This year marks the 30th staging of the PDC World Championship, as 96 players battle it out for the coveted Sid Waddell Trophy in the £2.5 million extravaganza.
The sport’s showpiece event has provided no shortage of memorable moments throughout the last three decades, and the 2022/23 edition promises to be no different, as reigning champion Peter Wright bids to defend his crown.
With only seven days to go until this year’s festive feast of darts begins, we’ve taken a trip down memory lane to reflect on five of the top moments in World Darts Championship history…
Taylor pips Painter in sudden-death thriller - January 2004
Phil Taylor regained his World Championship crown with a thrilling sudden-death victory over Kevin Painter in a remarkable final at the Circus Tavern in 2004.
Taylor was denied a ninth straight World Championship title by John Part in an astonishing decider 12 months earlier, but he returned to the winner’s circle in sensational style.
Painter raced into a 4-1 lead, and although Taylor came roaring back to restore parity at six apiece, ‘The Artist’ was the early aggressor in the 13th and decisive set.
However, the Stoke-on-Trent legend denied Painter a solitary match dart in a dramatic climax, completing the comeback to celebrate his 11th World Championship success.
Sensational Sherrock smashes the glass ceiling - December 2019
Fallon Sherrock created global headlines at Alexandra Palace three years ago, becoming the first woman to win a match at the World Darts Championship.
Sherrock produced an inspired display on her debut in the capital, recovering from 2-1 down to stun Ted Evetts in a gripping first round tie, creating World Championship history in the process.
The Milton Keynes ace then repeated those heroics to dump out 11th seed Mensur Suljovic on another famous night, before Chris Dobey curtailed her fairytale run with a 4-2 success in round three.
Sherrock – a quarter-finalist at last year’s Grand Slam of Darts – will make her third World Championship appearance this year, after winning July’s inaugural Women’s World Matchplay.
Nine-dart Lewis fulfils his darting destiny - January 2011
Adrian Lewis landed a spectacular nine-darter en route to sealing his maiden World Championship title in a breathless 2011 final against Gary Anderson.
Lewis remains the only player to hit a nine-dart finish in a World Championship final, and he achieved perfection in leg three of the opening set to raise the roof at Alexandra Palace.
The Stoke-on-Trent star capped off the perfect night with a 7-5 victory over Anderson to fulfil his darting destiny, and he made it back-to-back titles with victory over Andy Hamilton 12 months later.
Lewis landed his second World Championship nine-darter in 2014/15 against Raymond van Barneveld, who ironically is the only other player to hit two perfect legs in darts’ biggest event!
Vintage Van Gerwen's 17 perfect darts - December 2012
Michael van Gerwen produced one of the most remarkable passages of play in darting history during his semi-final clash against James Wade in the 2012/13 tournament.
Van Gerwen wired double 12 for back-to-back nine-dart legs in the fifth set of his clash against Wade, having become only the fourth man to fire in a perfect leg at Alexandra Palace just moments earlier.
Despite the Dutchman’s heroics, Wade incredibly went on to win the fifth set, although it was Van Gerwen who closed out a 6-4 success to set up a blockbuster showdown against Taylor.
Taylor recovered from a 3-1 deficit to beat Van Gerwen and clinch his 16th and final World Championship title, but Van Gerwen responded by lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy for the first time a year later.
Van Barneveld topples Taylor in ‘greatest game ever’ - January 2007
Widely dubbed as the greatest game of all-time, Raymond van Barneveld produced an inspired display to deny Taylor in a sudden-death shoot-out in 2007 – in the last World Championship staged at the Circus Tavern.
Four-time Lakeside champion Van Barneveld trailed a rampant Taylor 3-0 in a cauldron-like atmosphere, but a majestic 170 checkout in set four saw him open his account in majestic fashion.
This sparked an astonishing fightback from the doyen of Dutch darts - who rattled in a record-breaking 21 180s - and the contest went all the way to a deciding-leg, with Van Barneveld winning a crucial bull-up to secure the throw.
The pair traded maximums in an extraordinary finale, but Van Barneveld held his nerve to complete a 13-dart hold via tops and become PDC World Champion on debut.