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.

Standard dartboard

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.

The feat was first achieved on television by John Lowe in 1984, and it has since been accomplished in televised matches a total of 96 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

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 501 in 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

As of 28 December 2024, 96 nine-darters have been thrown in televised matches by 47 different players. 74 of those 96 hit two 180s and finished with a 141 check-out. English players have achieved a total of 46 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, Poland and Sweden.

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

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]

On 18 December 2024, during the first round of the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship, Christian Kist hit a nine-dart finish to win the opening set of his match with Madars Razma, the first nine-darter at the World Championship since Michael Smith's famous leg. Kist went on to lose 3–1 to Razma. Kist earned a £60,000 bonus from tournament sponsor Paddy Power for achieving the feat.^[32] Damon Heta achieved the second nine-dart finish of the tournament in his third round loss to Luke Woodhouse.^[33]

List of televised nine-dart finishes

No.	Date	Player	Opponent	Tournament	Method	Broadcast	Ref.
1	13 October 1984	John Lowe	Keith Deller	MFI World Matchplay	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T17, T18, D18	ITV
2	9 January 1990	Paul Lim	Jack McKenna	BDO World Championship	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	BBC
3	3 February 2002	Shaun Greatbatch	Steve Coote	Dutch Open	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T15, D18	SBS6	[34]
4	1 August 2002	Phil Taylor	Chris Mason	World Matchplay	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Sky Sports
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		[35]
8	17 February 2007	Michael van Gerwen	Raymond van Barneveld	Masters of Darts	T20, 2 x T19; 3 x T20; T20, T17, D18	SBS6	[36]
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	Sky Sports	[37]
12	17 November 2007	John Walton	Martin Phillips	World Masters	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	BBC	[38]
13	6 June 2008	Phil Taylor (6)	Jamie Harvey	UK Open	3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12	Sky Sports	[39]
14	20 November 2008	James Wade	Gary Anderson	Grand Slam of Darts	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	ITV
15	2 January 2009	Raymond van Barneveld (2)	Jelle Klaasen	PDC World Championship	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Sky Sports	[40]
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	Sky Sports	[41]
19	29 April 2010	Raymond van Barneveld (4)	Terry Jenkins	Premier League Darts	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12		[42]
20	24 May 2010	Phil Taylor (7)	James Wade		T20, 2 x T19; 3 x T20; T20, T17, D18		[43]
21		Phil Taylor (8)	James Wade		3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12		[43]
22	5 June 2010	Mervyn King (2)	Gary Anderson	UK Open	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12		[44]
23	17 July 2010	Raymond van Barneveld (5)	Denis Ovens	World Matchplay	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12		[45][46]
24	3 January 2011	Adrian Lewis	Gary Anderson	PDC World Championship	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12		[47][48]
25	16 July 2011	John Part	Mark Webster	World Matchplay	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12		[49]
26	31 July 2011	Adrian Lewis (2)	Raymond van Barneveld	European Championship	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	ITV	[50]
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	Sky Sports	[51]
28	16 February 2012	Phil Taylor (9)	Kevin Painter	Premier League Darts	3 x T20; T20, 2 x T19; T20, T17, D18		[52]
29	17 May 2012	Simon Whitlock	Andy Hamilton		3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T15, D18		[53]
30	8 June 2012	Gary Anderson	Davey Dodds	UK Open	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12		[54]
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		[55]
33	23 December 2012	Dean Winstanley	Vincent van der Voort	PDC World Championship	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12		[56]
34	30 December 2012	Michael van Gerwen (3)	James Wade		3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12		[57]
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	ITV
41	14 November 2014	Kim Huybrechts	Michael van Gerwen	Grand Slam of Darts	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Sky Sports
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	ITV
45	8 November 2015	Dave Chisnall	Peter Wright	Grand Slam of Darts	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Sky Sports
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	ITV
48	14 April 2016	Adrian Lewis (4)	James Wade	Premier League Darts	3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12	Sky Sports
49	25 November 2016	Alan Norris	Michael Smith	Players Championship Finals	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	ITV
50	13 April 2017	Adrian Lewis (5)	Raymond van Barneveld	Premier League Darts	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Sky Sports
51	29 October 2017	Kyle Anderson (2)	Michael van Gerwen	European Championship	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	ITV
52	26 July 2018	Gary Anderson (3)	Joe Cullen	World Matchplay	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Sky Sports
53	14 November 2018	Dimitri Van den Bergh	Stephen Bunting	Grand Slam of Darts	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12
54	23 November 2019	Michael van Gerwen (6)	Adrian Lewis	Players Championship Finals	3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12	ITV	[58]
55	27 February 2020	Michael Smith	Daryl Gurney	Premier League Darts	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Sky Sports
56	7 March 2020	Jonny Clayton	Chris Dobey	UK Open	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	ITV	[59]
57	8 March 2020	Michael van Gerwen (7)	Daryl Gurney		3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12		[60]
58	29 August 2020	Peter Wright	Daryl Gurney	Premier League Darts	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Sky Sports	[61]
59	29 October 2020	José de Sousa	Jeffrey de Zwaan	European Championship	3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12	ITV	[62]
60	29 December 2020	James Wade (3)	Stephen Bunting	PDC World Championship	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Sky Sports
61	7 April 2021	Jonny Clayton (2)	José de Sousa	Premier League Darts	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Sky Sports
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	Sporty Stuff TV	[63]
64	1 September 2021	Martin Adams	Jamie Caven		3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12		[64]
65	9 September 2021	Colin Osborne	John O'Shea		3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12
66	22 November 2021	Martin Adams (2)	Scott Williams		3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12		[65]
67	17 December 2021	William Borland	Bradley Brooks	PDC World Championship	3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12	Sky Sports
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	ITV
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	Sporty Stuff TV	[66]
75	22 July 2022	Graham Usher	Dan Read		3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12		[67]
76	23 July 2022	Gerwyn Price (4)	Danny Noppert	World Matchplay	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T19, T20, D12	Sky Sports
77	16 September 2022	Conor Heneghan (2)	Adam Smith-Neale	MODUS Super Series	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Sporty Stuff TV	[68]
78	17 November 2022	Josh Rock	Michael van Gerwen	Grand Slam of Darts	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Sky Sports
79	27 November 2022	Michael van Gerwen (8)	Rob Cross	Players Championship Finals	2 x T20, T19; 3 x T20; 2 x T20, D12	ITV
80	3 January 2023	Michael Smith (3)	Michael van Gerwen	PDC World Championship	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Sky Sports
81	9 March 2023	Conor Heneghan (3)	Alan Norris	MODUS Super Series	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Sporty Stuff TV	[69]
82	4 August 2023	Steve West	Luke Littler		3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12		[70]
83	15 August 2023	Darryl Pilgrim	Scott Taylor		3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T15, D18		[71]
84	25 August 2023	Fallon Sherrock	Adam Lipscombe		3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12		[72][73]
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	ITV	[74]
86	2 November 2023	Sebastian Białecki	Anton Östlund	MODUS Super Series	3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12	Sporty Stuff TV	[75]
87	13 November 2023	Ryan Searle	Nathan Rafferty	Grand Slam of Darts	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Sky Sports	[76]
88	25 November 2023	Leonard Gates	Martin Thomas	MODUS Super Series	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	Sporty Stuff TV	[77]
89	26 November 2023	Michael van Gerwen (10)	Luke Humphries	Players Championship Finals	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	ITV	[78]
90	10 December 2023	Andreas Harrysson	Andreas Toft-Jørgensen	Modus Super Series	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T15, D18	Sporty Stuff TV	[79]
91	19 January 2024	Luke Littler	Nathan Aspinall	Bahrain Darts Masters	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12	ITV	[80]
92	4 April 2024	Gerwyn Price (5)	Michael Smith	Premier League Darts	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T19, T20, D12	Sky Sports	[81]
93	23 May 2024	Luke Littler (2)	Luke Humphries		3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12		[82]
94	14 July 2024	Dimitri Van den Bergh (2)	Martin Schindler	World Matchplay	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12		[83]
95	18 December 2024	Christian Kist	Madars Razma	PDC World Championship	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12		[84]
96	27 December 2024	Damon Heta	Luke Woodhouse		3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12		[85]
97	1 February 2025	Dimitri Van den Bergh (3)	Michael van Gerwen	PDC World Masters	3 x T20; 3 x T20, T20, T15, D18	ITV

Statistics

Multiple nine-darters in televised matches

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

As of 1 February 2025

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
	Dimitri Van den Bergh		2025
10	Mervyn King	2	2010
	Darryl Fitton		2015
	Kyle Anderson		2017
	Jonny Clayton		2021
	José de Sousa		2021
	Martin Adams		2021
	Luke Littler		2024

Nine-darter in televised matches by tournament

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	16	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, Christian Kist, Damon Heta	2025
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
MODUS Super Series	8	ADC	Conor Heneghan (2), Steve West, Darryl Pilgrim, Fallon Sherrock, Sebastian Białecki, Leonard Gates, Andreas Harrysson	2024
Online Darts Live League	6	ADC	Martin Adams (2), 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
Players Championship Finals	4	PDC	Michael van Gerwen (3), Alan Norris	2023
World Grand Prix	3	PDC	Brendan Dolan, James Wade, Robert Thornton	2014
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
PDC World Masters	1	PDC	Dimitri van den Bergh	2025

Nine-dart-finish prize money

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.^[86] As long as it wasn't won, it increased by £400 for the next event. In 2013 the bonus stopped being awarded.^[87] For all PDC Premier events, the PDC formerly had a rolling £5,000 prize-pool for a nine-dart leg.^[88] As long as it isn't won, the prize for hitting a nine-dart leg is increased by £5,000. 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 hit two nine-dart finishes at the PDC World Championship, a feat which has as of December 2024 never been achieved at any World Championship. From 2019 to 2024 prize money for nine-dart finishes were withdrawn, owing to the ever increasing prize fund for tournaments.

Prior to the 2025 PDC World Darts Championship, title sponsors Paddy Power announced that they would be giving out a total of £180,000 for every nine-dart finish hit in the tournament, with the player, a spectator in the crowd and Prostate Cancer UK receiving £60,000 each.^[89][90][91]

Women's nine-darters

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.^[92] Solomons was also one of the first women to record a nine-dart finish in a regional Super League match.^[93]

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.^[94][95] 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.^[96] 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.^[97]

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.^[98]

15-year-old Beau Greaves hit a nine-darter in a competition at Balby Bridge on 17 April 2019.^[99]

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.^[100]

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.^[101]

See also

• Change-making problem – making particular numbers with given denominations
• Maximum break in snooker
• Perfect game in bowling
• Perfect game in baseball
• Golden set in tennis
• Eight-ender in curling

Notes

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

References

1. "Fallon Sherrock makes more history with televised nine-dart finish". Sky Sports. 26 August 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
2. "Luke Luke Littler hits incredible nine-darter in Bahrain Darts Masters before booking spot in final". Sky Sports. 19 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
3. "Stats Analysis: Holy Grail Or Big Fish?". PDC. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
4. "Darts Trivia FAQ". Red Dragon Darts. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
5. "John Lowe Biography". Unicorn Darts. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
6. "Planet Darts Phil Taylor profile". Archived from the original on 17 September 2008.
7. "Taylor hits nine-darter". BBC Sport. 1 August 2002. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
8. "Darts: Taylor's perfect finish". The Independent. 2 August 2002. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
9. "Taylor Wins Despite King Feat". Archived from the original on 15 September 2012.
10. "Phil Taylor makes history with two nine-dart finishes". The Guardian. 25 May 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
11. "Darts: Phil Taylor hits historic two nine-dart finishes". The Independent. 25 May 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
12. "Michael van Gerwen: Two nine-dart finishes in same match to equal Phil Taylor". BBC Sport. 10 February 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
13. "PartyPoker.com WGP Semi-Finals". PDC. 8 October 2011. Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
14. "World Grand Prix: Wade & Thornton make nine-dart history". BBC Sport. 9 October 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
15. "Wade edges Thornton as both hit nine-darters". ESPN. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
16. "Borland lights up Ally Pally with historic nine-darter". PDC. 17 December 2021.
17. Mirza, Raz (18 February 2022). "Premier League Darts: Gerwyn Price nails two nine-darters on incredible night in Belfast". Sky Sports. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
18. Hammer, Chris (24 July 2022). "Gerwyn Price hits nine-dart finish against Danny Noppert in the World Matchplay semi-finals". Sporting Life. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
19. "Paul Lim, Asian Darter Extraordinaire". Medalist. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
20. "Nine-darter helps Barney to semis". BBC Sport. 2 January 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
21. "Raymond van Barneveld hits second PDC nine-dart finish". BBC Sport. 28 December 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
22. "Nine-dart Lewis hits Jackpot". Sky Sports. 4 January 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
23. "Winstanley achieved a nine-dart". PDC. 23 December 2012. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012.
24. Drabble, Joe (31 December 2012). "PDC World Darts Championship: Michael van Gerwen beats James Wade to reach final". Sky Sports. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
25. Bartlett, Rob (14 December 2013). "Two nine-darters in an hour as Jenkins bows out". ESPN. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
26. Damerell, Richard (3 January 2016). "Gary Anderson hits nine-darter in whitewash win over Jelle Klaasen". Sky Sports. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
27. "'It's unbelievable': Borland conjures up nine-dart finish to sink Brooks in thriller". The Guardian. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
28. Gorton, Josh (18 December 2021). "William Borland hails 'best night of my life' after landing nine-darter on World Championship debut". Sky Sports. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
29. "Darius Labanauskas throws PDC world championship's second nine-dart finish". The Guardian. 18 December 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
30. Mirza, Raz (2 January 2022). "World Darts Championship: Michael Smith stuns nine-dart Gerwyn Price as Peter Wright wins a thriller". Sky Sports. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
31. "'I can't speak!' | How the world reacted to Smith's iconic nine-darter". Sky Sports. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
32. "Christian Kist hits nine-darter at PDC world championship but loses match". The Guardian. 18 December 2024. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
33. Veal, Jonathan (27 December 2024). "Damon Heta lands nine-darter before shock defeat at World Darts Championship". The Independent. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
34. "First player to hit a nine-darter on live TV passes away aged 52". Planet Sport. 7 June 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
35. "Holsten Premier League Darts – Night Five". PDC. 23 March 2006. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
36. "2007 Masters Of Darts Player Prize Money". Darts Database. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
37. "Taylor Lands Bolton Nine-Dart Hat-Trick". PDC. 9 June 2007. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
38. "2007 World Masters Player Prize Money". Darts Database. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
39. "UK Open – Fifth Round". 6 June 2008. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
40. "World Championship Quarter-Finals". PDC. 2 January 2009. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
41. "World Championship – Day Eight". PDC. 28 December 2009. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
42. "Premier League Darts Night 12". PDC. 29 April 2010. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
43. "Taylor Two Good At Wembley!". PDC. 24 May 2010. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
44. "UK Open – Fifth Round". PDC. 5 June 2010. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
45. "StanJames.com World Matchplay Day One". PDC. 17 July 2010. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
46. "2010 World Matchplay Player Prize Money". Darts Database. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
47. "Brilliant Lewis Hits The Jackpot!". PDC. 3 January 2011. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
48. "2011 PDC World Championship Player Prize Money". Darts Database. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
49. "Sky Bet Mobile World Matchplay – Night One". PDC. 17 July 2011. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
50. "Four-some Taylor's European Glory". PDC. 31 July 2011. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
51. PartyPoker.com WGP Semi-Finals Archived 10 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine PDC.tv
52. "McCoy's Premier League Darts – Night Two Round-Up". PDC. 16 February 2012. Archived from the original on 6 January 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
53. "Taylor's McCoy's Premier League Joy". PDC. 17 May 2012. Archived from the original on 10 January 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
54. "Speedy Services UK Open Day Two". PDC. 8 June 2012. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
55. "Betfair World Matchplay – Night Six". PDC. 27 July 2012. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
56. "Ladbrokes World Championship Day Ten". PDC. 23 December 2012. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
57. "Ladbrokes WDC Semi-Finals". PDC. 30 December 2012. Archived from the original on 2 January 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
58. "Minehead Nine-Darter For Van Gerwen". PDC. 23 November 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
59. "Nine-Dart delight for Clayton". PDC. 7 March 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
60. "Ladbrokes UK Open Finals Day". PDC. 8 March 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
61. "Wright hits nine-darter on night 11". PDC. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
62. "2020 Unibet European Championship Day One". PDC. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
63. Richie Burnett hits a 9-dart finish!, 28 August 2021, retrieved 27 August 2023
64. Martin Adams hits a perfect leg!, September 2021, retrieved 27 August 2023
65. Martin Adams strikes second 9-darter at the Super Series!, 22 November 2021, retrieved 27 August 2023
66. "Video: Conor Heneghan produces nine-darter in Online Darts Live League". Dartsnews.com. 2 July 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
67. My First Nine-Darter on Commentary!! Graham Usher V Dan Read at the Live League, 23 July 2022, retrieved 27 August 2023
68. All 3 of Conor Heneghan 9 Dart finishes, 10 March 2023, retrieved 27 August 2023
69. All 3 of Conor Heneghan 9 Dart finishes, 10 March 2023, retrieved 27 August 2023
70. "Video: Steve West throws nine darter during MODUS Super Series". Dartsnews.com. 5 August 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
71. "Video: Darryl Pilgrim throws nine darter and averages almost 119 and 123 in MODUS Super Series". Dartsnews.com. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
72. "Fallon Sherrock continues making history celebrating televised nine-dart finish". The Independent. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
73. "Fallon Sherrock makes more history with televised nine-dart finish". Sky Sports. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
74. "Video: Van Gerwen makes Dutch crowd explode with nine-darter in Amsterdam". Dartsnews.com. 17 September 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
75. "[Wideo] Dziewiąta Lotka! Perfekcyjny leg Białeckiego w Super Series!". laczynasdart.pl (in Polish). 2 November 2023.
76. Wood, Kieran (14 November 2023). ""Not bad for someone who can't see" - Ryan Searle reaches Grand Slam knockouts in style with stunning nine-dart leg". Dartsnews.com. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
77. Gill, Samuel (25 November 2023). "Video: Leonard Gates throws nine-dart finish during MODUS Super Series". Dartsnews.com. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
78. "(Video) Michael van Gerwen hits spectacular nine-dart finish during Players Championship Finals decider". Dartsnews.com. 26 November 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
79. 🚨 HARRYSSON 9 DARTER 🚨, 11 December 2023, retrieved 8 December 2024
80. Rathborn, Jack (19 January 2024). "Luke Littler stuns with nine-darter at Bahrain Masters". The Independent. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
81. "Premier League Darts: Luke Littler secures back-to-back night wins as Gerwyn Price hits nine-dart finish". Sky Sports. 5 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
82. "Premier League Darts final: Luke Littler beats Luke Humphries to win title". BBC Sport. 23 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
83. "World Matchplay Darts: Dimitri Van den Bergh hits nine-darter as Rob Cross survives scare and Peter Wright goes out". Sky Sports. 14 July 2024. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
84. "Christian Kist hits nine-darter at PDC World Championship but loses match". The Guardian. 18 December 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
85. "Heta lands nine-darter as PDC world champion Humphries eases through". The Guardian. 27 December 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
86. "Order of merrit explanation". PDC. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
87. "Players Championship Prize Funds Boosted". PDC. 8 March 2013. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2013. There is no nine-dart bonus for Players Championship events in 2013.
88. "PDC Prize Fund Increases Confirmed". PDC. 6 January 2014. Archived from the original on 3 July 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
89. Gill, Samuel (27 November 2024). "Players get huge bonus for throwing nine-darter at World Darts Championship". Darts News. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
90. "Paddy Power launches 'The BIGGER 180' campaign". PDC. 25 November 2024. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
91. Barrs, Phill (30 November 2024). "Paddy Power £180,000 bonus pledge for a nine-darter at the World Championship". Online Darts. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
92. Searl, Liz (1 December 1995). "Women dart at male egos". The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 June 2002. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
93. "Deta Hedman Interview". Global Darts. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
94. "Sunshine Darts at Brean Sands". WDF. 12 June 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
95. "9 Darter for Claire and Glen in Mixed Pairs Makes Dart History". BDO Darts. 8 June 2013. Archived from the original on 2 September 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
96. "Glen Durrant & Claire Stainsby make perfect darting History". Winmau. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
97. "Winmau BDO 9 Dart Club". Winmau. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
98. "Golden girl gunning for tenth title – and nine-darter". Kenil Worth Weekly News. 13 January 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
99. Gill, Samuel (18 April 2019). "Greaves hits nine-darter during competition at Balby Bridge". Retrieved 28 November 2022.
100. "More history for Sherrock with nine-dart finish". BBC Sport. 18 March 2023.
101. "Fallon Sherrock makes more history with televised nine-dart finish". Sky Sports. 25 August 2023.