Luke Littler is now the world number one

Darts world number ones in history: Which star names have been at the top of the rankings the longest and which legends have never made it?

By Chris Hammer and Paul Nicholson

Darts

Wed December 03, 2025 · 1w ago

Luke Littler became the youngest world number one in PDC history after usurping Luke Humphries at the top of the rankings.

The 18-year-old achieved this incredible feat by reaching the Grand Slam of Darts final before going onto cement his status a few hours later by defeating Cool Hand 16-11 in the climax to the tournament.

WATCH OUR WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW SHOW!

Host Dom Newton is joined Sky Sports darts presenter Abigail Davies, former major winner and commentator Paul Nicholson as well as our very own resident darts expert Chris Hammer to guide you through each quarter the World Championship draw and predict the eventual champion who will walk away with £1million.

PREDICTING THE PDC WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP 2026!

Littler is the 14th different player to reach the summit since the PDC was formed way back in 1993 and he could be there for quite some time if he's able to go on and win the World Championship which is worth a whopping £1million to the winner.

Luke Littler becomes the 14th world number one in PDC darts history and obviously the youngest at 18.

He replaces Luke Humphries, who enjoyed the fifth longest spell ever 👏 pic.twitter.com/saQ9ATpsXV
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) November 16, 2025

Littler has been chasing down Humphries over the course of the season and it only seemed a matter of time before he'd replace him, but Cool Hand deserves a huge amount of credit for a fantastic 682 spell which began when he lifted the Sid Waddell Trophy in January 2024.

After overcoming Danny Noppert to set up a final with Humphries in Wolverhampton, Littler said: "It’s not even been two years on the tour and I’m already world number one. I’ve said it throughout the year that Luke Humphries was the best in the world. Now I am the best in the world."

WATCH: THE TOP 40 HIGHEST EARNERS IN DARTS HISTORY

Who Tops the Rich List? The 40 Highest Prize Money Earners In Darts

Littler and Humphries have equally shared 16 of the last 23 majors since Humphries broke his duck at the 2023 World Grand Prix and there's no doubt there's plenty more to come over the coming years.

Here, we take a trip down memory lane at some of the record-breaking reigns in years gone by before detailing all the players that have ever managed to reach the summit.

Record breakers

A lot of people might assume Phil Taylor has the record of the longest running single spell as world number one given his dominance from the very start of the PDC in 1993 but his longest run of 2033 days from June 8, 2008 to January 1, 2014 was eclipsed by Michael van Gerwen’s 2,559 days from January 1, 2014 to January 3, 2021.

Taylor does however hold the record for being world number one for the longest time overall with 3,351 days having held it on EIGHT separate occasions in the previous years.

Despite what the Power achieved, it’s hard to argue that MVG was the most dominant world number one due to the sheer number of majors and other ranking events he won during his seven-year reign, and nobody came close to threatening his position for the vast majority of it.

If you asked the casual darts fans how long Taylor topped the rankings for, they’d probably say about 20 years given how many World Championships and World Matchplay titles he won!

All the world number ones in PDC history

No disrespect to all the other players who managed to reach the summit between 1993 and 2008, but he was always considered the best player in the world and went into every major as odds-on favourite.

Unlike van Gerwen, he chose not to play in every event throughout his career. He focused predominantly on the majors, so if he’d possessed the same thirst for the smaller events then it’s scary to think how firm his grip on top spot would have been.

For many players in recent times, Phil and MVG were the only world number ones they knew for years on end. It's hard to imagine reigns quite that long again but maybe it is a record Luke Littler or Luke Humphries could break if they maintain the hunger to compete at the top for decades.

Early chart toppers

If you asked most dart fans who was the first PDC world number one, they probably wouldn’t know. It was Alan Warriner-Little from January 1993 all the way to November 1994 – almost two years!

He’s often described as the 2001 World Grand Prix champion but it’s perhaps even more remarkable that he reached the top of the rankings on FIVE different occasions between 1993 and 2002.

In 30 years only four players have managed to regain the world number one spot so for him to do it four times himself is quite staggering and needs to be lauded a lot more than it is.

WATCH: THE MOST COSTLY MISSED MATCH DARTS EVER!

The Most Expensive Missed Match Darts EVER!

So, he first lost his spot to Dennis Priestly, who won the first ever PDC World Championship although his one and only reign lasted just five months before Rod Harrington took over in April 1995.

Harrington was a ranking event machine during the mid 90s and used to win a lot of them, helping him remain at the top until August 1996 when Taylor first reached the summit – albeit for just one month as Warriner-Little emerged once again until August 1998.

Millennium men

At that point Harrington enjoyed another dominant uninterrupted spell all the way to July 2000 thanks largely to winning back-to-back World Matchplay crowns but it was again ended by Taylor, whose long-awaited second reign only lasted another solitary month.

Taylor’s personal life wasn’t as stable as it could have been during the late 90s and early 2000s and that undoubtedly affected his darts and participation – even though he was still winning the World Championship every year.

Peter Manley took top spot for his only reign – although it did last a year due to entering as many events as possible and performing consistently well.

He may not have been the best player in the world but he certainly walked around like he was world number one, as you can imagine! I’ve heard stories about him jumping queues at restaurants and bars because ‘the world number one is coming through’!

WATCH: CRAZY DARTS FACTS AND STATS

Darts stats to blow your mind!

Warriner gets back on top by winning the World Grand Prix in 2001 – the same edition he set the double-start average record of 106 which still stands today – and during that seven-month run, he did share it with Taylor for a short time.

Phil returns to the top for seven months and is playing the best darts of his career. Everyone is expecting to keep hold of it for years now but up pops John Part to not only beat him in that epic World Championship final in 2003, but also to replace him at the top.

Part’s only reign is ended six months later by Taylor’s World Matchplay title and this time he’s able to hold onto it all the way until February 2005 when the Colin Lloyd era begins.

That had been the Power's first lengthy run which is remarkable when you think he'd already won 20 majors by this point, including eight world titles!

Lloydy had already won the World Grand Prix a few months earlier to close the gap but he solidified his 13-month reign by winning the World Matchplay that summer. Taylor would take it back for just a couple of months before Lloyd returned for another eight.

Raymond van Barneveld, who’d already won a UK Open on debut, continued to motor up the rankings when defeating Taylor in the 2007 World Championship final but the runners-up cheque was enough for Phil to get the consolation of number one.

Barney’s arrival suddenly put Taylor’s status as the ‘best player’ in a little bit of doubt and he’d soon get his time at the top the following year, but only for six months.

From June 2008, Taylor would truly exert his iron grip on the rankings until van Gerwen replaced him 2,033 days later in January 2014.

Notable absentees

It is crazy to think Adrian Lewis and Gary Anderson both won back-to-back world titles but still couldn’t reach the world number one spot.

That’s purely down to the ability of both Taylor and Van Gerwen to consistently win the other majors like the World Matchplay and the Grand Slam to fend off other players who picked up the biggest prize of all.

It really is a remarkable feat.

We look closely at the best players never to have reached the top in another column.

READ: THE BEST PLAYERS NEVER TO BE WORLD NUMBER ONE

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO READ THE COLUMN

World number one reigns: Month-by-month

1993

Jan WARRINER
Feb WARRINER
Mar WARRINER
Apr WARRINER
May WARRINER
Jun WARRINER
Jul WARRINER
Aug WARRINER
Sep WARRINER
Oct WARRINER
Nov WARRINER
Dec WARRINER

1994

Jan WARRINER
Feb WARRINER
Mar WARRINER
Apr WARRINER
May WARRINER
Jun WARRINER
Jul WARRINER
Aug WARRINER
Sep WARRINER
Oct WARRINER
Nov PRIESTLEY
Dec PRIESTLEY

1995

Jan PRIESTLEY
Feb PRIESTLEY
Mar PRIESTLEY
Apr HARRINGTON
May HARRINGTON
Jun HARRINGTON
Jul HARRINGTON
Aug HARRINGTON
Sep HARRINGTON
Oct HARRINGTON
Nov HARRINGTON
Dec HARRINGTON

1996

Jan HARRINGTON
Feb HARRINGTON
Mar HARRINGTON
Apr HARRINGTON
May HARRINGTON
Jun HARRINGTON
Jul HARRINGTON
Aug TAYLOR
Sep WARRINER
Oct WARRINER
Nov WARRINER
Dec WARRINER

1997

Jan WARRINER
Feb WARRINER
Mar WARRINER
Apr WARRINER
May WARRINER
Jun WARRINER
Jul WARRINER
Aug WARRINER
Sep WARRINER
Oct WARRINER
Nov WARRINER
Dec WARRINER

1998

Jan WARRINER
Feb WARRINER
Mar WARRINER
Apr WARRINER
May WARRINER
Jun WARRINER
Jul WARRINER
Aug HARRINGTON
Sep HARRINGTON
Oct HARRINGTON
Nov HARRINGTON
Dec HARRINGTON

1999

Jan HARRINGTON
Feb HARRINGTON
Mar HARRINGTON
Apr HARRINGTON
May HARRINGTON
Jun HARRINGTON
Jul HARRINGTON
Aug HARRINGTON
Sep HARRINGTON
Oct HARRINGTON
Nov HARRINGTON
Dec HARRINGTON

2000

Jan HARRINGTON
Feb HARRINGTON
Mar HARRINGTON
Apr HARRINGTON
May HARRINGTON
Jun HARRINGTON
Jul HARRINGTON
Aug TAYLOR
Sep MANLEY
Oct MANLEY
Nov MANLEY
Dec MANLEY

2001

Jan MANLEY
Feb MANLEY
Mar MANLEY
Apr MANLEY
May MANLEY
Jun MANLEY
Jul MANLEY
Aug MANLEY
Sep MANLEY
Oct WARRINER
Nov WARRINER
Dec WARRINER

2002

Jan TAYLOR & WARRINER (Joint)
Feb WARRINER
Mar WARRINER
Apr WARRINER
May TAYLOR
Jun TAYLOR
Jul TAYLOR
Aug TAYLOR
Sep TAYLOR
Oct TAYLOR
Nov TAYLOR
Dec TAYLOR

2003

Jan PART
Feb PART
Mar PART
Apr PART
May PART
Jun PART
Jul TAYLOR
Aug TAYLOR
Sep TAYLOR
Oct TAYLOR
Nov TAYLOR
Dec TAYLOR

2004

Jan TAYLOR
Feb TAYLOR
Mar TAYLOR
Apr TAYLOR
May TAYLOR
Jun TAYLOR
Jul TAYLOR
Aug TAYLOR
Sep TAYLOR
Oct TAYLOR
Nov TAYLOR
Dec TAYLOR

2005

Jan TAYLOR
Feb LLOYD
Mar LLOYD
Apr LLOYD
May LLOYD
Jun LLOYD
Jul LLOYD
Aug LLOYD
Sep LLOYD
Oct LLOYD
Nov LLOYD
Dec LLOYD

2006

Jan LLOYD
Feb LLOYD
Mar TAYLOR
Apr TAYLOR
May LLOYD
Jun LLOYD
Jul LLOYD
Aug LLOYD
Sep LLOYD
Oct LLOYD
Nov LLOYD
Dec LLOYD

2007

Jan TAYLOR
Feb TAYLOR
Mar TAYLOR
Apr TAYLOR
May TAYLOR
Jun TAYLOR
Jul TAYLOR
Aug TAYLOR
Sep TAYLOR
Oct TAYLOR
Nov TAYLOR
Dec TAYLOR

2008

Jan VAN BARNEVELD
Feb VAN BARNEVELD
Mar VAN BARNEVELD
Apr VAN BARNEVELD
May VAN BARNEVELD
Jun TAYLOR
Jul TAYLOR
Aug TAYLOR
Sep TAYLOR
Oct TAYLOR
Nov TAYLOR
Dec TAYLOR

2009

Jan TAYLOR
Feb TAYLOR
Mar TAYLOR
Apr TAYLOR
May TAYLOR
Jun TAYLOR
Jul TAYLOR
Aug TAYLOR
Sep TAYLOR
Oct TAYLOR
Nov TAYLOR
Dec TAYLOR

2010

Jan TAYLOR
Feb TAYLOR
Mar TAYLOR
Apr TAYLOR
May TAYLOR
Jun TAYLOR
Jul TAYLOR
Aug TAYLOR
Sep TAYLOR
Oct TAYLOR
Nov TAYLOR
Dec TAYLOR

2011

Jan TAYLOR
Feb TAYLOR
Mar TAYLOR
Apr TAYLOR
May TAYLOR
Jun TAYLOR
Jul TAYLOR
Aug TAYLOR
Sep TAYLOR
Oct TAYLOR
Nov TAYLOR
Dec TAYLOR

2012

Jan TAYLOR
Feb TAYLOR
Mar TAYLOR
Apr TAYLOR
May TAYLOR
Jun TAYLOR
Jul TAYLOR
Aug TAYLOR
Sep TAYLOR
Oct TAYLOR
Nov TAYLOR
Dec TAYLOR

2013

Jan TAYLOR
Feb TAYLOR
Mar TAYLOR
Apr TAYLOR
May TAYLOR
Jun TAYLOR
Jul TAYLOR
Aug TAYLOR
Sep TAYLOR
Oct TAYLOR
Nov TAYLOR
Dec TAYLOR

2014

Jan MVG
Feb MVG
Mar MVG
Apr MVG
May MVG
Jun MVG
Jul MVG
Aug MVG
Sep MVG
Oct MVG
Nov MVG
Dec MVG

2015

Jan MVG
Feb MVG
Mar MVG
Apr MVG
May MVG
Jun MVG
Jul MVG
Aug MVG
Sep MVG
Oct MVG
Nov MVG
Dec MVG

2016

Jan MVG
Feb MVG
Mar MVG
Apr MVG
May MVG
Jun MVG
Jul MVG
Aug MVG
Sep MVG
Oct MVG
Nov MVG
Dec MVG

2017

Jan MVG
Feb MVG
Mar MVG
Apr MVG
May MVG
Jun MVG
Jul MVG
Aug MVG
Sep MVG
Oct MVG
Nov MVG
Dec MVG

2018

Jan MVG
Feb MVG
Mar MVG
Apr MVG
May MVG
Jun MVG
Jul MVG
Aug MVG
Sep MVG
Oct MVG
Nov MVG
Dec MVG

2019

Jan MVG
Feb MVG
Mar MVG
Apr MVG
May MVG
Jun MVG
Jul MVG
Aug MVG
Sep MVG
Oct MVG
Nov MVG
Dec MVG

2020

Jan MVG
Feb MVG
Mar MVG
Apr MVG
May MVG
Jun MVG
Jul MVG
Aug MVG
Sep MVG
Oct MVG
Nov MVG
Dec MVG

2021

Jan PRICE
Feb PRICE
Mar PRICE
Apr PRICE
May PRICE
Jun PRICE
Jul PRICE
Aug PRICE
Sep PRICE
Oct PRICE
Nov PRICE
Dec PRICE

2022

Jan PRICE
Feb PRICE
Mar WRIGHT
Apr WRIGHT
May WRIGHT
Jun WRIGHT
Jul PRICE
Aug PRICE
Sep PRICE
Oct WRIGHT
Nov PRICE
Dec PRICE

2023

Jan SMITH
Feb SMITH
Mar SMITH
Apr SMITH
May SMITH
Jun SMITH
Jul SMITH
Aug SMITH
Sep SMITH
Oct SMITH
Nov SMITH
Dec SMITH

2024

Jan HUMPHRIES
Feb HUMPHRIES
Mar HUMPHRIES
Apr HUMPHRIES
May HUMPHRIES
Jun HUMPHRIES
Jul HUMPHRIES
Aug HUMPHRIES
Sep HUMPHRIES
Oct HUMPHRIES
Nov HUMPHRIES
Dec HUMPHRIES

2025

Jan HUMPHRIES
Feb HUMPHRIES
Mar HUMPHRIES
Apr HUMPHRIES
May HUMPHRIES
Jun HUMPHRIES
Jul HUMPHRIES
Aug HUMPHRIES
Sep HUMPHRIES
Oct HUMPHRIES
Nov LITTLER

Darts: Related content

Like what you've read?

Link

Join for Free

Image of stables faded in a gold gradient

Get exclusive Willie Mullins insight, plus access to premium articles, expert tips and Timeform data, plus more...

Discover Sporting Life Plus benefits White Chevron

Next Off

Fixtures & Results

Fetching latest games....