7 of the Most Memorable Moments in Darts

The world of darts has had some incredible moments over the years, and Gary Anderson's defeat to Michael van Gerwen could join them as he fails to make the knockout stages of the Grand Slam for the first time in his career, ending an incredible 17-year run.

Despite Van Gerwen's achievement, he is still just the 10/1 fifth favourite to win the tournament among the best online bookmakers in the UK. Luke Littler's incredible journey continues as the favourite at around 7/4, narrowly ahead of Luke Humphries, with Gerwyn Price and Josh Rock making up the top 5.

With the potential for every tournament to have historic and memorable moments, we take a look at some of the best from the past in the hope that it will inspire something special to happen before the final.

In 1983, Keith Deller found himself up against Eric Bristow in the final of the World Darts Championship. Deller went on to make history with a 138 checkout in a tense 5-5 decider. He went down in history after this upset, with the "Deller Checkout" ensuring his immortality in darts.

Modern darts is very much a spectator sport, with fans going wild for walkouts and competitors choosing their walkout songs to suit them and get the crowd going. While there are some pretty raucous entrances, it will take a lot to beat Bob Anderson's PDC World Darts Championship entrance in 1994.

Rather than the usual and boring way of walking to the stage on his own two legs, Anderson rode a horse on stage, much to the hilarity of a packed audience. As well as ensuring an iconic and memorable entrance to the darts legend, it also spawned the fantastic nickname "the Limestone Cowboy".

The nickname is a play on words of the famous Glen Campbell song 'Rhinestone Cowboy', but references the limestone in Wiltshire where Anderson lived. While it is one of the most incredible moments in darts history, Anderson has since admitted to being terrified.

In 1997, the BDO World Darts Championship saw its first-ever final without English representation as Marshall James of Wales and Scotland's Les Wallace went head-to-head. While we have seen some pretty snazzy outfits over the years, Wallace's decision to wear a kilt proved to be inspired as he went on to celebrate victory.

It is sobering to think that Luke Littler is still just 18 years old, having burst onto the scene at 16 following an impressive youth career. The 2024 PDC World Championship saw Littler's first participation, having earned a place via the 2023 PDC Development Tour. Starting the tournament as an obvious outsider, sports book operators were offering odds of 66/1 for him to go on and win it, and he almost did.

After dispatching Kist, Gilding, and Campbell, he came up against the legendary Raymond van Barneveld. A 4-1 victory over the former five-time world champ drew the attention of the sporting world and earned him a place in the quarter finals.

Wins over Brendan Dolan and Rob Cross gave Littler a chance to make history, and he was already crowned the youngest ever finalist as he was 18 days shy of his 17th birthday. Despite racing into a 4-3 lead, he was eventually defeated by Luke Humphries, but he has already made a name for himself and took home prize money amounting to £200,000.

In 2014, Phil "The Power" Taylor was at the peak of his powers, and a third-round UK Open tie against Aden Kirk seemed nothing more than a formality. Kirk was ranked 141st in the world, but managed to pull off one of the biggest shocks in the history of the sport when the Nottingham factory worker beat him 9-7.

Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson met in 2018 to battle it out in the final of the Grand Slam of Darts. Price went on to win the title, his first PDC major, but the match is better remembered for being an ill-tempered affair that could easily have come to blows after a push from Anderson after Price celebrated right in front of him.