Players Championship Finals
Organised by the Professional Darts Corporation From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
| Players Championship Finals | |
|---|---|
| Tournament information | |
| Venue | Butlins Resort |
| Location | Minehead |
| Country | England |
| Established | 2009 |
| Organisation(s) | PDC |
| Format | Legs |
| Prize fund | £600,000 |
| Month(s) Played | November |
| Current champion(s) | |
 Luke Humphries | |
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 | ||
- As of 26 November 2023
Total finalist appearances
| Rank | Player | Nationality | Won | Runner-up | Finals | Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael van Gerwen | Netherlands | 7 | 2 | 9 | 15 |
| 2 | Phil Taylor | England | 3 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| 3 | Gary Anderson | Scotland | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 |
| 4 | Kevin Painter | England | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| Paul Nicholson | Australia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| Daryl Gurney | Northern Ireland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| Peter Wright | Scotland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | |
| Luke Humphries | England | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 9 | Adrian Lewis | England | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| Mervyn King | England | 0 | 2 | 2 | 15 | |
| 11 | Robert Thornton | Scotland | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Mark Webster | Wales | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| Kim Huybrechts | Belgium | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | |
| Dave Chisnall | England | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 | |
| Jonny Clayton | Wales | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | |
| Gerwyn Price | Wales | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| Ryan Searle | England | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| Rob Cross | England | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
- 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
| Country | Players | Total | First title | Last title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands |
1 | 7 | 2013 | 2022 |
| England |
3 | 5 | 2009 | 2023 |
| Scotland |
2 | 2 | 2014 | 2021 |
| Australia |
1 | 1 | 2010 | 2010 |
| Northern Ireland |
1 | 1 | 2018 | 2018 |
Nine-dart finishes
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 |
High averages
| 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 |
| 112.27 | 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 |
| 109.54 | Simon Whitlock |
2012, Last 16 | Ronnie Baxter |
10–1 |
| Five highest losing averages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Player | Year (+ Round) | Opponent | Result |
| 112.27 | Josh Rock |
2023, Last 32 | Gabriel Clemens |
3–6 |
| 107.79 |  Boris Krčmar |
2020, Last 64 | Michael Smith |
5–6 |
| 107.12 | Jermaine Wattimena |
2020, Last 32 | Luke Humphries |
4–6 |
| 105.85 | Daryl Gurney |
2016, Last 32 | Kim Huybrechts |
1–6 |
| 105.79 | Gerwyn Price |
2018, Last 64 |  Krzysztof Ratajski |
5–6 |
| Five highest tournament averages (min 3 matches) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Player | Year | Round (+result) | |
| 105.42 | Gary Anderson |
2018 | Semi-Final | |
| 105.20 | Phil Taylor |
2014 | Quarter-Final | |
| 104.72 | Gary Anderson |
2014 | Final (Won) | |
| 104.37 | Phil Taylor |
2013 | Final (Lost) | |
| 104.23 | Michael van Gerwen |
2017 | Final (Won) | |
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
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