It won't be long now until it's that time again. Okay, admittedly, there are still about four months until the 2020 Darts World Cup starts again. But we're already excited! Are you? The Darts World Cup is the absolute highlight of the entire calendar year, for both players and fans. The high prize money, the fanatical crowd at Ally Pally, and the many darts players who come together from all over the world – darts brings people together! In this blog post, we'd like to share with you 11 curious facts about the Darts World Cup that we've discovered. Warning: Some of these facts should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Fact 1: Record runner-up Phil Taylor
Phil Taylor is the darts world champion. And not just any darts world champion, but arguably the best ever in his sport. "The Power" has won a total of 16 world championship titles in his career. He could have even won many more, as Phil Taylor is also the record runner-up. With five runner-up finishes (one more than Dennis Priestley), no other professional player has had to watch another player celebrate their world title more often (1994, 2003, 2007, 2015, 2018). Okay, he's also won the Darts World Championship 16 times.
Fact 2: The top 3 of the Darts World Championship come from three countries – for eight years
One thing has become particularly clear at the past eight World Championships. Players from the Netherlands, England, or Scotland have consistently finished in the top three. This once again underscores the dominance of the three major darts nations. Only Simon Whitlock (Australia) and Mark Webster (Wales) have managed to secure one of the coveted top-three finishes at a World Championship in the past 11 years.
Fact 3: From 1994 to 2010 – three of the top 4 players come from England
Another crazy statistic demonstrates just how extreme the English dominance in darts once was. Between 1994 and 2010, no two players from outside England made it to the semifinals of a Darts World Championship . The England curse was only broken at the 2010 World Championship, when Phil Taylor (England), Simon Whitlock (Australia), Mark Webster (Wales), and Raymond van Barneveld (Netherlands) became the first four players from four different nations to reach the semifinals.
Fact 4: Phil Taylor continues to lead the Darts World Championship rankings – forever?
Phil Taylor, of course, still leads the all-time World Championship rankings. Despite Michael van Gerwen 's three World Championship titles, Taylor is still unassailable in terms of World Championship rankings. Whether he will ever be caught is also questionable. Before the 2020 Darts World Championship, MvG still needs at least 12 PDC World Championship titles to achieve this.
Fact 5: National rankings: Canada in fourth place. Canada?
When it comes to naming six or seven major darts nations, no one immediately thinks of Canada . Sure, there's England, the Netherlands, Scotland, and Wales. Australia is also included. But Canada? Essentially, the entire ranking is down to a single player: two-time world champion from Canada – John Part.
Fact 6: 4 x Whitewash in the World Cup final – a bitter experience
We've all been there: The two World Championship finalists have been decided, and everyone is eagerly awaiting the grand finale. The question of who will ultimately win the tournament is probably on every fan's mind at the beginning of the year. But sometimes it's all over faster than expected, and often even hoped. A total of four times, a final ended in a whitewash in sets. A bittersweet experience for a player who had at least made it to the final of a Darts World Championship. Here are the matches in which this happened:
- 1998: Taylor-Priestley. 6-0
- 2001: Taylor-Part 7:0
- 2002: Taylor-Manley 7:0
- 2006: Taylor-Manley 7:0
As you can see, this fate even befell Peter Manley twice.
Fact 7: Trina Gulliver – Phil Taylor among women
Trina Gulliver was long considered the best woman in darts . The 49-year-old proved this several times at the BDO Women's World Championship. From 2011 to 2007, Gulliver achieved a streak of seven consecutive world championship titles. She also went on to win three more world championship titles up until 2016. With ten titles at a Women's Darts World Championship, Gulliver is the most successful female darts player in the history of the sport.
Fact 8: Four German participants at the 2019 Darts World Championship
Until the last Darts World Championship, something had never happened before: four German participants in a Darts World Championship. For this reason, the last PDC World Championship saw a premiere when Max Hopp , Martin Schindler , Gabriel Clemens and Robert Marijanovic were able to compete in the Ally Pally. In the end, all four players made it home quickly. While Marijanovic and Schindler were eliminated in the first round, Clemens flew home after the second round. Hopp did at least make it to the third round, but was defeated by the world number one - Michael van Gerwen. All matches of the Darts World Championship are now also broadcast on German television. Cult commentator Elmar Paulke has been a presenter for the streaming provider DAZN for two years. You can get a free trial month there at any time!
Fact 9: 72 participants – there have never been more
At the 2019 Darts World Championship, the field of participants was increased to 72 players. Never before had so many players participated in a PDC Darts World Championship. This was due to additional qualifying and preliminary round matches, women receiving starting places for the first time, and significantly higher prize money , which could be played for among the 72 participants.
Fact 10: 22 nations in 2019 – how many will there be in 2020?
It's particularly pleasing to see that 22 nations participated in the 2019 PDC Darts World Championship, more than ever before. This demonstrates just how international the sport has become in recent years. Darts has been enjoying increasing popularity for years. However, England still dominates the entire darts world. This is also reflected in the statistics. With a whopping 23 participants from the motherland of darts, England is still far ahead of the up-and-coming competition from the Netherlands and Scotland.
Fact 11: Around 100 dartboards are used at a Darts World Cup
Due to the increased number of participants, almost 100 dartboards will be used at the World Cup. At the 2018 World Cup, there were 80 boards, which were shot through by 38,555 darts. As a general rule, the board is changed after every match, starting at the second round at the latest, to ensure the best possible conditions for the players. That's quite a lot of wear and tear, considering that amateur players use a board for several years.
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