The last four winners of the PDC World Championship
In the world of darts, the PDC World Championship stands alone as the pinnacle event.
All players dream of winning the prestigious tournament, but only the sharpest of shooters can hold their nerve and go on to be crowned world champion at the iconic Alexandra Palace.
The World Darts Championship 2024 odds are favouring Michael van Gerwen ahead of the upcoming renewal, but Gerwyn Price, Luke Humphries and defending champion Michael Smith are all hot on the tail of the three-time winner.
Any of those players could take home the title on January 3. So, as we wait in anticipation for the first dart of the 2023-24 World Championship to be thrown on December 15, let’s take a journey back through the last four winners.
2023: Michael Smith
The first Englishman to win the World Championship since Rob Cross in 2018, Michael Smith asserted himself as one of the best darts players currently on the circuit when he defeated van Gerwen 7-4 to win the £2.5 million prize.
Smith beat Northern Ireland’s Nathan Rafferty, Martin Schindler, Joe Cullen, Stephen Bunting and Gabriel Clemens to reach the final.
Smith came back from a set down on two occasions to see off the legendary van Gerwen in the showpiece, while also registering only the second nine-dart finish in a final.
2022: Peter Wright
A second success in three years for Peter Wright, ‘Snakebite’ denied Smith his maiden World Championship with a thrilling 7-5 win over ‘Bully Boy’ at Alexandra Palace.
The Scotsman kicked things off with a 3-0 win over Ryan Meikle in the second round, and he came back from 2-0 down to beat Australia’s Damon Heta 4-2 in the third round.
A 4-1 win over Ryan Searle secured Wright’s place in the first all-British quarter-final since 2006, and he dispatched Callan Rydz (5-4) and fellow Scot Gary Anderson (6-4) to reach the final.
2021: Gerwyn Price
The first-ever Welshman to be crowned world champion, Gerwyn Price completed his meteoric rise to the top of the sport when landing the PDC World Darts Championship in 2021, with a victory over Anderson in the final.
The former professional rugby player was amongst the favourites for the title in the darts betting, and quickly built confidence with victories over fellow countryman Jamie Lewis, Brendan Dolan and Mervyn King to book his place in the quarters.
From there, ‘The Iceman’ beat Daryl Gurney and Bunting, before seeing off dual world champion Anderson 7-3.
2020: Peter Wright
The first of Wright’s two victories came in 2020 when he beat three-time winner and defending world champion van Gerwen 7-3 in the final.
The flamboyant Scot won his first match 3-2 against the Philippines’ Noel Malicdem, and he went on to beat Seigo Asada and Jeffery de Zwaan before knocking out Humphries and Price in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively.
Snakebite’s only other appearance in the PDC World Championship final ended in defeat to van Gerwen in 2014, but he avenged that loss six years on with a commanding win over the Dutchman.
