Players Championship Finals

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
VenueButlins Resort
LocationMinehead
CountryEngland
Established2009
Organisation(s)PDC
FormatLegs
Prize fund£500,000
Month(s) PlayedNovember
Current champion(s)
 Michael van Gerwen

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.

Finals
Year Champion (average in final) Score Runner-up (average in final) Prize money Sponsor Venue
Total Champion Runner-up
2009 England Phil Taylor (98.04) 16–9 Scotland Robert Thornton (88.52) £200,000 £50,000 £25,000 Coral.co.uk Circus Tavern, Purfleet
2010 Australia Paul Nicholson (92.75) 13–11 England Mervyn King (89.74) £250,000 £60,000 £24,000 totesport.com
2011 (Feb) England Phil Taylor (97.01) 13–12 Scotland Gary Anderson (96.31) Perform Doncaster Dome, Doncaster
2011 (Dec) England Kevin Painter (96.28) 13–9 Wales Mark Webster (93.31) Cash Converters
2012 England Phil Taylor (103.57) 13–6 Belgium Kim Huybrechts (91.70) Butlins Resort, Minehead
2013 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen (102.45) 11–7 England Phil Taylor (102.64)
2014 Scotland Gary Anderson (101.01) 11–6 England Adrian Lewis (95.37) £300,000 £65,000 £35,000
2015 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen (100.32) 11–6 England Adrian Lewis (89.17)
2016 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen (108.34) 11–3 England Dave Chisnall (99.24) £400,000 £75,000
2017 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen (105.50) 11–2 Wales Jonny Clayton (94.64) £460,000 £100,000 £40,000 Mr Green Sport
2018 Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney (95.61) 11–9 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen (100.20) Ladbrokes
2019 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen (97.92) 11–9 Wales Gerwyn Price (96.48) £500,000 £50,000
2020 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen (104.98) 11–10 England Mervyn King (99.78) Ricoh Arena, Coventry
2021 Scotland Peter Wright (95.49) 11–10 England Ryan Searle (92.10) Butlins Resort, Minehead
2022 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen (99.92) 11–6 England Rob Cross (100.33) Cazoo

Records and statistics
As of 27 November 2022.

Total finalist appearances
Rank Player Nationality Won Runner-up Finals Appearances
1 Michael van GerwenNetherlands Netherlands71814
2 Phil TaylorEngland England3149
3 Gary AndersonScotland Scotland11213
4 Kevin PainterEngland England1019
Paul NicholsonAustralia Australia1015
Daryl GurneyNorthern Ireland Northern Ireland1018
Peter WrightScotland Scotland10112
8 Adrian LewisEngland England02214
Mervyn KingEngland England02215
10 Robert ThorntonScotland Scotland0119
Mark WebsterWales Wales0117
Kim HuybrechtsBelgium Belgium01111
Dave ChisnallEngland England01112
Jonny ClaytonWales Wales0117
Gerwyn PriceWales Wales0118
Ryan SearleEngland England0116
Rob CrossEngland England0116
  • 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 2 4 2009 2012
 Scotland 2 2 2014 2021
 Australia 1 1 2010 2010
 Northern Ireland 1 1 2018 2018

Nine-dart finishes

Three nine-darters have been thrown at the Players Championship Finals. The first one was in 2016, which is the only one of the three that wasn't done on the Main Stage.

Player Year (+ Round) Method Opponent Result
England Alan Norris 2016, Last 64 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 England Michael Smith Won
Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 2019, Last 32 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 England Adrian Lewis Won
Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 2022, Final 2 x T20, T19; 3 x T20; 2 x T20, D12 England Rob Cross Won

High averages
Players Championship Finals ten highest one-match averages
Average Player Year (+ Round) Opponent Result
112.05 Netherlands Dirk van Duijvenbode 2022, Last 16 England Ryan Searle 10–9
111.58 England Phil Taylor 2013, Quarter-Final Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld 9–2
111.12 England Ian White 2018, Last 64 England Scott Taylor 6–2
110.62 Scotland Gary Anderson 2014, Last 32 Netherlands Christian Kist 6–5
110.02 Scotland Gary Anderson 2018, Quarter-Final Wales Jonny Clayton 10–4
110.01 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 2020, Quarter-Final Netherlands Dirk van Duijvenbode 10–5
109.54 Australia Simon Whitlock 2012, Last 16 England Ronnie Baxter 10–1
108.76 England Ryan Meikle 2021, Last 64 Netherlands Dirk van Duijvenbode 6–5
108.75 Wales Gerwyn Price 2019, Quarter-Final England Stephen Bunting 10–3
108.74 Netherlands Jelle Klaasen 2014, Last 32 England James Wade 6–4
Five highest losing averages
Average Player Year (+ Round) Opponent Result
107.79 Croatia Boris Krčmar 2020, Last 64 England Michael Smith 5–6
107.12 Netherlands Jermaine Wattimena 2020, Last 32 England Luke Humphries 4–6
105.85 Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney 2016, Last 32 Belgium Kim Huybrechts 1–6
105.79 Wales Gerwyn Price 2018, Last 64 Poland Krzysztof Ratajski 5–6
105.51 England Dave Chisnall 2015, Quarter-Final Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 7–10
Different players with a 100+ match average – updated 27/11/22
Player Total Highest Av. Year (+ Round)
Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 36 110.01 2020, Quarter-Final
England Phil Taylor 18 111.58 2013, Quarter-Final
Scotland Gary Anderson 15 110.62 2014, Last 32
Scotland Peter Wright 8 104.83 2020, Last 64
Northern Ireland Daryl Gurney 7 105.85 2016, Last 32
Wales Gerwyn Price 6 108.75 2019, Quarter-Final
Netherlands Raymond van Barneveld 6 107.40 2016, Last 64
England Mervyn King 6 105.12 2020, Last 64
England Adrian Lewis 6 105.03 2014, Last 32
Netherlands Dirk van Duijvenbode 5 112.05 2022, Last 16
England Ian White 5 111.12 2018, Last 64
Belgium Kim Huybrechts 5 108.10 2016, Last 32
England Stephen Bunting 5 107.03 2019, Last 16
England Rob Cross 5 104.17 2022, Quarter-Final
England Michael Smith 5 103.04 2020, Last 32
England James Wade 5 102.95 2014, Last 32
England Luke Humphries 4 107.60 2020, Last 32
England Dave Chisnall 4 105.51 2015, Quarter-Final
England Ryan Searle 4 103.33 2022, Last 16
Netherlands Danny Noppert 3 106.59 2022, Last 64
England Colin Lloyd 3 102.36 2010, Last 16
Australia Simon Whitlock 2 109.54 2012, Last 16
England Ryan Meikle 2 108.76 2021, Last 64
Netherlands Jelle Klaasen 2 108.74 2014, Last 32
Netherlands Jermaine Wattimena 2 107.12 2020, Last 32
England Alan Norris 2 106.24 2016, Last 64
Netherlands Vincent van der Voort 2 104.86 2014, Last 32
England Wes Newton 2 103.14 2011(Feb), Last 32
Portugal José de Sousa 2 102.96 2020, Last 16
England Nathan Aspinall 2 101.66 2020, Last 32
England Terry Jenkins 2 100.89 2014, Last 32
England Andy Smith 2 100.36 2011(Feb), Quarter-Final
Netherlands Jeffrey de Zwaan 2 100.32 2020, Last 64
Croatia Boris Krčmar 1 107.79 2020, Last 64
England Robbie Green 1 105.79 2016, Last 32
Netherlands Benito van de Pas 1 105.39 2015, Last 16
Poland Krzysztof Ratajski 1 105.38 2018, Last 64
Scotland Robert Thornton 1 104.21 2013, Last 32
England Dean Winstanley 1 103.94 2014, Last 32
England Chris Dobey 1 103.50 2021, Last 64
England Darren Webster 1 103.32 2017, Last 32
Republic of Ireland William O'Connor 1 102.85 2020, Last 64
Austria Mensur Suljović 1 102.79 2016, Last 64
Germany Gabriel Clemens 1 102.20 2019, Last 16
Germany Martin Schindler 1 102.17 2022, Last 64
Republic of Ireland Steve Lennon 1 102.16 2020, Last 64
England Andy Hamilton 1 102.16 2012, Quarter-Final
South Africa Devon Petersen 1 101.46 2020, Last 64
England Joe Cullen 1 101.33 2016, Last 32
Wales Jonny Clayton 1 101.28 2020, Last 64
Netherlands Jeffrey de Graaf 1 101.22 2016, Last 32
England Andrew Gilding 1 100.91 2022, Last 64
Scotland Andy Boulton 1 100.86 2021, Last 64
Republic of Ireland Keane Barry 1 100.70 2022, Last 32
Netherlands Christian Kist 1 100.40 2014, Last 32
England Wayne Jones 1 100.13 2020, Last 64
England Callan Rydz 1 100.10 2021, Last 32
Wales Mark Webster 1 100.02 2011(Feb), Last 32
Five highest tournament averages (min 3 matches)
Average Player Year Round (+result)
105.42 Scotland Gary Anderson 2018 Semi-Final
105.20 England Phil Taylor 2014 Quarter-Final
104.72 Scotland Gary Anderson 2014 Final (Won)
104.37 England Phil Taylor 2013 Final (Lost)
104.23 Netherlands Michael van Gerwen 2017 Final (Won)

Television coverage

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

References
  1. 2008 Order of Merit explanation Archived 2008-12-19 at the Wayback Machine from the Professional Darts Corporation, retrieved 19-11-2008
  2. PDC website report – PDC To Introduce New Events from the Professional Darts Corporation, retrieved 19-11-2008
  3. PDC website report – 2009 PDC Calendar from the Professional Darts Corporation, retrieved 19-11-2008
  4. PDC website report – PDC Return To Circus Tavern Archived 2008-11-04 at the Wayback Machine from the Professional Darts Corporation, retrieved 19-11-2008
  5. "2011 Players Championship Finals Tickets". Professional Darts Corporation. PDC & Perform Ltd. 2 December 2010. Archived from the original on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
  6. "Butlins Minehead To Host Cash Converters Players Championship". Planet Darts. 30 March 2012.
  7. pdc.tv Archived September 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
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