil Taylor (5)   Wes Newton UK Open 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [35]
12 17 November 2007   John Walton   Martin Phillips World Masters 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [36]
13 6 June 2008   Phil Taylor (6)   Jamie Harvey UK Open 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 [37]
14 20 November 2008   James Wade   Gary Anderson Grand Slam of Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
15 2 January 2009   Raymond van Barneveld (2)   Jelle Klaasen PDC World Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [38]
16 27 September 2009   Mervyn King   James Wade South African Masters 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
17 13 December 2009   Darryl Fitton   Ross Montgomery Zuiderduin Masters 2 x T20, T19; 3 x T20; 2 x T20, D12
18 28 December 2009   Raymond van Barneveld (3)   Brendan Dolan PDC World Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [39]
19 29 April 2010   Raymond van Barneveld (4)   Terry Jenkins Premier League Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [40]
20 24 May 2010   Phil Taylor (7)   James Wade T20, 2 x T19; 3 x T20; T20, T17, D18 [41]
21   Phil Taylor (8)   James Wade 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [41]
22 5 June 2010   Mervyn King (2)   Gary Anderson UK Open 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [42]
23 17 July 2010   Raymond van Barneveld (5)   Denis Ovens World Matchplay 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [43][44]
24 3 January 2011   Adrian Lewis   Gary Anderson PDC World Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [45][46]
25 16 July 2011   John Part   Mark Webster World Matchplay 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [47]
26 31 July 2011   Adrian Lewis (2)   Raymond van Barneveld European Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [48]
27 8 October 2011   Brendan Dolan   James Wade World Grand Prix double-in double-out
D20, 2 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T17, bullseye 		[49]
28 16 February 2012   Phil Taylor (9)   Kevin Painter Premier League Darts 3 x T20; T20, 2 x T19; T20, T17, D18 [50]
29 17 May 2012   Simon Whitlock   Andy Hamilton 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T15, D18 [51]
30 8 June 2012   Gary Anderson   Davey Dodds UK Open 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [52]
31 25 July 2012   Michael van Gerwen (2)   Steve Beaton World Matchplay 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
32 26 July 2012   Wes Newton   Justin Pipe 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 [53]
33 23 December 2012   Dean Winstanley   Vincent van der Voort PDC World Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [54]
34 30 December 2012   Michael van Gerwen (3)   James Wade 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 [55]
35 14 December 2013   Terry Jenkins   Per Laursen PDC World Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
36   Kyle Anderson   Ian White 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
37 23 July 2014   Phil Taylor (10)   Michael Smith World Matchplay 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12
38 8 October 2014   James Wade (2)   Robert Thornton World Grand Prix double-in double-out
D20, 2 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T17, bullseye
39   Robert Thornton   James Wade double-in double-out
D20, 2 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T17, bullseye
40 26 October 2014   Michael van Gerwen (4)   Raymond van Barneveld European Championship 2 x T20, T19; 3 x T20; 2 x T20, D12
41 14 November 2014   Kim Huybrechts   Michael van Gerwen Grand Slam of Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
42 30 December 2014   Adrian Lewis (3)   Raymond van Barneveld PDC World Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
43 1 February 2015   Darryl Fitton (2)   Martin Adams Dutch Open 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
44 22 August 2015   Phil Taylor (11)   Peter Wright Sydney Darts Masters 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
45 8 November 2015   Dave Chisnall   Peter Wright Grand Slam of Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
46 2 January 2016   Gary Anderson (2)   Jelle Klaasen PDC World Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
47 5 March 2016   Michael van Gerwen (5)   Rob Cross UK Open 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
48 14 April 2016   Adrian Lewis (4)   James Wade Premier League Darts 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12
49 13 April 2017   Adrian Lewis (5)   Raymond van Barneveld Premier League Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
50 29 October 2017   Kyle Anderson (2)   Michael van Gerwen European Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
51 26 July 2018   Gary Anderson (3)   Joe Cullen World Matchplay 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
52 14 November 2018   Dimitri Van den Bergh   Stephen Bunting Grand Slam of Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
53 23 November 2019   Michael van Gerwen (6)   Adrian Lewis Players Championship Finals 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 [56]
54 27 February 2020   Michael Smith   Daryl Gurney Premier League Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
55 7 March 2020   Jonny Clayton   Chris Dobey UK Open 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [57]
56 8 March 2020   Michael van Gerwen (7)   Daryl Gurney 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [58]
57 29 August 2020   Peter Wright   Daryl Gurney Premier League Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [59]
58 29 October 2020   José de Sousa   Jeffrey de Zwaan European Championship 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 [60]
59 29 December 2020   James Wade (3)   Stephen Bunting PDC World Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
60 29 March 2021   James Richardson   Josh Richardson Online Darts Live League 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [61]
61 7 April 2021   Jonny Clayton (2)   José de Sousa Premier League Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
62 8 April 2021   José de Sousa (2)   Nathan Aspinall 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
63 28 August 2021   Richie Burnett   Scott Williams Online Darts Live League 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T15, D18 [62]
64 1 September 2021   Martin Adams   Jamie Caven 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [63]
65 9 September 2021   Colin Osborne   John O'Shea 3 x T20; 2 x T19, T20; 2 x T20, D12
66 22 November 2021   Martin Adams (2)   Scott Williams 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [64]
67 17 December 2021   William Borland   Bradley Brooks PDC World Championship 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12
68 18 December 2021   Darius Labanauskas   Mike De Decker T20, 2 x T19; 3 x T20; T20, T17, D18
69 1 January 2022   Gerwyn Price   Michael Smith 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T19, T20, D12
70 17 February 2022   Gerwyn Price (2)   Michael van Gerwen Premier League Darts 2 x T20, T19; 3 x T20; 2 x T20, D12
71   Gerwyn Price (3)   James Wade 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T19, T20, D12
72 5 March 2022   James Wade (4)   Boris Krčmar UK Open 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
73   Michael Smith (2)   Mensur Suljović 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
74 2 July 2022   Conor Heneghan   Thibault Tricole Online Darts Live League 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [65]
75 22 July 2022   Graham Usher   Dan Read 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [66]
76 23 July 2022   Gerwyn Price (4)   Danny Noppert World Matchplay 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T19, T20, D12
77 16 September 2022   Conor Heneghan (2)   Adam Smith-Neale MODUS Super Series 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [67]
78 17 November 2022   Josh Rock   Michael van Gerwen Grand Slam of Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
79 27 November 2022   Michael van Gerwen (8)   Rob Cross Players Championship Finals 2 x T20, T19; 3 x T20; 2 x T20, D12
80 3 January 2023   Michael Smith (3)   Michael van Gerwen PDC World Championship 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
81 9 March 2023   Conor Heneghan (3)   Alan Norris MODUS Super Series 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [68]
82 4 August 2023   Steve West   Luke Littler 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [69]
83 15 August 2023   Darryl Pilgrim   Scott Taylor 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T15, D18 [70]
84 25 August 2023   Fallon Sherrock   Adam Lipscombe 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [71][72]
85 17 September 2023   Michael van Gerwen (9)   Luke Humphries World Series of Darts Finals T20, 2 x T19; 3 x T20; T20, T17, D18 [73]
86 2 November 2023   Sebastian Białecki   Anton Östlund MODUS Super Series 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 [74]
87 13 November 2023   Ryan Searle   Nathan Rafferty Grand Slam of Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [75]
88 25 November 2023   Leonard Gates   Martin Thomas MODUS Super Series 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [76]
89 26 November 2023   Michael van Gerwen (10)   Luke Humphries Players Championship Finals 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [77]
90 19 January 2024   Luke Littler   Nathan Aspinall Bahrain Darts Masters 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [78]
91 28 March 2024   Jarred Cole   Michael Burgoine MODUS Super Series 2 x T20, T19; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [79]
92 4 April 2024   Gerwyn Price (5)   Michael Smith Premier League Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T19, T20, D12 [80]
93 23 May 2024   Luke Littler (2)   Luke Humphries 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [81]
94 9 July 2024   Lee Cocks   Pontus Danielsson MODUS Super Series 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [82]
95   Tommy Lishman   David Evans 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [83]
96 14 July 2024   Dimitri Van den Bergh (2)   Martin Schindler World Matchplay 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
97 8 August 2024   Marvin van Velzen   Chas Barstow MODUS Super Series 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [84]
98 26 September 2024   Mason Whitlock   David Wawrzewski 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T15, D18
99 13 November 2024   Adam Mould   Johann Brouwer 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12

Statistics

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Multiple nine-darters in televised matches

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The following table lists the number of perfect legs recorded by players who have scored multiple nine-darters in televised matches.

As of 8 August 2024

Rank Player Nine-darters Last
1   Phil Taylor 11 2015
2   Michael van Gerwen 10 2023
3   Raymond van Barneveld 5 2010
  Adrian Lewis 2017
  Gerwyn Price 2024
6   James Wade 4 2022
7   Gary Anderson 3 2018
  Michael Smith 2023
  Conor Heneghan 2023
10   Mervyn King 2 2010
  Darryl Fitton 2015
  Kyle Anderson 2017
  Jonny Clayton 2021
  José de Sousa 2021
  Martin Adams 2021
  Luke Littler 2024
  Dimitri Van den Bergh 2024
Total
17
65
2024

Nine-darter in televised matches by tournament

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Tournament Total Org. Achieved by Last
Premier League Darts 16 PDC Phil Taylor (3), Gerwyn Price (3), Raymond van Barneveld (2), Adrian Lewis (2), Simon Whitlock, Michael Smith, Peter Wright, Jonny Clayton, José de Sousa, Luke Littler 2024
PDC World Darts Championship 14 PDC Raymond van Barneveld (2), Adrian Lewis (2), Dean Winstanley, Michael van Gerwen, Terry Jenkins, Kyle Anderson, Gary Anderson, James Wade, William Borland, Darius Labanauskas, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith 2023
MODUS Super Series 13 ADC Conor Heneghan (2), Steve West, Darryl Pilgrim, Fallon Sherrock, Sebastian Białecki, Leonard Gates, Jarred Cole, Lee Cocks, Tommy Lishman, Marvin van Velzen, Mason Whitlock, Adam Mould 2024
UK Open 11 PDC Phil Taylor (4), Michael van Gerwen (2), Mervyn King, Gary Anderson, Jonny Clayton, James Wade, Michael Smith 2022
PDC World Matchplay 9 PDC Phil Taylor (2), Raymond van Barneveld, John Part, Michael van Gerwen, Wes Newton, Gary Anderson, Gerwyn Price, Dimitri Van den Bergh 2024
Online Darts Live League 7 ADC Martin Adams (2), James Richardson, Richie Burnett, Colin Osborne, Connor Heneghan, Graham Usher 2022
Grand Slam of Darts 6 PDC James Wade, Kim Huybrechts, Dave Chisnall, Dimitri Van den Bergh, Josh Rock, Ryan Searle 2023
European Championship 4 PDC Adrian Lewis, Michael van Gerwen, Kyle Anderson, José de Sousa 2020
World Grand Prix 3 PDC Brendan Dolan, James Wade, Robert Thornton 2014
Players Championship Finals 3 PDC Michael van Gerwen (3) 2023
International Darts League 2 BDO Phil Taylor, Tony O'Shea 2007
Dutch Open 2 BDO Shaun Greatbatch, Darryl Fitton 2015
MFI World Matchplay 1 BDO John Lowe 1984
BDO World Darts Championship 1 BDO Paul Lim 1990
Masters of Darts 1 PDC

BDO

Michael van Gerwen 2007
World Masters 1 BDO John Walton 2007
South African Masters 1 PDC Mervyn King 2009
Zuiderduin Masters 1 BDO Darryl Fitton 2009
Sydney Darts Masters 1 PDC Phil Taylor 2015
World Series of Darts Finals 1 PDC Michael van Gerwen 2023
Bahrain Darts Masters 1 PDC Luke Littler 2024

Nine-dart-finish prize money

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In 1984, John Lowe pocketed £102,000 for the first TV perfect leg. With nine-dart finishes now thrown on a regular basis the reward for throwing one has decreased. Until 2013 the PDC had a rolling £400 prize-pool for a nine-dart leg.[85] As long as it wasn't won, it increased by £400 for the next event. In 2013 the bonus stopped being awarded.[86] For all PDC Premier events, the PDC formerly had a rolling £5000 prize-pool for a nine-dart leg.[87] As long as it isn't won, the prize for hitting a nine-dart leg is increased by £5000. If multiple players hit a nine-dart finish in one premier event, the money is split evenly across all players who achieved a nine-dart finish in that event. So the prize for a nine-darter varies for every PDC premier event. In the 2015 tournament, achieving the perfect leg in the PDC World Championships would win £10,000, (in the 2014 tournament the prize was £30,000). The reward for a nine-darter during the most recent BDO World Darts Championship was £52,000.[citation needed]

In 2019, a special prize of £100,000 was available to any player who hits two nine-dart finishes at the PDC World Championships, a feat which has never previously been achieved at any World Championship. As such, it didn't happen, and by the end of 2019, all prize money for nine-dart finishes were withdrawn, owing to the ever increasing prize fund for tournaments.

Women's nine-darters

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Mandy Solomons was the first woman to ever record a nine-dart finish in competition. It came in a match against Robert Hughes during the qualifying rounds for the 1996 BDO World Championship on 30 November 1995 at Earls Court, London. It was the first time female players were allowed to enter the qualifying rounds for the BDO World Championship. Hughes did end up winning the match 2–0, however.[88] Solomons was also one of the first women to record a nine-dart finish in a regional Super League match.[89]

Claire Stainsby and Glen Durrant made history when they recorded the first ever nine-dart finish in mixed pairs competition at the 2013 BDO International Open in Brean, Somerset.[90][91] Durrant opened up with a 177, and then Stainsby followed that up with a 180 to leave Durrant on 144, which he ended up taking out for the first nine-dart finish in mixed pairs competition.[92] As a result, Claire Stainsby was inducted into the BDO 9 Dart Club, thus becoming the first and so far only female to be inducted.[93]

Ten-time World Champion Trina Gulliver revealed she has twice missed her last dart to record a nine-dart finish. One was a double 18 for $100,000 at an event in Canada and another missed double was for a car at an event in Ireland.[94]

15-year-old Beau Greaves hit a nine-darter in a competition at Balby Bridge on 17 April 2019.[95]

In 2023, during her 5–3 victory over Marco Verhofstad, Fallon Sherrock became the first woman to hit a nine-darter at a PDC event.[96]

On 25 August 2023, Sherrock made history once again, as she became the first woman ever, to hit a televised 9 darter, during the Modus Super Series: Online Darts Live League.[97]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Paul Lim was representing the United States when he threw his nine-darter. He has subsequently represented Singapore.

References

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