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Scroll down to watch Ricky Evans' incredible nine-darter
Scroll down to watch Ricky Evans' incredible nine-darter

Watch Ricky Evans hit the quickest nine-dart finish you're ever likely to see at Players Championship 30

By Chris Hammer
Darts
Thu November 02, 2023 · 2y ago

Ricky Evans hit one of the fastest nine-dart finishes of all time at Players Championship 30 in Barnsley on Thursday.

Rapid is obviously known for his ridiculous throwing speed and darts fans have often pondered how quickly he'd be able to achieve the perfect leg.

Evans had previously never managed a televised or streamed nine-darter but thankfully on this occasion the PDC cameras were there to record his lightning feat.

Timing each visit from when his arm starts its throwing motion until the third dart lands in the board, Evans' scores of 180, 180 and 141 took him around 10 seconds to compile - not much slower than Usain Bolt's 100m world record.

The whole leg only lasted just 40 seconds and although there’s no data to confirm that’s the quickest televised leg ever – it was just a shade quicker than the previous 'unofficial' record holder Willie Borland during his match with Bradley Brooks at the 2022 World Championship, which was clocked at 40.82.

While there's no official timing records, Michael Smith’s brilliance during his Premier League encounter with Daryl Gurney in Dublin just before the pandemic hit in 2020 was the previous record holder with 12.10 seconds and the leg took 48 seconds.

We timed Michael van Gerwen’s first ever nine-darter at the age of 17 against Raymond van Barneveld was timed at just 12.24 seconds in a leg that lasted just 41.96 seconds while the Dutchman’s other six perfect legs on TV have all been between the 12 and 14 second range.

Adrian Lewis also went close to 13 second with his nine-darter against Raymond van Barneveld in the 2011 European Championship and his other four weren’t too far behind, while for contest Phil Taylor’s record haul of 11 were around the 20-second mark.

Just for context, Smith's greatest ever nine-darter against MVG in the 2023 World Championship final was one minute and four seconds but that was due to the Dutchman throwing first.

Unofficial fastest nine-darters ever

  • Each visit timed separately from the start of the throwing action until the third dart hits the board
  1. Ricky Evans v Callan Rydz - 10.50 seconds (leg time 40 seconds)
  2. Willie Borland v Bradley Brooks - 11.25 seconds (leg time 40.82 seconds)
    World Championship 2022
  3. Michael Smith v Daryl Gurney - 12.10 (leg time 49 secs)
    Premier League 2020
  4. Michael van Gerwen v Raymond van Barneveld – 12.24 secs (leg time 41 secs)
    Masters of Darts 2007
  5. Michael van Gerwen v Raymond van Barneveld - 12.56 (leg time 47 secs)
    European Championship 2014
  6. Michael van Gerwen v Adrian Lewis - 13.20 (leg time 51 secs but Lewis threw first)
    Players Championship Finals 2019

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