The 2022/23 Cazoo World Darts Championship took place from December 15-January 3 at the Alexandra Palace, London.
The festive feast of darts saw 96 players from across the world, including the PDC's top stars, competing for £2.5million in prize money.
2022/23 Cazoo World Darts Championship
Schedule of Play
Thursday December 15
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Mickey Mansell 3-1 Ben Robb (3-0, 0-3, 3-0, 3-2) (R1)
Grant Sampson 3-1 Keane Barry (3-2, 3-2, 1-3, 3-1) (R1)
Nathan Rafferty 3-2 Jermaine Wattimena (3-2, 2-3, 3-0, 0-3, 3-1) (R1)
Peter Wright 3-0 Mickey Mansell (3-1, 3-0, 3-0) (R2)
Friday December 16
Afternoon Session
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Alan Soutar 3-0 Mal Cuming (3-0, 3-1, 3-1) (R1)
Boris Krcmar 3-0 Toru Suzuki (3-1, 3-0, 3-2) (R1)
Adrian Lewis 3-0 Daniel Larsson (3-1, 3-1, 3-1) (R1)
Kim Huybrechts 3-0 Grant Sampson (3-1, 3-0, 3-0) (R2)
Evening Session
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Lourence Ilagan 3-2 Rowby-John Rodriguez (3-1, 3-1, 1-3, 0-3, 3-2) (R1)
William O‘Connor 3-0 Beau Greaves (3-2, 3-2, 3-0) (R1)
Florian Hempel 3-2 Keegan Brown (3-2, 2-3, 2-3, 3-1, 3-2) (R1)
Michael Smith 3-0 Nathan Rafferty (3-0, 3-0, 3-0) (R2)
Saturday December 17
Afternoon Session
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Martin Lukeman 3-0 Nobuhiro Yamamoto (3-0, 3-1, 3-2) (R1)
Simon Whitlock 3-2 Christian Perez (3-0, 2-3, 3-2, 0-3, 3-1) (R1)
Adam Gawlas 3-2 Richie Burnett (3-0, 0-3, 1-3, 3-1, 3-1) (R1)
Alan Soutar 3-0 Daryl Gurney (3-2, 3-2, 3-2) (R2)
Evening Session
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Ryan Meikle 3-2 Lisa Ashton (3-1, 3-2, 2-3, 2-3, 3-0) (R1)
Cameron Menzies 3-1 Diogo Portela (3-1, 1-3, 3-1, 3-1) (R1)
Josh Rock 3-1 Jose Justicia (3-1, 1-3, 3-1, 3-0) (R1)
Dimitri Van den Bergh 3-0 Lourence Ilagan (3-0, 3-2, 3-0) (R2)
Sunday December 18
Afternoon Session
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Madars Razma 3-1 Prakash Jiwa (3-2, 2-3, 3-2, 3-0) (R1)
Karel Sedlacek 3-0 Raymond Smith (3-2, 3-0, 3-2) (R1)
Luke Woodhouse 3-0 Vladyslav Omelchenko (3-0, 3-2, 3-1) (R1)
Damon Heta 3-0 Adrian Lewis (3-1, 3-2, 3-1) (R2)
Evening Session
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Mike De Decker 3-1 Jeff Smith (3-0, 3-2, 1-3, 3-2) (R1)
Scott Williams 3-1 Ryan Joyce (3-1, 1-3, 3-2, 3-1) (R1)
Danny Baggish 3-0 Matt Campbell (3-1, 3-2, 3-2) (R1)
Nathan Aspinall 3-1 Boris Krcmar (3-2, 2-3, 3-1, 3-0) (R2)
Monday December 19
Afternoon Session
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Andrew Gilding 3-2 Robert Owen (1-3, 3-2, 3-1, 0-3, 3-1) (R1)
Danny Jansen 3-2 Paolo Nebrida (3-1, 3-2, 2-3, 0-3, 3-0) (R1)
Lewy Williams 3-0 Niels Zonneveld (3-1, 3-2, 3-1) (R1)
Jose de Sousa 3-2 Simon Whitlock (2-3, 2-3, 3-0, 3-1, 3-1) (R2)
Evening Session
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Leonard Gates 3-1 Geert Nentjes (2-3, 3-1, 3-0, 3-2) (R1)
David Cameron 3-2 Ritchie Edhouse (0-3, 2-3, 3-2, 3-0, 3-1) (R1)
Danny van Trijp 3-0 Steve Beaton (3-1, 3-1, 3-2) (R1)
Gerwyn Price 3-1 Luke Woodhouse (1-3, 3-2, 3-1, 3-0) (R2)
Tuesday December 20
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Jim Williams 3-2 Sebastian Bialecki (0-3, 3-1, 2-3, 3-0, 3-1) (R1)
Jimmy Hendriks 3-1 Jamie Hughes (2-3, 3-1, 3-2, 3-1) (R1)
Ricky Evans 3-1 Fallon Sherrock (1-3, 3-2, 3-2, 3-2) (R1)
Raymond van Barneveld 3-1 Ryan Meikle (1-3, 3-0, 3-2, 3-0) (R2)
Wednesday December 21
Afternoon Session
2x First Round, 2x Second Round
Darius Labanauskas 3-2 John O’Shea (2-3, 2-3, 3-1, 3-2, 3-1) (R1)
Martijn Kleermaker 3-0 Xicheng Han (3-0, 3-1, 3-1) (R1)
Josh Rock 3-0 Callan Rydz (3-2, 3-1, 3-1) (R2)
Dave Chisnall 3-1 Andrew Gilding (0-3, 3-0, 3-2, 3-2) (R2)
Evening Session
4x Second Round
Mervyn King 3-2 Danny Baggish (3-2, 3-2, 2-3, 2-3, 3-1)
Gabriel Clemens 3-0 William O‘Connor (3-2, 3-2, 3-0)
Michael van Gerwen 3-0 Lewy Williams (3-1, 3-0, 3-0)
Stephen Bunting 3-1 Leonard Gates (2-3, 3-1, 3-1, 3-1)
Thursday December 22
Afternoon Session
4x Second Round
Krzysztof Ratajski 3-1 Danny Jansen (3-1, 0-3, 3-1, 3-1)
Ryan Searle 3-0 Adam Gawlas (3-2, 3-1, 3-0)
Mensur Suljovic 3-0 Mike De Decker (3-1, 3-2, 3-1)
Dirk van Duijvenbode 3-2 Karel Sedlacek (3-1,1-3, 2-3, 3-1, 3-2)
Evening Session
4x Second Round
Gary Anderson 3-1 Madars Razma (3-2, 2-3, 3-2, 3-2)
Jim Williams 3-2 James Wade (1-3, 3-1, 3-0, 0-3, 3-1)
Luke Humphries 3-2 Florian Hempel (2-3, 3-0, 1-3, 3-0, 3-1)
Vincent van der Voort 3-0 Cameron Menzies (3-0, 3-1, 3-2)
Friday December 23
Afternoon Session
4x Second Round
Brendan Dolan 3-1 Jimmy Hendriks (3-1, 3-0, 2-3, 3-0)
Chris Dobey 3-0 Martijn Kleermaker (3-2, 3-1, 3-2)
Ross Smith 3-1 Darius Labanauskas (3-2, 3-0, 2-3, 3-2)
Rob Cross 3-1 Scott Williams (2-3, 3-2, 3-2, 3-2)
Evening Session
4x Second Round
Martin Schindler 3-1 Martin Lukeman (3-2, 2-3, 3-1, 3-1)
Danny Noppert 3-1 David Cameron (3-1, 3-1, 2-3, 3-1)
Jonny Clayton 3-0 Danny van Trijp (3-1, 3-1, 3-1)
Joe Cullen 3-1 Ricky Evans (3-1, 3-2, 2-3, 3-1)
Tuesday December 27
Afternoon Session
3x Third Round
Dimitri Van den Bergh 4-1 Krzysztof Ratajski (3-2, 3-0, 0-3, 3-1, 3-1)
Josh Rock 4-3 Nathan Aspinall (3-2, 1-3, 1-3, 3-1, 3-2, 0-3, 3-1)
Jonny Clayton 4-1 Brendan Dolan (3-2, 3-2, 3-2, 2-3, 3-2)
Evening Session
3x Third Round
Gabriel Clemens 4-3 Jim Williams (3-1, 0-3, 3-2, 2-3, 1-3, 3-2, 3-1)
Gerwyn Price 4-0 Raymond van Barneveld (3-1, 3-1, 3-2, 3-1)
Kim Huybrechts 4-1 Peter Wright (0-3, 3-0, 3-1, 3-2, 3-2)
Wednesday December 28
Afternoon Session
3x Third Round
Jose de Sousa 4-3 Ryan Searle (1-3, 2-3, 1-3, 3-2, 3-2, 3-1, 3-1)
Alan Soutar 4-2 Danny Noppert (1-3, 0-3, 3-1, 3-0, 3-1, 3-0)
Chris Dobey 4-1 Gary Anderson (0-3, 3-2, 3-2, 3-2, 3-1)
Evening Session
3x Third Round
Joe Cullen 4-0 Damon Heta (3-2, 3-1, 3-2, 3-0)
Michael van Gerwen 4-2 Mensur Suljovic (3-2, 3-2, 1-3, 3-2, 2-3, 3-1)
Michael Smith 4-3 Martin Schindler (2-3, 3-0, 2-3, 1-3, 3-2, 3-1, 3-1)
Thursday December 29
Afternoon Session
3x Third Round
Dirk van Duijvenbode 4-3 Ross Smith (3-1, 1-3, 3-0, 1-3, 2-3, 3-2, 6-5)
Rob Cross 4-1 Mervyn King (3-0, 3-0, 3-1, 1-3, 3-1)
Stephen Bunting 4-2 Dave Chisnall (1-3, 3-0, 3-0, 2-3, 3-1, 3-2)
Evening Session
1x Third Round, 2x Fourth Round
Luke Humphries 4-3 Vincent van der Voort (3-1, 3-1, 2-3, 1-3, 3-2, 2-3, 3-0) (R3)
Gerwyn Price 4-1 Jose de Sousa (3-1, 3-2, 1-3, 3-2, 3-2) (R4)
Jonny Clayton 4-3 Josh Rock (0-3, 3-1, 3-1, 2-3, 2-3, 3-1, 3-0) (R4)
Friday December 30
Afternoon Session
3x Fourth Round
Dimitri Van den Bergh 4-0 Kim Huybrechts (3-0, 3-2, 3-1, 3-0)
Gabriel Clemens 4-1 Alan Soutar (3-0, 1-3, 3-0, 3-2, 3-2)
Michael Smith 4-1 Joe Cullen (3-2, 0-3, 3-0, 3-2, 3-2)
Evening Session
3x Fourth Round
Chris Dobey 4-2 Rob Cross (1-3, 3-0, 0-3, 3-2, 3-1, 3-2)
Michael van Gerwen 4-1 Dirk van Duijvenbode (3-1, 3-1, 1-3, 3-2, 3-0)
Stephen Bunting 4-1 Luke Humphries (3-1, 3-0, 1-3, 3-2, 3-0)
Sunday January 1
Afternoon Session
2x Quarter-Finals
Dimitri Van den Bergh 5-3 Jonny Clayton (0-3, 3-0, 1-3, 3-0, 2-3, 3-2, 3-1, 3-2)
Michael Smith 5-3 Stephen Bunting (3-2, 0-3, 3-1, 3-1, 3-0, 0-3, 1-3, 3-1)
Monday January 2
2x Semi-Finals
Michael Smith 6-2 Gabriel Clemens (3-2, 2-3, 3-2, 2-3, 3-0, 3-2, 3-2, 3-1)
Michael van Gerwen 6-0 Dimitri Van den Bergh (3-2, 3-0, 3-0, 3-2, 3-0, 3-0)
Tuesday January 3
Final
Michael Smith 7-4 Michael Van Gerwen (1-3, 3-1, 3-1, 0-3, 2-3, 3-1, 3-2, 3-1, 3-0, 2-3, 3-2)
Draw Bracket - Second Round Onwards
(1) Gerwyn Price v Luke Woodhouse/Vladyslav Omelchenko
(32) Raymond van Barneveld v Ryan Meikle
(16) Ryan Searle v Adam Gawlas/Richie Burnett
(17) Jose de Sousa v Simon Whitlock/Christian Perez
(8) James Wade v Jim Williams/Sebastian Bialecki
(25) Gabriel Clemens v William O'Connor/Beau Greaves
(9) Danny Noppert v Ritchie Edhouse/David Cameron
(24) Daryl Gurney v Alan Soutar/Mal Cuming
(4) Michael Smith v Jermaine Wattimena/Nathan Rafferty
(29) Martin Schindler v Martin Lukeman/Nobuhiro Yamamoto
(13) Joe Cullen v Ricky/Evans/Fallon Sherrock
(20) Damon Heta v Adrian Lewis/Daniel Larsson
(5) Luke Humphries v Keegan Brown/Florian Hempel
(28) Vincent van der Voort v Cameron Menzies/Diogo Portela
(12) Dave Chisnall v Andrew Gilding/Robert Owen
(21) Stephen Bunting v Geert Nentjes/Leonard Gates
(2) Peter Wright v Mickey Mansell/Ben Robb
(31) Kim Huybrechts v Keane Barry/Grant Sampson
(15) Dimitri Van den Bergh v Rowby-John Rodriguez/Lourence Ilagan
(18) Krzysztof Ratajski v Danny Jansen/Paolo Nebrida
(7) Jonny Clayton v Steve Beaton/Danny van Trijp
(26) Brendan Dolan v Jamie Hughes/Jimmy Hendriks
(10) Nathan Aspinall v Boris Krcmar/Toru Suzuki
(23) Callan Rydz v Josh Rock/Jose Justicia
(3) Michael van Gerwen v Niels Zonneveld/Lewy Williams
(30) Mensur Suljovic v Mike De Decker/Jeff Smith
(14) Dirk van Duijvenbode v Karel Sedlacek/Raymond Smith
(19) Ross Smith v John O'Shea/Darius Labanauskas
(6) Rob Cross v Scott Williams/Ryan Joyce
(27) Mervyn King v Matt Campbell/Danny Baggish
(11) Gary Anderson v Madars Razma/Prakash Jiwa
(22) Chris Dobey v Martijn Kleermaker/Xicheng Han
Michael Smith produced the performance of his career to defeat Michael van Gerwen 7-4 and claim his first Cazoo World Darts Championship title in an incredible final at Alexandra Palace on Tuesday.
On his way to winning an all-time classic, Smith hit a nine-dart finish in the third leg of the second set which also saw Van Gerwen miss double 12 for a nine-darter.
From 3-2 down, Smith produced a run of four straight sets to take control at 6-3, before going on to seal a famous win which sees him become world number one for the first time.
"The way I felt when I won will never be topped, no matter what I do in this sport in the future," said an emotional Smith.
"To be World Champion and world number one is amazing.
"Michael let me off a lot and, for once, I finally took my chance.
"In practice today I kept going 180-180-miss and I wanted to give the crowd what they deserved, a nine-darter.
"When I won the Grand Slam I said I would eventually become World Champion and world number one.
"I want to do what Michael [van Gerwen] has done, I want to dominate the sport but he's still around!
"It's now 1-1 between us in World Championship finals, but I don't think it will be the last."
Competing in his sixth World Championship final, Van Gerwen suffered a third defeat in the sport's showpiece event.
The Dutchman, who posted his first sub-100 average of the tournament, remains third on the Order of Merit.
"Michael [Smith] played a phenomenal game, he deserves this win," Van Gerwen reflected.
"Of course, I had my chances - I missed too many doubles and when you don't hit them you get punished.
"I didn't play too well in the last few sets but I can only blame myself for that, you have to take it on the chin.
"When you lose games it's hard but it's part of the job. I will be back."
A game of the highest quality saw Smith end the match with a 100.87 average and an incredible 22 180s, while Van Gerwen posted a 99.58 average with 15 maximums.
The opening set saw Van Gerwen land an 84 checkout to break throw and win his 14th consecutive set of the tournament.
The second set featured the best ever leg of darts in recorded competition as Smith hit a nine-dart finish in the same leg which saw Van Gerwen miss an attempt at double for a nine-darter of his own.
This sealed a break of throw for Smith, who then tidied up 25 in two darts to wrap up the set and level the match at 1-1.
After missing the bullseye for a 170 checkout, Smith wrapped up the third set, before Van Gerwen took the fourth without conceding a leg to level the tie at 2-2.
In a fifth set decider, Van Gerwen broke throw in 14 darts to take the lead for what proved to be the final time in the match at 3-2.
However, the key passage of the match saw Smith win 12 of the next 16 legs to take a 6-3 lead in sets.
Van Gerwen stopped the rot with a 105 checkout before the set ten decider saw Smith take the first shot at a match-winning checkout, but he was unable to land a 167 before Van Gerwen found a last-dart double 16 to stay alive.
Van Gerwen then took a 2-0 lead in the 11th set, but Smith hit back with a 106 checkout, followed up with a 15-dart break to move within a leg of the title.
Smith kicked off the deciding leg with back-to-back 180s before sealing victory with an 11-darter on double eight to seal a stunning 7-4 success.