10 Best Darts Players of All Time

2024 has already been a fantastic year for darts and the sport has grown massively in recent months. Recently, a number of new faces have come into the sport and performed admirably, building up hype for the rest of their careers - none more than Luke Littler. A sensational young player who took Luke Humphries all the way in the 2024 World Darts Championship defeating the likes of Raymond Van Barneveld and Rob Cross, both of whom were looking to become two time world champion at the event. Will the current PDC World Champion make his way onto the list of best players of all time later in his career? He'll have to win plenty of major events and high-ranking tournaments to get there but lets see who has has to beat.

Number Ten: Adrian Lewis

Adrian Lewis is one of the most controversial names on this list and is probably a controversial opening to this list, particularly with John Part and Dennis Priestley so close to the top 10. However, between 2011 and 2014, Adrian Lewis won six majors and made twelve finals. Although, he lost just as much as he won, Lewis gave just as good as he got against the likes of Michael Van Gerwen, Phil Taylor and Raymond Van Barneveld, some major names in the darts world. Lewis often lost his temper and played mind games with his opponent, it has to be said that if Lewis hadn't been the centre of a lot of drama, he could have cemented himself as one of the best darts players in the world for years to come, for the potential that Lewis had, his career perhaps didn't hit the heights that he would have hoped for but it can't be denied that on his day, 'Jackpot' was one of the top names to throw a dart.

Number Nine: James Wade

During the 2006, James Wade hit three non-televised tournament nine-darters in one year, from that point, it was clear that James Wade would go on to be a superstar. Since then, he has had four televised nine-darters against Gary Anderson, Robert Thornton, Stephen Bunting and Boris Krcmar.

Wade won 11 major trophies and is still making finals in recent years, making a losing effort in the European Championship final, losing to Peter Wright. Wade burst onto the scene, making the final of the World Matchplay in 2006 when he lost to Phil Taylor but won the event the following year beating Terry Jenkins. His most recent victory came in the UK Open where he won his third version of the tournament beating Luke Humphries. The man was once nicknamed 009, a take on James' Bonds 007 but the nickname that stuck was "The Machine". Just 24 when he won his first tournament, Wade made history at the time and arguably should have had more world championship titles to his name but lost 15 of his 26 major PDC finals. Losing eight of those 15 to Phil Taylor and three to Michael Van Gerwen.

Number Eight: Gerwyn Price

Deciding between the names in 10th to 8th was arguably the hardest part of this list but at number seven we have gone for Gerwyn Price, a name that in our opinion will be remembered for years to come. The Welshman has already had a fantastic career and is still in his 30's and already has a a number of fantastic accolades to his name. Three Grand Slam wins, a record four televised nine-dart finishes in a single year and he is still going! Price is the marmite of Darts, fans either love him or hate him but no matter what, he is entertaining. We believe that as time goes, Gerwyn Price will solidify himself as number seven on this list ahead of those in 8th-10th but as it stands this is where he stands in our opinion.

Number Seven: Peter Wright

Only three players have won more PDC Pro Tour titles than Peter Wright. However, if Wright's record in finals was better, he would be in the top positions on the list. In Peter Wright's first 13 major finals, he won one, losing to Michael Van Gerwen on nine of those 12 occasions. Since, FINALLY beating Michael Van Gerwen in the World Darts Championship 7-2 in 2020, Wright has won seven of his last eight finals, losing to Gerwyn Price 16-8 in the 2021 Grand Slam of Darts. Wright has also only made two major finals in the last two years, meaning that when it comes to the best darts players, we're almost always taking about the past rather than the present for Wright, so it's unlikely that he'll improve his record.

As years go by, Wright will likely drop down this list due to the fantastic young names in the PDC, particularly with the potential prize money won improving each year.

Number Six: John Lowe

He man who had the first televised nine-dart finish may be unknown to new fans of the Darts world. A three time winner of the World Championship and a two time winner of the World Masters. Lowe was the first person to win the World Championship in three separate decades and in a world that also had the likes of Eric Bristow, Bob Anderson, Jocky Wilson, Phil Taylor, Alan Warriner and more, the fact that John Lowe picked up the number of wins that he did is impressive.

John Lowe was also an unbelievable WDF World Cup competitor, with 20 gold medals in 14 years. England also went unbeaten during his period as Captain between 1986 to 1993. A true legend of the Professional Darts circuit.

Number Five: Gary Anderson

If after 2015, you told anybody that Gary Anderson would go on to only win four more PDC majors, most would have been bemused. After beating Phil Taylor in the final of the World Darts Championship and beating Michael Van Gerwen to win the Premier League, it looked to all that the Flying Scotsman was about to go on a run of victories that would define him as one of the true greats. Unfortunately, the following years would sit as the years that Gary fell short as he lost five out of his next five major finals - four of which against Michael Van Gerwen. He would break his duck by beating Corey Cadby in the UK Open as most players fell short with Raymond Van Barneveld, Michael Van Gerwen and Peter Wright dropping out in the third round.

Anderson would go onto win three majors during 2018, winning three out of his four finals that year. When the Flying Scotsman was in-form, there was no stopping him but his record in finals stops him from sitting higher on this list.

Number Four: Raymond Van Barneveld

Arguably the greatest player to ever grace the BDO, Raymond Van Barneveld is one of the most loved names in all of professional darts. From the iconic Eye of the Tiger entrance to the Double 10 that won him his last major and first Premier League title in 2014, Raymond Van Barneveld has had a historic career. Barney has won tournaments since but the majors have eluded him since but many remember the brilliance of Barney in the late 2000s and early 2010s. With 64 darts tournament victories across the BDO, WDF and PDC, Raymond Van Barneveld is a true legend of the sport, he has sat as PDC World number 1 and has constantly been around the top of the world ranking while the greatest names in the sport have battled him.

Number Three: Eric Bristow

Eric Bristow - otherwise known as 'the Crafty Cockney' is without a doubt one of the greatest darts players of all time and it could well be argued that recency bias is the reason why Bristow isn't a little higher on this list of the best darts players of all time. With five World Championship victories and five World Masters victories, Bristow dominated the sport during the late 70s and throughout the 80s and won 68 tournaments during that period.

Bristow would receive a MBE in 1989 for his services to sport. However, it would be another 11 years before Bristow would retire from the sport with his last appearance coming in the 2000 World Championships. Bristow was one of the most despised players in the darts world due to his cocky persona; however, he consistently brought entertainment to the sport and riled the crowd up through his antics - although questionable at times, one thing that couldn't be questioned was Bristow's success.

Bristow unfortunately passed away in 2018 after a successful career as a commentator of the sport.

Number Two: Michael Van Gerwen

PDC World Championship wins - 3
Premier League Darts wins - 7
World Matchplay wins - 3
Grand Slam Of Darts wins - 3
World Grand Prix wins - 6
Players Championship wins - 7
European Championship wins - 4
UK Open wins - 3
World Cup Of Darts wins - 3
PDC World Championship wins - 3
Premier League Darts wins - 7
World Matchplay wins - 3
Grand Slam Of Darts wins - 3
World Grand Prix wins - 6

Depending on who you ask, Michael Van Gerwen could well be regarded as the greatest darts player of all time. Look at his major titles, he won his first in 2022 and has had over a decade of dominance as the best darts player of the modern day. MvG has been overtaken in the current ranking system and sits in the same position as he occupies in this list. In his, 62 major finals, MvG has won 47 titles and only two players have beaten MvG in more than one final, 'Mighty Mike' has been beaten in two finals by Raymond Van Barneveld and four finals by Phil 'The Power' Taylor. No stranger to the big stage, MvG is still winning titles every single year, making 5 major finals in 2023. However, it was the first year where the dutchman has lost more finals than he has won in a single year. Including a sudden death leg defeat to Andrew Gilding who was the lowest ranked player to ever beat MvG in a final.

At the end of his career, Michael Van Gerwen will be a true icon of the sport and a strong contender for the number one spot on this list. However, in regards to accolades, he still has a little way to go to catch our number one.

Number One: Phil Taylor

PDC World Championship wins - 14
Premier League Darts wins - 6
World Matchplay wins - 16
Grand Slam Of Darts wins - 6
World Grand Prix wins - 11
Players Championship wins - 3
European Championship wins - 4
UK Open wins - 5
World Cup Of Darts wins - 4
PDC World Championship wins - 14
Premier League Darts wins - 6
World Matchplay wins - 16
Grand Slam Of Darts wins - 6
World Grand Prix wins - 11

When you think of PDC darts, you think of Phil Taylor. Between 1994 and 2008, Phil Taylor made 48 finals, winning 45. The only names to beat him were Dennis Priestley, John Part and Raymond Van Barneveld. Priestley battered Taylor in his first final, winning 6-1. Taylor would win his next 18 finals in a row before narrowly losing out to John Part in the 2003 World Darts Championship, it would then be another 16 finals before somebody would beat Taylor in the high pressure situations known as finals. Raymond Van Barneveld bested Taylor in the 2007 World Darts Championship. In Taylor's last final, he would lose to Rob Cross in 2018, 24 years after his first final. Taylor would finish with an 84% win rate in finals and nobody comes close to that success rate.

If you're looking to bet on Darts, unfortunately, Phil Taylor isn't around to bet on but a number of fantastic names that you can bet on. If you're looking for predictions ahead of tournaments - check out our darts betting tips.