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March1March 4, 2022

These Are The Top 10 Richest Darts Players Of All Time

When Peter ‘Snakebite’ Wright pinned the double 16 that would land him his second world title at the start of the year, it also banked him a tasty £500,000.00.

It also meant he creeps closer to the summit of the PDC Order of Merit, a position currently occupied by Gerwyn Price.

But that made us wonder, where does Snakebite feature on the top richest darters of all time?

Despite its popularity, darts is not a game flowing with cash, although money in the game is on the up, with the World Championships boasting a prize pool of a cool £2.5 million and Premier League Darts also now getting a boosted purse.

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Goat Not Number One

What all of the above means is that despite being the most successful darts player of all time, Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor is not the highest earner the game has ever seen.

In fact, that honour goes to Michael van Gerwen, who is the highest-paid darts player of all time ahead of the legendary Phil Taylor.

2022 PDC World Darts Championship winner Peter Wright comes home third.

The 32-year-old Dutch star, who is currently ranked third in the world, has been World Darts Champion on three occasions during his astonishing career, albeit one that has tailed off in recent years.

Has MVG lost it, or have others – Wright and Price in particular – simply caught up talent and skill-wise?

I suspect it is the latter, but at 52 years of age, time may be working against Wright to overtake MVG on this particular list.

With Price still being in his 30s, there is a huge possibility that he will appear higher in a few years’ time.

The Iceman banked his maiden PDC World Championship title in 2021 after beating Gary Anderson 7-3 in the final at the Alexandra Palace in London.

Currently, the 36-year-old Welshman comes home eighth in the highest earners of the game, courtesy of his £2.2 million in earnings.

Mighty Mike Missing At The Ally Pally

Mighty Mike wasn’t helped in his quest to further enhance his pot by his inability to compete at the latest edition of the Worlds at the Ally Pally.

Van Gerwen had been scheduled to take on Chris Dobey in a third-round match but was forced to withdraw from the tournament after he returned a positive test for coronavirus.

From 2014 to 2021, Mighty Mike was virtually untouchable as he remained in the world’s number one spot right up until Gerwyn ‘The Iceman’ Price overtook him at the top following his own Ally Pally victory.

It seems that MVG has compiled a pretty decent £8.5 million in earnings.

Van Gerwen’s winnings put him ahead of darts legend The Power, who is ranked second with his own £7.6 million in winnings.

Taylor, 61, famously won a record 16 world titles, albeit two with the BDO, and is widely accepted to be the greatest darts player ever.

Reaching the final in his last ever World Championship appearance, the Stoke-born legend finally called time on his career following a defeat to Rob Cross in 2019.

How Much Do Darts Players Make? The Darts Top Ten Earners Ever

Not taking into account, merchandise sales and other endorsements, below are the top ten earners at the oche of all time.

1 – Michael van Gerwen (£8,571,167)

Three times world champ Mighty Michael van Gerwen, aka the Green Machine, has established a nice £8.5 million in career earnings thanks to a stunning run of form which lasted for over six years in which he was extremely dominant.

2 – Phil Taylor (£7,634,754)

Had The Power’s relentless period of form been in more recent times, Phil Taylor career earnings would surely top the list. He is unquestionably the finest, and most successful, darter there has ever been and perhaps ever will be.

3 – Gary Anderson (£4,358,772)

Anderson is a two-time world champion and has finished in the top two in every single PDC major, winning many of them along the way, which is where his wealth comes from. Gary Anderson career winnings now total over £4 million.

4 – Peter Wright (£3,609,888)

Colourful Snakebite took a while to win his first ever PDC major but hasn’t looked back since then as the former tyre fitter returned to darts and is now a two-time world champion and one-time World Darts Matchplay winner too. Peter Wright career earnings? Now £3,609,888.

5 – James Wade (£3,578,893)

The Machine has every reason to feel undervalued in the world of darts, after all he is one of the most successful darters of all time and one of the richest too.

6 – Raymond van Barneveld (£3,510,128)

Every one loves Barney and this five times world champion (four with the BDO) ranks fifth in the cash league with just north of £3.5 million in winnings.

7 – Adrian Lewis (£3,187,643)

It’s easy to forget that Jackpot is a two time world champion as he has been off the boil for so long now, but at least he has £3 million plus in winnings to help cheer him up.

8 – Gerwyn Price (£2,292,803)

There is so much more to come from this fella that he wont be at number seven for very long and is a dead cert to be in the top five before at the very least in no time at all.

9 – Simon Whitlock (£2,229,499)

With only one PDC title to his name, it’s a surprise to see the Aussie make the list but then he does claim to be the Wizard after all.

10 – Dave Chisnall (£2,043,415)

Still, without a PDC win, popular Chizzy’s consistency has seen him pocket a cool £2 million.

How about active darts money list?

Fortunately for darts fans, many of the top darts players of all time are still playing. Of course, the great Phil Taylor retired in 2018, which has allowed some of the newer generation of darters to gain some ground. With the retirement of Raymond van Barneveld in 2019, eight of the top ten darts earnings are still active.

The PDC Order Of Merit

We know the top all-time leaders and the active earners, but what darts players are the hottest — darters who are earning the most money recently?

For these players, there is a convenient rankings system, the PDC Order of Merit, which details the amount earners by darters over the last two years. Not only do the players on the PDC Order or Merit signify the recent best of the best, the leaderboard is also used to determine who can participate in events such as World Darts Championship, World Matchplay and World Grand Prix events.

Updated as of the 3rd of March, 2022

Position	Player	Amount Earned Over Last 2 Years
1	Peter Wright	£1,210,500
2	Gerwyn Price	£1,191,250
3	Michael van Gerwen	£663,500
4	Michael Smith	£608,000
5	James Wade	£580,500
6	Gary Anderson	£481,500
7	Jose de Sousa	£467,000
8	Jonny Clayton	£443,000
9	Dimitri Van den Bergh	£440,500
10	Rob Cross	£405,500

February21March 30, 2022

Best Books For Darts Fans [Updated]

By Peter FryersIn

All About Darts

Looking for some great darting reads while the players are on their break? We suggest taking a look at some of the great darts books to get your arrows fix.

From legendary icons of the game be they broadcasters or darters, to people looking to understand and capture just what darts is and why their fans are, well, quite unlike any other, the books on this list are all perfect for book darts fans the world over.

If you have ever wanted to know more about the game we all love, these eight books are must-reads for new and old fans alike.

Let’s take a look at what you should be putting on your reading list. These books are some of the best available to fans of the sport and courtesy of a diverse group of authors with a unique view of the game.

Bellies and Bullseyes: the Outrageous True Story of Darts

Penned by the legendary darts commentator, the late, great Sid Waddell, this is a dart book with a detailed run through of the game’s transition from pub game to a proper televised sport. From mining stock in the North East, Waddell loved the game’s working-class roots and it was his eccentric wit that became the voice of darts until his death in 2012 at the age of 72. This book is a celebration of his time in the game and how he, in no small part, helped to make darts on TV what it is today.

Sid began commentating on darts in 1977 and not only was he the comedic voice of the game for over 30 years, but he was also a TV producer and the inspiration behind some legendary TV formats based on the game too. Take, Yorkshire Television’s Indoor League, a unique show that wouldn’t get aired today but somehow made the cut in the 70’s. Fronted by one-time England and Yorkshire cricket captain, ‘Fiery’ Fred Trueman, Indoor League brought pub games, including darts, to the small screen.

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Other games featured included arm-wrestling, bar billiards, shove ha’penny and table skittles and it was during this time that Sid established a friendship with SKY TV’s Dave Lanning, who would share the commentary box for many years. ITV’s legendary 80’s game show Bullseye, hosted by the late Jim Bowen, is another of Sid’s immortal ideas. He writes too about the big names of the game and their difficult upbringings and how it affected them in later years. Chief among these are Jocky Wilson, Eric Bristow and “The Greatest Darts Player Who Ever Drew Breath”, Phil “The Power” Taylor. He also details his own role in the split from the BDO and the creation of the shiny new 90’s Sky Sports’ led PDC product we enjoy today. Bellies and Bullseyes is a fascinating, well-structured, readable and often funny history of modern darts.

Eric Bristow: The Autobiography: The Crafty Cockney

Having released an original biography at the age of 26 in 1985, Eric Bristow’s second attempt provides the fuller story of dart’s original superstar. This one is penned by the man himself and charts an extraordinary career and his personal life with his former wife Maureen, friendship with John Lowe. It also documents the tutelage of Phil Taylor, who Eric took under his wing and as he puts it, turned into a monster. This is one of the best sporting biographies around, painfully honest as it outlines his humble beginnings in London’s East End, where he was briefly employed as both a cat burglar and a shoplifter. Darts provided Bristow with the escape route he required and, inspired by his parents, he took up arrows and set out on his meteoric rise to stardom and five world championship titles.

Packed with darting anecdotes, drinking binges in the company of Cliff Lazarenko and all round tales of foolishness from the oche, this book is a riot that’s both funny and sad in equal measure, perhaps even more so now given his passing last year. The Crafty Cockney cleverly unravels the human story of the most famous darts player of his generation. The book details his near-death experience on a plane, the discovery of a brother he never knew he had, his marital breakdown, his battle with dartitis and his mother’s tragic battle with cancer. The Crafty Cockney is an absolute must for all darts fans.

Fear and Loathing on the Oche: A Gonzo Journey Through the World of Championship Darts

Nominated for the 2018 Sports Book of The Year awards, Fear and Loathing takes you backstage at the PDC World Darts Championships. Even at the game’s premier event at the Ally Pally, you will read tales of world-class superstars, battling it out in the middle of a championship match while drinking enough lager to ensure the next morning’s hangover is severely painful. Author King Adz paints a strange portrait of the game and shares insights into the colourful and inebriated characters he meets along the way.

In the book, he aims to find out what drives the crazy fan base, almost none of whom come along sober or normally dressed. Not that we need reminding but the book goes out of its way to outline why darts fans are unlike any other fans in world sport. Drinking more than most and wearing the silliest costumes, they also sing the loudest and truly create one of sports most atmospheric occasions. The book also takes time to talk to former legends, future stars, owners, hosts, referees and those nutty, nutty fans. This book captures just how bonkers darts really is and why that is exactly why we love it.

Heart of Dart-ness: Bullseyes, Boozers and Modern Britain

In which ITV football host Ned Boulting takes a humorous look into just what exactly darts is. By this he means, is it a sport, a pub game, a side-show or something else entirely. Boulting achieves his mission with some style and the end result is a funny and heartfelt look at modern Britain and darts’ place in it. Traveling the length and width of the Isle from the tip of Scotland to the point of Landsend, Cardiff to Minehead, Milton Keynes to Frankfurt, London to Liverpool, the author takes the reader on a journey back to the beginning of the modern game.

He meets with the likes of Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld as well as Andy ‘The Viking’ Fordham – whose fifty beers a day habit led to his near death on the oche – and Cliff Lazarenko, another ferocious drinker. Boulting also manages to speak with Eric Bristow in what must be one the great’s last ever interviews which makes for poignant reading. In the end, we’re left with more questions than answers but don’t let that put you off — this is a forensic examination of the game we love, whether it be a sport, a boozy pastime, pondering the latest darts betting tips, or simply a cracking night out.

Staying Power: A Year In My Life

As for Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor, there are two books that are worth a look. There is the 2007 release, The Power: My Autobiography (written by, you guessed it, Sid Waddell) and the 2014 edition, Staying Power: A Year In My Life. For the purposes of this list, we have selected the latter, a year in the life of the most successful darts player of all time. Taylor is the undisputed king of darts, as his unrivaled sixteen World Championship titles will attest.

Starting out as a protégé of Eric Bristow after walking into his pub with a set of darts, Taylor soon eclipsed the Crafty Cockney himself. Twice nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year, this book ironically follows Taylor on one of his less-successful seasons in which he crashed out at the Ally Pally in the second round to Michael Smith and admits to falling asleep on Christmas day, exhausted from the strain of constant winning.

It was also the season in which he triumphed in arguably the greatest ever game of darts, the Grand Slam semi-final against Adrian Lewis as well as forecasting the emergence of Dutch superstar Michael van Gerwen. Filled with tales of spats and hecklers, clashes on stage and off, this book sensitively outlines a year in the life of one of the sport’s greatest champions, re-finding the inspiration and fighting hard to stay in power before the bell tolls, as indeed it now has.

Murder on the Darts Board

In 2008’s Murder of the Darts Board, the writer Justin Irwin chronicles how he quit his job as the director of a national charity organisation in order to spend a year attempting to make it as a professional darts player. Irwin ponders whether hard work alone is enough to turn him into a great player, an idea that Andy Fordham noted as barmy. The focus of the book is, as always, the World Championships and in building up to the event Irwin practises between four and six hours a day while taking part in several tournaments, albeit with very little success.

Sadly, in qualifying for the big one he had the misfortune to draw former quarter-finalist Simon “Chopper” Whatley in the first round in Hull. Without spoiling the ending – the book is about the journey rather than the result – Irwin was whitewashed bringing his fledgling chucking career to an abrupt end. Irwin chronicles his efforts with great humour and perception, while managing to land the bullseye on paper if not on the board.

We Had Some Laughs

While the first book in this list looks at the evolution of darts by the man who played a dominant role in its success, this title looks at the man himself from the viewpoint of his son. Dan Waddell’s We Had Some Laughs is a hugely entertaining biography of his dad Sid and fills in the parts that Sid’s own book omitted, such as his childhood in a Northumbrian mining village before winning the grammar scholarship that would propel him to Cambridge and change his life forever.

From there, we learn how Sid would go on to dedicate his professional life to what he descried as “fat men throwing things at the wall”. Beginning with a starter job on local TV to moving to the BBC in 1977, where would go on to perfect the style that would win him an army of fans over the following 30 years. Every move is relayed by an eye witness to it all with the blurry-eyed romance of young boy thrown into the beery, smoky, blokey atmosphere of 1980’s darts halls.

Dan perfectly captures his teenage experiences in particular being at the World Championships during darts’ all-drinking, all-smoking heyday in this moving and funny account of Sid’s colourful life and career and a son’s memories of his larger than life father.

Slinging Arrows: How (not) to be a professional darts player

This 2021 release from Sky Sports darts commentator Wayne Mardle lifts the lid on a career that didn’t hit the heights it should have. Nicknamed Hawaii 501 on account of the colourful Hawaiian shirts he would wear when playing (forty-five quid if you’re interested, he has a garage full of them), Mardle was a crowd-pleaser if not a prolific winner.

While he may be more famous off the oche than on it, he remains one of the biggest characters in darts and one of the planet’s most recognisable players. In this comical book, he details his encounters with all of the greats he came up against in his career and would ultimately lose to. His finest performances include five runs to the semi-finals at the World Championships and this tale pulls no punches when outlining where he went wrong.

This isn’t a melancholy story of regret though, this is a witty and humorous account of why perhaps it’s not a great idea to go on a two day Vegas booze bender immediately before a major PDC final or why it’s best to avoid being sued by a well-known biscuit manufacturer.

It is also a totally honest and poignant guide to a lifetime spent in the game by a true darts obsessionist who once unknowingly appeared live on Belgian TV swearing so profusely that clips are still replayed years later (why wasn’t he told he was live?).

February16March 4, 2022

Premier League Of Darts Night Three Betting Tips And Predictions

By Peter FryersIn

Darts Betting Tips

Last week, in Liverpool saw Jonny Clayton win the full five points and the £10k winner’s bonus as he saw off Joe Cullen in the final of night two of the 2022 Darts Premier League.

This week the players head across the Irish Sea to Belfast’s SSE Arena for another night of first-class, fast-paced darting action.

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We are only two weeks in, but the player of the tournament so far is Jonny Clayton, who has made two out of two finals, winning the second one, after finishing as the runner-up a week earlier in his native Wales.

This has put the Ferret at the top of the table and the reigning champion has now been installed as the bet365 darts betting outright favourite at 11/4.

But what can we expect from night three in Northern Ireland and what are our favorite darts betting tips of the evening?

Looking for a report and preview on another night from the Darts Premier League? Check below…

Night 1
Night 2
Night 4

Michael Smith V Gerwyn Price

The night gets underway with Michael Smith and Gerwyn Price.

Both players were hotly tipped to enjoy a good Premier League campaign but have so far been massively underwhelmed.

In Price’s case, he’s to the point where his number one ranking is under serious threat from Peter Wright, winner of week one, but who himself flopped out in last week’s first match against Michael van Gerwen.

Smith is winless so far after being falling at the first hurdle in both Cardiff and Liverpool against Peter Wright and Jonny Clayton respectively.

The Iceman, on the other hand, has at least registered his first points on the board after making it through to the semi-finals last week where he eventually lost out to Joe Cullen.

With his number one spot on the line, and looking for some Ally Pally revenge on the Bully Boy, you really feel like the Welshman, whose 30% finishing rate is the lowest of the eight competitors, should finally kick into gear this week after a poor start to the year.

Surely Price must win this one.

Joe Cullen v Michael van Gerwen

Last week’s runner-up, Joe Cullen is looking to continue his incredible winning run when he steps out against five-time Premier League champion Michael van Gerwen.

The Masters champion put aside his night one debut defeat to comfortably defeat both James Wade and Gerwyn Price in Liverpool before Jonny Clayton proved a match too many.

The Rockstar will now look to go one better in Belfast.

It was the Yorkshireman that prevailed the last time these two met when he beat MVG 10-7 in last month’s Masters.

Mighty Mike will be out to correct that and build on his solitary semi-final appearance so far.

The world number three thrashed Wright 6-1 in last week’s quarter-finals courtesy of a 103 average before blowing a 4-1 lead to Jonny Clayton in what ended up being a 6-4 defeat where the Dutchman posted an average of 105.

Such an average might not have been enough to topple the Ferret but it could be enough to see off Cullen here.

Gary Anderson v Peter Wright

It’s an all Scottish affair for the night’s third match where multiple World Champions Peter Wright and Gary Anderson go toe to toe for the third time this year.

The first of those came at the World Championships where Snakebite produced a 104 average and a tourney record 24 180s to deny his World Cup of Darts winning partner back-to-back appearances in the final at Ally Pally.

The pair met again a fortnight ago in Cardiff when the world number two came out on top again on a night he would go on to win.

Since then, Wright’s form has dipped a little and he was out first-time last week narrowly avoiding a whitewash at the hands of Michael van Gerwen, something he couldn’t avoid over the weekend at the hands of Ryan Joyce on the ProTour.

That said, no one flip-flops their form as much as Peter Wright, so we have to wait and which version of snakebite shows up in Belfast.

Anderson is one of four best darts players who are all tied on two points and is looking to recover from last week’s first-round dismissal at the hands of Gerwyn Price, in which the Flying Scotsman could only post an average of 90.

Depending almost entirely on Wright’s form, it is a tough one to call but given how poor he was last year, we can only hope for Wright to bring his A-game and progress through to the semi-finals.

James Wade v Jonny Clayton

The quarter-finals conclude with James Wade facing off against league leader Jonny Clayton, who came out on top in Liverpool after a memorable 6-4 win over Joe Cullen in the final.

Clayton leads the way in the table on eight points and will be rightly confident of building on that against The Machine, who was shot down 6-3 by Cullen in their first-round match last week.

With six points currently separating the two players, Wade will be hoping to put more points on the board in order to avoid losing ground on those above him.

His solitary two points came at the expense of Gerwyn Price on opening night, but his tournament average of 89.4 is the lowest in the entire field. He will need to improve upon this if he is to stand a chance against The Ferret, who looks like a certain winner in the last quarter-final of the night.

Given Gerwyn Price’s side of the draw and the form of the Ferret, it is easy to see an all Welsh final where the Iceman can finally get back into his groove.

BET365 DARTS BETTING PRICES

Michael Smith (13/10) V (8/13) Gerwyn Price

Joe Cullen (6/5) V (4/6) Michael van Gerwen

Gary Anderson (7/4) v (4/9) Peter Wright

James Wade (11/5) v (4/11) Jonny Clayton

PREMIER LEAGUE OF DARTS TABLE

Player	Nights Won	Matches Won	Leg Difference	Points
Jonny Clayton	1	5	8	8
Peter Wright	1	3	4	5
Joe Cullen	0	2	-2	3
Michael van Gerwen	0	1	1	2
Gerwyn Price	0	1	-1	2
Gary Anderson	0	1	-2	2
James Wade	0	1	-2	2
Michael Smith	0	0	-6	0

QUICK GLANCE AT THE DARTS PREMIER LEAGUE WEEK 3

Venue: SSE Arena, Belfast

Dates: 17/02/2022

Format: Best of 11 legs (first to six)

Current Champion: Jonny Clayton

Where To Watch: Sky Sports Main Event HD & Sky Sports Arena HD

When To Watch: 19:00 UK