Before we tell you everything you need to know about the game and how to win it, we want you to read whatever you want first. On the navigation below, you will find some of the topics of this article, but if you are a novice, we suggest you start from scratch.
501 Rules & Points Explained
There are many games of darts, but the most popular ones are 301, 501 and 701. In their essence, they are all the same. Professionally, they are played only by two players at a time, and the winner is the one who reaches zero first.
But if you play as an amateur or on video dart machines, you may encounter options for more players. Such devices are strictly for fun because plastic darts often bounce back, while the machine could be faulty.
Of course, there are some more sophisticated rules regarding professional 501. As standard, each player has three darts per round, and the value of the sectors hit is deducted from 501.
It gets tricky in the final round because you need to exit with a double sector to win the game. This is why you will see that all of the 9 dart finish combinations end with a double sector.
9 Dart Finish – What Does It Means?
For those who wonder what the 9 dart finish is, we will quickly explain. As we told you earlier, there are different ways to reach 0 in a 501 game. The quickest possible strategy includes only nine darts.
Nine is the minimum number of dart arrows with which you can achieve a win. Therefore, it is called “nine-dart-finish”. To earn such a win is tough, and you would need a lot of practice.
It is interesting to know that there are different dart arrows, some are heavier than others, and players can pick whatever they feel most comfortable with. This helps them be more accurate when they play for the 9 dart finish.
Most Common 9 Dart Finish Combinations
If you start practising and are willing to work it out, you must learn to aim and hit the sectors you want. Only then will you be able to go for any of the most common 9 dart finish combinations.
Some might think the highest point deduction comes from the bullseye, but it does not. The highest point on the dartboard is the triple 20 (60). If you are skillful enough to hit it with all three darts, you can score 180 points per round.
Knowing that you probably already guessed that most 9 dart finishes are tied to the matches with the most 180 points. For the last round, there are a few strategies that you can use:
- Triple 20 (60), Triple 19 (57), Double 12 (24)
- Triple 20 (60), Triple 15 (45), Double 18 (36)
- Triple 17 (51), Triple 18 (54), Double 18 (36)
There are the most popular nine dart finishes, but one additional is not that commonly used. If you divide 501 by three, this is 167 points per round.
To achieve that, you can try to score all three rounds (9 arrows) in the following combo: triple 20 (60), triple 19 (57), and bullseye (50), and you will win the game. The bullseye is considered a double centre.
Maybe you don’t know, but the centre of the dartboard has two sectors, the centre is 50 points, and the outer rim is 25 points. This is why the bullseye is considered a double sector.
It is important to let you know that most of the UK’s top-rated darts betting sites offer the option to bet on this type of win. The chances are slim, but the payouts are good.
Later in this article, we will explain more about the nine dart finish odds and how often such wins can be observed. You should first learn the 9 dart finish list of top players.
9 Dart Finish Kings – Players Known for Their Precision
If you watch professional darts tournaments, you may know some of the names below because most are proven and world-known pro players with many trophies.
In the following listing, we will show you their names and the number of 9 dart finishes they have in professional matches. We will review the most successful champions separately shortly after this section.
- Michael van Gerwen – 24
- Phil Taylor – 22
- Adrian Lewis – 12
Of course, players like Dave Chisnall, James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld are also among the best nine-darters, but with fewer wins than the trio above. It is essential to mention that not all these 9 dart finish matches were broadcast on TV.
Let’s overview the professional careers and achievements of the top three 9 dart finish players mentioned above. You can examine their styles and try to practice their strategies to improve yourself.
Michael van Gerwen – The Best Nine-Darter
| 📛 Name: | Michael van Gerwen |
| 🗯️ Nickname: | Mighty Mike |
| 🌎 Nationality: | Dutch |
| 👴🏽 Date of Birth: | 25.04.1989 |
| 🏆 World Championships: | 3 |
| ⭐ Other Major Wins: | 44 |
Michael van Gerwen is a Dutch player who is still in his prime. At the age of only 34 years, he is already one of the best darts players in the world. His nickname is “Mighty Mike” for a reason.
He doesn’t have that many World Championship titles like the following Phil Taylor, but he is the best shooter in the game at the moment. He is considered the best 9 darter, with 24 nine dart finishes.
We believe that when he reaches the age of Phil Taylor, his score will surpass the one of Phil. Besides the three World Championship trophies, Mighty Mike has 44 other professional titles.
He is a three-time winner of the World Matchplay, the UK Open, and the Grand Slam. He has another six wins in the World Grand Prix, seven in the Premier League and the PC Finals.
These are a few of the most significant titles of his career so far. He is the most precise shooter in the sport, therefore, he has many nine dart finish wins.
Let’s say a few words about his background and story. Micheal was born in Boxtel, Netherlands, on the 25th of April, 1989. Currently, he lives in Vlijmen, Netherlands.
He started playing darts at the age of 13. At 14, he reached the finals of the Primus Masters Youth darts tournament, and that was only the beginning for him.
In the following years, he participated in the German Open, Northern Ireland Open, German Gold Cup, Dutch National Youth Championship, Norway Open, and the Swedish Open.
Mike was in the pro leagues even before he was 18. When he was only 25, he was already number one on the chart of the Professional Darts Corporation, and he held that place for eight years in a row.
Nowadays, he is in third place in the chart but is considered one of the best players ever. There isn’t another player in that chart that holds more 9 dart finish games than him.
This is why all of the top-rated sports betting sites in the UK give him the best odds of scoring such quick wins. Consider that if you intend to bet on him any time soon.
Phil Taylor – Owner of 14 World Cups
| 📛 Name: | Philip Douglas Taylor |
| 🗯️ Nickname: | The Power |
| 🌎 Nationality: | English |
| 👴🏽 Date of Birth: | 13.08.1960 |
| 🏆 World Championships: | 14 |
| ⭐ Other Major Wins: | 65 |
Phil Douglas Taylor is an English nine-darter who is among the best darts players in the world. He is the person that holds the most World Championship trophies – 14. Also, he is one of the best nine dart finish players.
Apart from the 14 PDC cups, he owns a stunning number of 65 other professional tournament wins: 16 times the World Matchplay, 11 times the World Grand Prix, five times the UK Open, and more.
The nickname of Phil is “The Power,” and it comes from his first PDC win (1995) when he started dominating the darts podium and continued for over two decades. Indeed, he is one of the best darts players of the last 35+ years.
If you wonder how it all started, we will share some more information on his early ages and how he became one of the best nine dart finish players.
Phil was born on the 13th of August 1960 in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England. He left his education at 16 and started working in the industrial sector as a metal worker, maker of ceramic items and others.
Even as a kid, he was passionate about football and darts. However, chasing a professional career was never considered an option before 1986 when he was selected to play in the Super League.
His first sponsor was Bristow, the company that helped him travel worldwide and play in competitions like the North American Open and Canadian Open so he could gain more confidence and experience.
His first outstanding performance in the World Championship was in 1990, but it was not good enough to take the first place. That didn’t stop him from trying the following years.
In 1995, he finally won the championship for the first time, but that was not all. He started dominating other contests like the World Matchplay, and that was just the beginning.
From 1995, each year, he acquired at least one grand tournament, which pushed him to the top rankings in the sport. Phil is the player with the most 9 dart finish wins displayed on televised matches.
Over the years, he has had many rivalries for different titles with other great players like Dennis Priestley, Raymond van Barneveld, John Part, Adrian Lewis, James Wade, and Michael van Gerwen.
Phil is 63 years old but still active and is present in all significant contests worldwide. His achievements place him among the best players of darts of all time. He contributed to the sport more than any other player.
Adrian Lewis – The Unlucky Jackpot
| 📛 Name: | Andrian Lewis |
| 🗯️ Nickname: | The Jackpot |
| 🌎 Nationality: | English |
| 👴🏽 Date of Birth: | 21.01.1985 |
| 🏆 World Championships: | 2 |
| ⭐ Other Major Wins: | 2 |
Adrian Lewis is the third person in the top 9 dart finish list chart. He has fewer professional titles than the other two players we already mentioned, but he is still among the best.
The truth is that there are many pro players, but not all are that good to score 9 dart finish wins. Andrian Lewis has 12 such wins, while the other two in this chart have 24 and 22.
Andrian is known for his nickname “The Jackpot” because while visiting Las Vegas at the age of 20, he won a jackpot he could not collect because of the US gambling age restriction.
Lewis was born on the 21st of January 1985 in Stoke-on-Trent, England. At the age of 18, he won the British Teenage Open. The same year, he made his debut on the professional scene by taking part in the Winmau World Masters.
In the following years, he could not win any major competitions. Still, after he became a protégé of fellow citizen Phill Tylor, he started gaining more knowledge and skills.
His first big win came in 2011 when he secured first place in the World Championship. The three successive significant titles were the World Championship 2012, the European Championship 2013, and the UK Open 2014.
We can’t say if it’s skill or luck, but Andrian is missing one or both because, between 2010-2017, he won the contests above but lost the finals of 12 other major tournaments.
Despite all these lost games, he is still among the players with the most nine dart finish wins in the sport, which deserves respect. Many can play the game, but few can aim like him.
9 Dart Finish Odds & Betting
If you wonder what the 9 dart finish odds are, we can tell you that roughly, there is a win with nine darts on every 419 matches. The PDC records indicate that for 25 years, there have been nearly 111,000 matches and 265 recorded nine dart finish games.
Only a few people can hit the 9 dart finish combinations more often, and those are the pro players we have already reviewed. If you watch the sport regularly, it is guaranteed that you will observe such a win sooner or later.
If you are a sports fan, you might compare the nine dart finish with the 147 breaks, but the truth is that all the snooker betting sites give better odds for a 147 break than a nine dart win. It simply happens more often.
FAQ
Read the most frequently asked questions on the 9 dart finish list of pro players and the combinations they use. To examine any subject in detail, use the jump in the answer. Do not hesitate to take advantage of our knowledge.