Heard people talk about a nine-dart finish and nine-darters but not sure what it means? Join us as we explain the meaning of a nine-dart finish and how it is achieved in the sport of darts.
What Is A Nine-Dart Finish?
As a sport, darts has grown in popularity year upon year. Not only is it one of the most fan-friendly sports about, it is one that your everyday man or woman can play.
At Christmas time, all eyes are on Ally Pally as the World Darts Championship takes over our screens and millions of fans worldwide dust off their boards and get throwing their arrows once again.
When it comes to darts, each and every player wants to strike perfection. Just like in other sports, there is a way you can hit the perfect leg in darts.
A nine-dart finish is the epitome of perfection in the sport of darts. You have a 147 break in snooker, a hole-in-one in golf, a 300-point break in bowling and a nine-darter in darts. All of these are examples of perfection in different sports, with the nine-darter arguably the most entertaining.
Some of the best players throughout darting history have struck perfection, but some just hit differently. The likes of Luke Humphries, Phil Taylor, Gary Anderson and Luke Littler have all hit televised nine-dart finishes – sheer perfection.
🚨 LITTLER HITS A NINE-DARTER! 🚨
Luke Littler hits a nine-darter in the Premier League final! 🤯
📺 https://t.co/gbUt9q25Jh#PLDarts | Play-Offs | Final pic.twitter.com/MmoJUlGoIi
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) May 23, 2024
How Do You Score A Nine-Darter?
In order to score a nine-dart finish, a player must throw their first nine darts, starting from 501, into the requisite segment of the board. The objective is simple. Reducing your score from 501 points at the beginning of the leg to 0 at the end of the leg in just nine darts.
The minimum number of darts needed to reach it is nine. One way to achieve a nine-dart finish is to score 60 (treble 20) on each of the first seven throws, a 57 (treble 19) on the eighth, and lastly 24 (double 12) on the ninth.
This is just one example of how a player can score a nine-dart finish. There are other combinations that can be used too, but this is the most popular way of checking out a nine-darter.
Achieving a nine-dart finish is an extremely difficult feat, with the first televised nine-darter coming in 1984 courtesy of John Lowe. Since then, the feat has been achieved less than 100 times on TV.
A few players have made their own slice of history, with Phil Taylor the only player in history to hit two in one game. Not to mention Gerwyn Price hitting two nine-darters on the same night in the Premier League in Belfast in 2022.
Northern Irishman Brendan Dolan also became the first man in history to hit a nine-darter in the double-start format, striking perfection on the bullseye at the 2011 World Grand Prix.
Nobody has ever hit two nine-darters in back-to-back legs, but Michael van Gerwen almost became the first person to do this in history at the 2013 World Darts Championship. To this day, nobody has achieved the feat of 18 perfect darts in succession.
The last time we were in Belfast… magic happened 🪄
Gerwyn Price landed TWO nine-darters as he raced to the title on Night Three 🙌 pic.twitter.com/xyMNbsC8ML
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 30, 2023
⏮️ When Michael van Gerwen threw SEVENTEEN perfect darts 🤯🎯 pic.twitter.com/ULb13c83dj
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) December 8, 2024
How Many Nine-Darters Have Their Been At The World Darts Championship?
The World Darts Championship is obviously the biggest tournament in world darts each and every year. The best players in the world battle it out at the famous Alexandra Palace in London, with one person crowned champion of the world just a few days into the New Year.
When it comes to nine-dart finishes at the World Darts Championship, there have been 15 and counting as of today. 14 of these have come at the PDC Worlds, with one coming at the BDO version of the World Championships.
Veteran Paul Lim was the first to hit a nine-darter in the World Championship, making history at the 1990 BDO World Darts Championship.
The legendary Phil Taylor, 16-time world champion, has hit more nine-darters than anyone on TV, but didn’t hit any at the Worlds during his career. Raymond van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis have both hit two nine-darters at the Worlds, with nobody else doing it more than once.
THE BEST LEG OF ALL TIME! 🤯🔥
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN MISSES D12 FOR A NINE-DARTER, AND THEN SMITH PINS A PERFECT LEG HIMSELF!
ONE OF THE GREATEST THINGS YOU'LL EVER SEE IN SPORT. pic.twitter.com/WyKWFcxq5V
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 3, 2023
The only players to hit nine-dart finishes in the World Darts Championship Final are Adrian Lewis and of course Michael Smith. Smith’s nine-dart leg at the 2023 Worlds will go down in history as the most dramatic of all time, with ‘Bully Boy’ hitting the perfect leg just moments after Michael van Gerwen missed double 12 for his own nine-darter.
So all in all, there have been 15 nine-darters hit at the World Darts Championship over the years. The first one by Paul Lim in the BDO, with all 14 after that coming at the PDC World Darts Championship.
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