You may recall that we started an ad-hoc series of Ten Best articles a good while ago now, and we’re returning to that this week with a look at the ten best Darts players of all time.
This ten best darts players list is unusual for one key reason. That is because there is no questioning who is the best darts player there has ever been.
However, there is plenty to debate as to which players make up the positions from second to tenth on the list of ten best darts players. And further discussion on what position they should occupy if they are inside the magical top ten!
As a special bonus, we've expanded our selection from the ten best darts superstars and given you the players we would rank from 11th to 20th in the history of darts, too!
Remember, there are a host of top quality darts tournaments throughout the year and bet365 Sport will be offering extensive betting both pre-match and In Play as well as outright betting on every major darts event!
So let’s start our rundown of ten best darts players of all time starting with the player that is the obvious choice for number one.
By whatever metric you choose to measure this list of the ten best darts superstars, Phil Taylor IS the greatest darts player ever and it will take something spectacular and unusual for anyone to come close to what “The Power” achieved in his career.
Taylor holds so many darts records and titles that the World Matchplay trophy now bears his name. Now active on the Seniors tour, Taylor was world number one for 13 years in a row. He has hit 11 televised nine-dart finishes (22 overall) and he is the first player to hit two nine-darters in a single match.
No player comes close to what Taylor achieved in the game and he is rightfully the number 1 in this all-time list of the ten best darts legends.
In the halcyon days of darts in the 1970s and 1980s, it was the charismatic Crafty Cockney Eric Bristow that shone brightest in the limelight. A stunningly consistent performer, he was a five-time world champion and amassed 22 major titles in his career.
Bristow was also integral in the early career of Phil Taylor, sponsoring the young Stoke-on-Trent star when he was struggling to become a professional. The Crafty Cockney believed Taylor would go on to be a World Champion. Bristow was right. He was a leading force in the formation of the WDC, which would eventually become the PDC.
Unfortunately, that was cut short due to a bout of dartitis that he suffered from in the 1990s. If he hadn’t, there’s no telling how many more titles Bristow could have gone on to win.
Tragically, Bristow died in 2020 just hours before a broadcast of Premier League Darts in Liverpool, but his legacy will never be forgotten. Before Phil Taylor came along, he would have topped this list of the ten best darts players of all-time.
In terms of sheer innate talent and will-to-win, you will struggle to find a current player better than Michael van Gerwen. On his day, van Gerwen is as close to unbeatable as there has been since a prime Phil Taylor. Some would even say that at his very best, he may have been the only player capable of matching Taylor at his best. As such, he deserves his lofty ranking in the all-time list of ten best darts superstars.
However, van Gerwen has landed just three World titles in his career. Despite that, more seem certain to follow. However, he has not yet converted his incredible talent into more wins on the biggest stages of world darts.
Barney is just one of a handful of players to have won both the BDO (now WDF) and PDC World Championships. Across both organisations, he is a five-time World Champion.
The likeable Dutchman has his own Barney Army that follow him on tour. Barney had retired in 2020, but after a 12-month break, he returned to the professional circuit and has quickly broken back into the top 30 in the PDC Order of Merit.
With 14 Major wins and a total of 71 tournament wins, Barney was Phil Taylor’s long-time rival throughout the late 1990s and into the 2000s. The pair are primarily responsible for the growth of darts here in the UK and across Europe since.
For his influence on Dutch darts alone, let alone the siverware, Barney is a definite top four on our list of all-time ten best darts aces.
Old Stoneface was known for his calmness, poise, and near-perfect darts throw. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was a perennial contender for the top titles. Lowe was a three-time World Champion in three different decades (the first player to achieve the feat). He was also a winner of several other BDO Major titles during that period.
In addition to his World titles, Lowe will forever be remembered in history as being the first player to hit a nine-dart finish in a televised game, when he did so against Keith Deller in October 1984, earning over £100,000 for doing so.
Gary Anderson is one of the most naturally gifted and highest-scoring players of all time. But there is no doubt that despite 78 tournament wins, 12 majors and two World Titles, Gary Anderson could and perhaps should have achieved more in the world of darts.
Injuries at key periods in his life have not helped him. Additionally, a series of near misses have also seen him lose out in closely-fought contests. Many of these defeats came in the latter stages or finals of the tournament.
Anderson still plays today but has dropped down the rankings from his heyday in from 2000 to 2015.
Darth Maple remains the only non-European player to have won the PDC World Darts Championship. He is undoubtedly the greatest player to have originated from the Americas.
Part burst onto the scene when he won the 1994 BDO World Title as an unknown debutant at the event. He did so in style, crushing Bobby George 6-0 in a one-sided final.
All the more remarkable was the fact that Part had only received a dartboard on his birthday in 1987, so had gone from darts' novice to World Champion in seven years. A move to the PDC saw him land two further World Titles in 2003 and 2008.
Softly spoken Yorkshireman Dennis “The Menace” Priestley was almost unbeatable for a period in the early 1990s. He was the first player to win both the then BDO and the new PDC World titles (doing so in 1990 and 1994) and he also landed a World Masters crown over that period too.
Rated by Phil Taylor as the toughest player he has ever faced on the oche, the talented Yorkshireman only entered professional darts at the age of 40. Had he started earlier in life, then there’s no doubt more tournament wins and major titles would have come his way.
Few who saw Jocky Wilson play would believe that the cheery Scot would have the quality to be a two-time World Champion. Wilson’s eccentric ‘jerky’ throw looked like it shouldn’t ever work, but it did. His talent led him to 18 tournament wins and two Major titles, both World Championships.
The Scot lived in Kirkcaldy all his life and famously is said to have never brushed his teeth, despite being a prolific sweet-eater. Unfortunately, Wilson died in 2012 aged just 62. However his influence on Scottish and indeed World Darts was huge.
The hugely talented Adrian Lewis has struggled over the last few years. This lack of form has seen him drop down the world rankings to outside the top 50. But ten to 15 years ago, he proved his quality by landing back-to-back PDC World Championships. He became the first player to hit a nine-darter in the World Championships Final in the first of those wins over Gary Anderson.
A four-time PDC World Cup of Darts winner alongside Phil Taylor, Lewis has also landed the UK Open and European Championship in his time in the PDC.
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We recently reviewed our top ten all-time darts stars and could not find any reason to alter the order or selections in that top ten.
However, there are a number of stars who are probably very close to edging into that top ten, and who may do so over the next few years.
So, here is our expanded list of players ranked 11th to 20th
Colourful Peter “Snakebite” Wright is a 2-time World Champion who has also won the World Matchplay, UK Open, European Championship, PC Finals and Masters. On his day, capable of beating the very best, but has struggled for form in the last few years and is currently ranked just outside the top ten.
Although he has yet to win a World Championship, James “The Machine” Wade has a CV the match of any of his contemporaries. He has won eight of the 13 PDC Premier Events in his career, including three UK Opens and two World Grand Prix titles.
The Iceman may polarise fans with his controversial opinions and behaviour, but the former Welsh Rugby professional, turned darts world champion has been a three-time Grand Slam winner, as well as winning the World Championship and World Grand Prix. In 2022, he hit a record four nine-dart finishes in one year.
For the first dozen years of his career, Humphries showed flashes of talent but often struggled to go deep in tournaments. This led to crippling self-doubts, anxiety and mental health issues. But in 2023, Humphries found confidence, self-belief and form. Since then Cool Hand Luke has won five Major events including the World Championship, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam and the PC Finals. He is currently the World Number 1 at the time of writing.
Rob Cross' story may well become a Hollywood box-office smash in a few years time. In 2017, he had a solid first year as a PDC Pro but didn't qualify for the World Championship. He made his debut in 2018 and shocked everyone to win the World title, defeating Phil Taylor in the final. He has since won the World Matchplay and European Championship (twice).
One of the most prodigious young talents in darts, Michael Smith has taken a while to fulfil the huge potential he showed as a youngster. Bully Boy suffered a long list of finals defeats before winning the Grand Slam in 2022 and then he followed that with a World Championship win in 2023.
The Prince of Style was one of the best players never to win a World Championship in his career. He did win a World Masters title in 1991 and two World Matchplay titles back-to-back in 1998 and 1999 and was twice ranked number 1 in the rankings in his career.
Wolfie is an enigma in the darting scene, who remained loyal to the BDO (now WDF) throughout his career. He is arguably the only top player never to have moved over to try out on the PDC circuit. He won three BDO World Championships and the same number of BDO World Masters titles between 2007 and 2011 but never opted to move to the PDC to take on the elite players.
Leighton Rees, “Marathon Man” was the first-ever World Darts Champion in 1978. The Welshman won a number of tournaments in his career but could never repeat that huge success. He was a regular on The Indoor League, a darts TV tournament in the 1970s, becoming the only player to win it twice.
Luke Littler burst onto the scene in the 2023 World Darts Championships as a prodigiously talented 16-year-old. He reached the final, losing narrowly to Luke Humphries but has since won the Premier League of Darts, as well as several other tournaments around the globe. He is felt by many to be the natural successor to Phil Taylor. Now aged 17, he is reckoned by many to be a certain future World Champion.
Updated 19th August 2024
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