Michael Smith

The history of the nine-dart finish: How many perfect legs have there been and which players have hit the most?

By Sporting Life

Darts

Fri August 01, 2025 · 5M ago

A look at the total number of televised nine-dart finishes in history, who hit them and the number of possible routes you can take.

There have been 567 tournament nine-darters across all PDC Tours since 1999 (this includes Challenge & Development Tours, PDC Affiliate Tours and qualifying events etc) at the time of writing (July 27, 2025) but when it comes to perfect legs seen on the televised stage, the number is far fewer.

Across the PDC, WDF/BDO and the Modus Super Series, there have been over 100 nine-darters broadcast by TV networks, with the first coming way back in 1984 when John Lowe made history against Keith Deller at the MFI Matchplay and earned himself a whopping £102,000 in the process.

That remains the biggest prize ever received by anyone for achieving a perfect leg and it's highly unlikely to ever be topped despite the record amounts of money being injected into the game today. There's quite simply too many of them now for prizes on that scale!

Phil Taylor pocketed exactly £100,000 at the 2002 World Matchplay, which dwarfed the total value of the 1002 bottles of Budweiser he won for hitting nine-darters in the 2004 and 2005 UK Opens (501 apiece!), while Damon Heta and Christian Kist both received hefty cheques of £50,000 for their roof-raising efforts at the 2025 World Championship thanks to sponsors Paddy Power, who also gave the same amount to Prostate Cancer UK and two lucky members of the audience.

Taylor still holds the record for the most televised nine-darters with 11 and although he's closely followed by Michael van Gerwen (10), it wouldn't be much of a surprise to see Luke Littler (3) climb to the top of the charts in the coming years considering how many he's already managed by the age of 18.

Littler became the youngest player ever to achieve televised perfection just days before his 17th birthday when competing in the Bahrain Darts Masters against Nathan Aspinall in January 2024 but he doesn't hold the record for the most viewed nine darter.

That honour belonged to Paul Lim for many, many years after hitting the only one ever seen at the Lakeside back in 1990 but there can be little doubt that Michael Smith's greatest leg ever seen against Michael van Gerwen in the Ally Pally final of 2023 has soared past it.

THE BEST LEG IN DARTS HISTORY! 🤯🤯🤯

MVG MISS DOUBLE 12 FOR A NINE DARTER BUT MICHAEL SMITH MAKES IT! UNREAL SCENES 🤯pic.twitter.com/IDYxujSqHx
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) January 3, 2023

What routes can you go?

There are 3,944 different ways to hit a nine-darter – including 2,296 that finish with the bullseye – so there are plenty of options available that haven’t been regularly explored, especially in major competition.

Mostly we tend to see a pair of 180s followed by the 141 checkout but there's certainly more variety these days than ever before.

It got to the stage a few seasons ago when Michael van Gerwen was hitting nine-darters so regularly that he was trying to find different ways of doing it but he's not the only one.

Mensur Suljovic once went 170, 170, 161 in a Central European SuperLeague event many years ago while Richie Edhouse hit a pair of nine darters which both consisted of two 174s and a 153 checkout! That route was subsequently called the ‘Edhouse’ so imagine trying it a different way on TV and having your name assigned to it!

Luke Littler has also been creative and this year became the first player ever to finish a perfect leg on double 15 during his Premier League clash with MVG earlier in 2025. But who will be the history maker who achieves the 'perfect' nine-darter of 3 x 167s? That would be Treble 20, treble 19 and bull three times!

To go through with a perfect nine-darter on TV, you’d probably have to be winning by quite a margin in, for example, the first round of a World Series event. You wouldn’t want to be trying anything too flamboyant or cocky in a match that could make or break your career.

There are other incredible ways to do it, including finishing with a 170 checkout. That would be possible if opening with a 180 and following it with a 151 but can you imagine anyone attempting that in a major tournament?

All the televised nine-dart finishes in history

Here below is a full list of televised nine-darters through time, while we also rank the players by how many they've managed to hit.

John Lowe v Keith Deller - MFI World Matchplay, 13 October 1984
Paul Lim v Jack McKenna - BDO World Championship, 29 January 1990
Shaun Greatbatch v Steve Coote - Dutch Open, 3 February 2002
Phil Taylor v Chris Mason - World Matchplay 1 August 2002
Phil Taylor (2) v Matt Chapman - UK Open, 5 June 2004
Phil Taylor (3) v Roland Scholten - UK Open,12 June 2005
Raymond van Barneveld v Peter Manley - Premier League Darts, 23 March 2006
Michael van Gerwen v Raymond van Barneveld - Masters of Darts, 17 February 2007
Phil Taylor (4) v Raymond van Barneveld - International Darts League, 8 May 2007
Tony O'Shea v Adrian Lewis - International Darts League, 9 May 2007
Phil Taylor (5) v Wes Newton - UK Open, 9 June 2007
John Walton v Martin Phillips - World Masters, 17 November 2007
Phil Taylor (6) v Jamie Harvey - UK Open, 6 June 2008
James Wade v Gary Anderson - Grand Slam of Darts, 20 November 2008
Raymond van Barneveld (2) v Jelle Klaasen - PDC World Championship, 2 January 2009
Mervyn King v James Wade - South African Masters, 27 September 2009
Darryl Fitton v Ross Montgomery - Zuiderduin Masters, 13 December 2009
Raymond van Barneveld (3) v Brendan Dolan - PDC World Championship, 28 December 2009
Raymond van Barneveld (4) v Terry Jenkins - Premier League Darts, 29 April 2010
Phil Taylor (7) v James Wade - Premier League Darts, 24 May 2010
Phil Taylor (8) v James Wade - Premier League Darts, 24 May 2010
Mervyn King (2) v Gary Anderson - UK Open, 5 June 2010
Raymond van Barneveld (5) v Denis Ovens - World Matchplay, 17 July 2010
Adrian Lewis v Gary Anderson - PDC World Championship, 3 January 2011
John Part v Mark Webster - World Matchplay, 16 July 2011
Adrian Lewis (2) v Raymond van Barneveld - European Championship, 31 July 2011
Brendan Dolan v James Wade - World Grand Prix, 8 October 2011
Phil Taylor (9) v Kevin Painter - Premier League Darts, 16 February 2012
Simon Whitlock v Andy Hamilton - Premier League Darts, 17 May 2012
Gary Anderson v Davey Dodds - UK Open, 8 June 2012
Michael van Gerwen (2) v Steve Beaton - World Matchplay, 25 July 2012
Wes Newton v Justin Pipe - World Matchplay, 26 July 2012
Dean Winstanley v Vincent van der Voort - PDC World Championship, 23 December 2012
Michael van Gerwen (3) v James Wade - PDC World Championship, 30 December 2012
Terry Jenkins v Per Laursen - PDC World Championship, 14 December 2013
Kyle Anderson v Ian White - PDC World Championship, 14 December 2013
Phil Taylor (10) v Michael Smith - World Matchplay, 23 July 2014
James Wade (2) v Robert Thornton - World Grand Prix, 8 October 2014
Robert Thornton v James Wade - World Grand Prix, 8 October 2014
Michael van Gerwen (4) v Raymond van Barneveld - European Championship, 26 October 2014
Kim Huybrechts v Michael van Gerwen - Grand Slam of Darts, 14 November 2014
Adrian Lewis (3) v Raymond van Barneveld - PDC World Championship, 30 December 2014
Darryl Fitton (2) v Martin Adams - Dutch Open,1 February 2015
Phil Taylor (11) v Peter Wright - Sydney Darts Masters, 22 August 2015
Dave Chisnall v Peter Wright - Grand Slam of Darts, 8 November 2015
Gary Anderson (2) v Jelle Klaasen - PDC World Championship, 2 January 2016
Michael van Gerwen (5 v Rob Cross - UK Open, 5 March 2016
Adrian Lewis (4) v James Wade - Premier League Darts, 14 April 2016
Adrian Lewis (5) v Raymond van Barneveld - Premier League Darts, 13 April 2017
Kyle Anderson (2) v Michael van Gerwen - European Championship, 29 October 2017
Gary Anderson (3) v Joe Cullen - World Matchplay, 26 July 2018
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Stephen Bunting - Grand Slam of Darts, 14 November 2018
Michael van Gerwen (6) v Adrian Lewis - Players Championship Finals, 23 November 2019
Michael Smith v Daryl Gurney - Premier League Darts, 27 February 2020
Jonny Clayton v Chris Dobey - UK Open, 7 March 2020
Michael van Gerwen (7) v Daryl Gurney - UK Open, 8 March 2020
Peter Wright v Daryl Gurney - Premier League Darts, 29 August 2020
José de Sousa v Jeffrey de Zwaan - European Championship, 29 October 2020
James Wade (3) v Stephen Bunting - PDC World Championship, 29 December 2020
James Richardson v Josh Richardson - MODUS Super Series, 29 March 2021
Jonny Clayton (2) v José de Sousa - Premier League Darts, 7 April 2021
José de Sousa (2) v Nathan Aspinall - Premier League Darts, 8 April 2021
Richie Burnett v Scott Williams - MODUS Super Series, 28 August 2021
Martin Adams v Jamie Caven - MODUS Super Series, 1 September 2021
Colin Osborne v John O'Shea - MODUS Super Series, 9 September 2021
Martin Adams (2) v Scott Williams - MODUS Super Series, 22 November 2021
William Borland v Bradley Brooks - PDC World Championship, 17 December 2021
Darius Labanauskas v Mike De Decker - PDC World Championship, 18 December 2021
Gerwyn Price v Michael Smith - PDC World Championship, 1 January 2022
Gerwyn Price (2) v Michael van Gerwen - Premier League Darts, 7 February 2022
Gerwyn Price (3) v James Wade - Premier League Darts, 7 February 2022
James Wade (4) v Boris Krčmar - UK Open, 25 March 2022
Michael Smith (2) v Mensur Suljović - UK Open, 25 March 2022
Conor Heneghan v Thibault Tricole - MODUS Super Series, , 2 July 2022
Graham Usher v Dan Read - MODUS Super Series, 22 July 2022
Gerwyn Price (4) v Danny Noppert - World Matchplay, 23 July 2022
Conor Heneghan (2) v Adam Smith-Neale - MODUS Super Series, 16 September 2022
Josh Rock v Michael van Gerwen - Grand Slam of Darts, 17 November 2022
Michael van Gerwen (8) v Rob Cross - Players Championship Finals, 27 November 2022
Michael Smith (3) v Michael van Gerwen - PDC World Championship, 3 January 2023
Conor Heneghan (3) v Alan Norris - MODUS Super Series, 9 March 2023
Steve West v Luke Littler - MODUS Super Series, 4 August 2023
Darryl Pilgrim v Scott Taylor - MODUS Super Series, 15 August 2023
Fallon Sherrock v Adam Lipscombe - MODUS Super Series, 25 August 2023
Michael van Gerwen (9) v Luke Humphries - World Series of Darts Finals, 17 September 2023
Sebastian Białecki v Anton Östlund - MODUS Super Series, 2 November 2023
Ryan Searle v Nathan Rafferty - Grand Slam of Darts, 13 November 2023
Leonard Gates v Martin Thomas - MODUS Super Series, 25 November 2023
Michael van Gerwen (10) v Luke Humphries - Players Championship Finals, 26 November 2023
Andreas Harryson v Andreas Toft-Jorgensen - MODUS Super Series, 10 December 2023
Luke Littler v Nathan Aspinall - Bahrain Darts Masters, 19 January 2024
Gerwyn Price (5) v Michael Smith - Premier League Darts, 4 April 2024
Luke Littler (2) v Luke Humphries - Premier League Darts Final, 23 May 2024
Dimitri Van den Bergh (2) v Martin Schindler - World Matchplay, 14 July 2024
Christian Kist v Madars Razma - PDC World Championship, 18 December 2024
Damon Heta v Luke Woodhouse - PDC World Championship, 27 December 2024
Dimitri Van den Bergh (3) v Michael van Gerwen, PDC World Masters, 1 February, 2025
Luke Humphries v Rob Cross - Premier League Darts, 6 March 2025
Rob Cross v Nathan Aspinall - Premier League Darts, 6 March 2025
Luke Littler (3) v Michael van Gerwen - Premier League Darts, 20 March 2025
Gerwyn Price (6) v Luke Littler - Premier League Darts, 10 April 2025
Gerwyn Price (7) v Stephen Bunting - Premier League Darts, 15 May 2025
Luke Littler (4) v Josh Rock - World Matchplay, 26 July 2025

Who has hit the most televised nine darters?

Phil Taylor - 11
Michael van Gerwen - 10
Gerwyn Price - 7
Raymond van Barneveld - 5
Adrian Lewis - 5
James Wade - 4
Luke Littler - 4
Gary Anderson- 3
Michael Smith - 3
Conor Heneghan - 3
Dimitri Van den Bergh - 3
Mervyn King - 2
Darryl Fitton - 2
Kyle Anderson - 2
Jonny Clayton - 2
José de Sousa - 2
Martin Adams - 2

Organisations with most nine-darters

PDC - 82
WDF/BDO - 6
Modus Super Series - 14

Tournaments with most nine-darters

PDC Premier League Darts - 21 (Gerwyn Price (5), Phil Taylor (3), Raymond van Barneveld (2), Adrian Lewis (2), Luke Littler (2), Simon Whitlock, Michael Smith, Peter Wright, Jonny Clayton, José de Sousa, Rob Cross, Luke Humphries)
PDC World Darts Championship - 16 (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)
MODUS Super Series/Online Darts Live League - 14 (Conor Heneghan (3), Martin Adams (2), Steve West, Darryl Pilgrim, Fallon Sherrock, Sebastian Białecki, Leonard Gates, Andreas Harrysson, Richie Burnett, Colin Osborne, Graham Usher)
PDC UK Open - 11 (Phil Taylor (4), Michael van Gerwen (2), Mervyn King, Gary Anderson, Jonny Clayton, James Wade, Michael Smith)
PDC World Matchplay - 10 (Phil Taylor (2), Raymond van Barneveld, John Part, Michael van Gerwen, Wes Newton, Gary Anderson, Gerwyn Price, Dimitri Van den Bergh, Luke Littler)
PDC Grand Slam of Darts - 6 (James Wade, Kim Huybrechts, Dave Chisnall, Dimitri Van den Bergh, Josh Rock, Ryan Searle)
PDC European Championship - 4 (Adrian Lewis, Michael van Gerwen, Kyle Anderson, José de Sousa)
PDC Players Championship Finals - 4 (Michael van Gerwen (3), Alan Norris)
PDC World Grand Prix - 3 (Brendan Dolan, James Wade, Robert Thornton)
PDC/BDO International Darts League - 2 (Phil Taylor, Tony O'Shea)
BDO Dutch Open - 2 (Shaun Greatbatch, Darryl Fitton)
PDC World Masters - 1 (Dimitri Van den Bergh)
BDO MFI World Matchplay - 1 (John Lowe)
BDO World Darts Championship - 1 (Paul Lim)
PDC/BDO - Masters of Darts (Michael van Gerwen)
BDO World Masters - 1 (John Walton)
PDC - South African Masters - 1 (Mervyn King)
BDO Zuiderduin Masters - 1 (Darryl Fitton)
PDC Sydney Darts Masters - 1 (Phil Taylor)
PDC World Series of Darts Finals - 1 (Michael van Gerwen)
PDC Bahrain Darts Masters - 1 (Luke Littler)