Players Championship Finals
The Players Championship Finals is a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The tournament originally featured the top 32 players from the Players Championship Order of Merit, a separate ranking system that only takes into account the non-televised Players Championship events on the PDC Pro Tour. In 2016, the field increased to 64 players.[1]
| Players Championship Finals | |
|---|---|
| Tournament information | |
| Venue | Butlins Resort |
| Location | Minehead |
| Country | England |
| Established | 2009 |
| Organisation(s) | PDC |
| Format | Legs |
| Prize fund | £500,000 |
| Month(s) Played | November |
| Current champion(s) | |
 Michael van Gerwen | |
The tournament was first announced at the PDC Awards Dinner in January 2008 by PDC chairman Barry Hearn.[2] It was initially held from late January to February,[3] and originally took place at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, the venue for the first 14 PDC World Championships.[4] For the third edition, the event moved to the Doncaster Dome.[5] The 2012 Edition took place in December at Butlins in Minehead and has remained at that venue for all subsequent tournaments.[6]
Finals
| Year | Champion (average in final) | Score | Runner-up (average in final) | Prize money | Sponsor | Venue | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Champion | Runner-up | ||||||
| 2009 |  Phil Taylor (98.04) |
16–9 |  Robert Thornton (88.52) |
£200,000 | £50,000 | £25,000 | Jack's Casino.co.uk | Circus Tavern, Purfleet |
| 2010 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Paul Nicholson (92.75) |
13–11 | Mervyn King (89.74) |
£250,000 | £60,000 | £24,000 | totesport.com | |
| 2011 (Feb) | Phil Taylor (97.01) |
13–12 | Gary Anderson (96.31) |
Perform | Doncaster Dome, Doncaster | |||
| 2011 (Dec) | Kevin Painter (96.28) |
13–9 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Mark Webster (93.31) |
Cash Converters | ||||
| 2012 | Phil Taylor (103.57) |
13–6 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Kim Huybrechts (91.70) |
Butlins Resort, Minehead | ||||
| 2013 | Michael van Gerwen (102.45) |
11–7 | Phil Taylor (102.64) | |||||
| 2014 | Gary Anderson (101.01) |
11–6 | Adrian Lewis (95.37) |
£300,000 | £65,000 | £35,000 | ||
| 2015 | Michael van Gerwen (100.32) |
11–6 | Adrian Lewis (89.17) | |||||
| 2016 | Michael van Gerwen (108.34) |
11–3 | Dave Chisnall (99.24) |
£400,000 | £75,000 | |||
| 2017 | Michael van Gerwen (105.50) |
11–2 | Jonny Clayton (94.64) |
£460,000 | £100,000 | £40,000 | Mr Green Sport | |
| 2018 |  Daryl Gurney (95.61) |
11–9 | Michael van Gerwen (100.20) |
Ladbrokes | ||||
| 2019 | Michael van Gerwen (97.92) |
11–9 | Gerwyn Price (96.48) |
£500,000 | £50,000 | |||
| 2020 | Michael van Gerwen (104.98) |
11–10 | Mervyn King (99.78) |
Ricoh Arena, Coventry | ||||
Records and statistics
- As of 29 November 2020.
Total finalist appearances
| Rank | Player | Nationality | Won | Runner-up | Finals | Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael van Gerwen | Netherlands | 6 | 1 | 7 | 12 |
| 2 | Phil Taylor | England | 3 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| 3 | Gary Anderson | Scotland | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| 4 | Kevin Painter | England | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| Paul Nicholson | Australia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| Daryl Gurney | Northern Ireland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| 7 | Adrian Lewis | England | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
| Mervyn King | England | 0 | 2 | 2 | 13 | |
| 9 | Robert Thornton | Scotland | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Dave Chisnall | England | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| Kim Huybrechts | Belgium | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | |
| Mark Webster | Wales | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |
| Gerwyn Price | Wales | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |
| Jonny Clayton | Wales | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
- Active players are shown in bold
- Only players who reached the final are included
- In the event of identical records, players are sorted in alphabetical order by family name
Champions by country
| Country | Players | Total | First title | Last title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands |
1 | 6 | 2013 | 2020 |
| England |
2 | 4 | 2009 | 2012 |
| Australia |
1 | 1 | 2010 | 2010 |
| Scotland |
1 | 1 | 2014 | 2014 |
| Northern Ireland |
1 | 1 | 2018 | 2018 |
Nine-dart finishes
Two nine-darters have been thrown at the Players Championship Finals. The first one was in 2016.
| Player | Year (+ Round) | Method | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Norris |
2016, Last 64 | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 | Michael Smith |
Won |
| Michael van Gerwen |
2019, Last 32 | 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 | Adrian Lewis |
Won |
High averages
| Players Championship Finals ten highest one-match averages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Player | Year (+ Round) | Opponent | Result |
| 111.58 | Phil Taylor |
2013, Quarter-Final | Raymond van Barneveld |
9–2 |
| 111.12 | Ian White |
2018, Last 64 | Scott Taylor |
6–2 |
| 110.62 | Gary Anderson |
2014, Last 32 | Christian Kist |
6–5 |
| 110.02 | Gary Anderson |
2018, Quarter-Final | Jonny Clayton |
10–4 |
| 110.01 | Michael van Gerwen |
2020, Quarter-Final | Dirk van Duijvenbode |
10–5 |
| 109.54 | Simon Whitlock |
2012, Last 16 | Ronnie Baxter |
10–1 |
| 108.75 | Gerwyn Price |
2019, Quarter-Final | Stephen Bunting |
10–3 |
| 108.74 | Jelle Klaasen |
2014, Last 32 | James Wade |
6–4 |
| 108.63 | Phil Taylor |
2009, Last 16 | Vincent van der Voort |
6–3 |
| 108.49 | Phil Taylor |
2009, Last 32 | Michael van Gerwen |
6–3 |
| Five highest losing averages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Player | Year (+ Round) | Opponent | Result |
| 107.79 |  Boris Krčmar |
2020, Last 64 | Michael Smith |
5–6 |
| 107.12 | Jermaine Wattimena |
2020, Last 32 | Luke Humphries |
4–6 |
| 105.85 | Daryl Gurney |
2016, Last 32 | Kim Huybrechts |
1–6 |
| 105.79 | Gerwyn Price |
2018, Last 64 |  Krzysztof Ratajski |
5–6 |
| 105.51 | Dave Chisnall |
2015, Quarter-Final | Michael van Gerwen |
7–10 |
| Five highest tournament averages (min 3 matches) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Player | Year | Round (+result) | |
| 105.42 | Gary Anderson |
2018 | Semi-Final | |
| 105.20 | Phil Taylor |
2014 | Quarter-Final | |
| 104.72 | Gary Anderson |
2014 | Final (Won) | |
| 104.37 | Phil Taylor |
2013 | Final (Lost) | |
| 104.23 | Michael van Gerwen |
2017 | Final (Won) | |
Television coverage
In the UK and Ireland, the first two tournaments were broadcast on ITV4 with the third edition being screened by PDC TV. The fourth edition returned to ITV4 where it has stayed ever since and ITV4 signed a long-term deal to cover the European Championships, Players Championships, UK Open and new tournament the Masters from 2014 to 2016.[7]
TV broadcasters
- 2009–2010: ITV4
- February 2011: PDC TV
- December 2011–present: ITV4
References
- 2008 Order of Merit explanation Archived 2008-12-19 at the Wayback Machine from the Professional Darts Corporation, retrieved 19-11-2008
- PDC website report – PDC To Introduce New Events from the Professional Darts Corporation, retrieved 19-11-2008
- PDC website report – 2009 PDC Calendar from the Professional Darts Corporation, retrieved 19-11-2008
- PDC website report – PDC Return To Circus Tavern Archived 2008-11-04 at the Wayback Machine from the Professional Darts Corporation, retrieved 19-11-2008
- "2011 Players Championship Finals Tickets". Professional Darts Corporation. PDC & Perform Ltd. 2 December 2010. Archived from the original on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 3 December 2010.
- "Butlins Minehead To Host Cash Converters Players Championship". Planet Darts. 30 March 2012.
- pdc.tv Archived September 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine