Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor, Darth Maple, and the Best Nicknames of World Darts Championship Winners

• Phil Taylor won the PDC World Darts Championship on a record 14 occasions
• Darts players have a wide range of nicknames earned in unconventional ways
• The PDC World Darts Championship is underway at London's Alexandra Palace

All good pubs around the world have a dartboard hanging in a corner.

More than a social activity, the delirium of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Darts Championship (WDC) is currently filling North London with the greatest of party atmospheres.

First held in 1994, only 11 men have ever climbed the mountain, all while chasing the legendary announcer's cry of 'one-hundred and eighty!'

Some of those champions have colourful nicknames, earned in peculiar fashion in a sport moulded by banter. Sports Brief runs through the best monikers of the WDC champions.

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8. The Flying Scotsman

Gary Anderson has won the WDC twice, finishing as runner-up on three occasions. The 53-year-old's nickname comes from a famous steam train from his country of origin.

Anderson began his career with rival promotion, British Darts Organisation (BDO), but switched to the PDC in 2010 before winning his two WDC titles in 2015 and 2016.

7. The Iceman

A professional rugby player until 2014, Gerwyn Price won the WDC in 2021, beating Gary Anderson in the final to claim the £2.5 million grand prize.

Known for his calm under pressure, Price has also won the Grand Slam of Darts three times and the World Series of Darts Finals twice.

6. Snakebite

Winner of the 2020 and 2022 WDC, Peter Wright gets his nickname from his love of snakes and preferred alcoholic drink, as referenced by Metro.

Order a Snakebite at a pub and prepare to receive a half pint of lager mixed with a half pint of cider, topped with a dash of blackcurrant cordial.

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5. Jackpot

In 2005, Adrian Lewis was in Las Vegas for a competition, and while playing the machines he hit the jackpot, as the man explains here himself.

Only 20 years old at the time, Lewis was unable to claim the prize as he was not old enough to gamble in the United States. Six years later he would win the first of his back-to-back WDC titles.

4. Bully Boy

The reigning WDC champion, Michael Smith is one of only two men to hit a nine-darter in a WDC final. Smith explained to The Mirror how his nickname is unrelated to the centre of the dartboard, saying:

“I used to work on a cattle farm. When the cows gave birth, the farm owner got me to help with tagging the newborn calves. They didn’t always like it and I had one on its back, my fingers in its nose, legs in the air. He called me a bully, and that’s how the nickname stuck."

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3. MVG

Not really a nickname but just his initials, no list of darts players would be complete with the great Michael van Gerwen.

The eccentric Dutchman has won the WDC three times putting him second on the all-time list. Currently ranked number 2 in the world, he is among the favourites for the 2024 title.

2. The Power

The undisputed King of the Oche, Phil Taylor was almost unbeatable through the late nineties and 2000s. Taylor won 11 of the WDCs between 1995 and 2006, losing in the 2003 final.

'The Power' has won a total of 14 WDC titles, making it to the final in 19 of his 25 appearances at the competition.

1. Darth Maple

Canadian, John Part was the man to interrupt Phil Taylor's dominance in 2003. Now a commentator, Part takes his nickname from the Maple leaf of his nation's flag.

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Darth Maple would win the WDC again in 2008, adding to the BDO world title he won in 1994. He remains the only North American to have made the final of the WDC.

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