The 10 greatest darts players of all time

Phil 'The Power' Taylor tops our list, winning an astonishing 214 professional tournaments, including 16 World Championships — eight of these back-to-back from 1995 to 2002.

The BBC ranked him among the 10 greatest British sportsmen of the last 35 years in 2015, and he was nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year twice (the only darts player to have ever been in the running).

As with any champion, his rivalries were unmatched. He frequently clashed with other titans, including Raymond van Barneveld and Michael van Gerwen, in heart-pumping spectacles that always went right to the wire.

Eric John Bristow MBE is a powerhouse in the sport, securing five World Championships, five World Masters Championships and four World Cup Single Championships. However, this is only the tip of the iceberg — all in all, he won a staggering 80 major titles.

Bristow is only surpassed by his mentee, Phil Taylor, who he recognised and sponsored in the 1980s.

Dutch player Michael van Gerwen was world number one for an unbelievable seven years between 2014 and 2021 and a three-time PDC World Champion. Behind Phil Taylor, he's the most successful PDC player in history, winning 90 PDC Pro Tour events, 156 PDC titles and 164 Professional Singles titles.

He erupted onto the scene as a supremely talented 13-year-old. A few years later, he became the youngest player to win a World Masters.

Raymond van Barneveld (a.k.a. Barney) is another Dutch player who’s had a phenomenal influence on the sport's popularity in the Netherlands. With five World Darts Championships under his belt and victories in the Las Vegas Desert Classic, Grand Slam of Darts and Premier League, he's undoubtedly one of the greatest of all time.

Interestingly, despite being naturally left-handed, he plays with his right. He also became the first player to hit a nine-darter at the PDC World Darts Championship.

Three-time World Champion, two-time winner of the Winmau World Masters and World Cup Singles Championship and four-time world number one, John Lowe MBE dominated darts in the 1980s.

He was the first player to score a televised nine-dart finish and England's most successful captain — under his leadership, the team was unbeaten from 1986 to 1993.

Hailing from Musselburgh and nicknamed 'The Flying Scotsman', Gary Anderson is a former BDO and WDF world number one and a two-time back-to-back PDC World Champion. Other achievements include three nine-dart finishes and, more recently, winning the European Darts Grand Prix in 2024.

He's also won the PDC Fans' Player of the Year award several times, proving just how well-loved he is by the crowds. 

Catrina 'Trina' Elizabeth Gulliver MBE is the most decorated female darts player. She's a 10-time BDO Women's World Champion and eight-time Women's British Pentathlon Champion.

To recognise her extraordinary accomplishments, she was named the BBC Midlands Sports Personality of the Year in 2003.

Adrian Lewis has a string of accolades to his name. He's won the PDC World Darts Championship twice, the European Championship and the UK Open. He started under the wing of legendary darts player Phil Taylor, regularly practising with his mentor in their home city, Stoke-on-Trent.

Lewis's career isn't without controversy. Famously hot-headed, he received several suspensions and fines for argumentative behaviour.

Bob Anderson is an English darts player known as 'The Limestone Cowboy' — a nod to his home in the Limestone hills of Wiltshire and love of John Wayne films. He ranked world number one for three years in the late 1980s. More recently, Anderson played in the BetFred League of Legends in 2008, ultimately beating Keith Deller in the final to secure the title.

Fallon Sherrock MBE made history when she became the first female darts player to win a match, and subsequently two consecutive matches, at the PDC World Championships.

The celebrated 'Queen of the Palace' is also the first woman to reach the last 16 of a mixed-gender major darts tournament.