Best Dart Players of All Time: Does Adrian Lewis make the top 10?

The big dart news of the weekend was the decision Adrian ‘the Jackpot’ Lewis took when announcing his indefinite break from elite darts. With that, it feels like a good time to assess the best dart players of all time and, more importantly, to determine whether or not Lewis ranks amongst those legendary names.

Coming in at number 10 on our list of the best dart players of all time is the current World number two, Peter Wright. The Scot, who is famed for his flame licked mohawk, has enjoyed a good career since arriving in the scene back in 1995. 

Wright’s biggest achievements are the two PDC World Championships victories in three years (2020 and 2022) but a host of other tournament wins shouldn’t be overlooked. But for 13 finals losses, Wright could rank much higher in this list.

Next up is John Part. If this was a rundown of the best North American players of all time then Part would probably be top of our list but it’s not so ninth will have to do. It’s still a reflection of a highly impressive career though.

Part banked a total of three world titles; the first of those trio arrived in 1994 under the BDO with the next not coming for nine years when Part triumphed in the PDC Championships in 2003 and, again, in 2008. In another era, Part would have had more glory too.

And now to address the question, yes, Adrian Lewis does rank amongst the best of all time. On a pure silverware basis Lewis can boast nine major titles (five individual and four team wins) but that doesn’t do his ability justice.

Lewis holds the record for the most 180s at majors and was the first player to sink a nine-darter in a world final. He’ll forever be in the history books.

We have just spoken about the success Lewis enjoyed in finals but he’d have enjoyed a fair bit more had it not been for Gary Anderson. Anderson beat Lewis in four finals but won more than just those titles with his first triumph in a World Championship coming in 2015 as he beat Phil Taylor. His haul of 22 180s in a single match is a record as well.

Dennis Priestly doesn’t have the trophy cabinet of some of those on this list but he was a hugely popular figure in the dart world. He really arrived in the early nineties getting the better of a couple of big names to win his first majors. That glory was never sustained for long enough to see him climb this ranking higher but appearances in a dozen major finals is still quite an achievement!

Eric Bristow is one of the best known dart players ever. Part of that was down to the personality of the Hackney born star but that’s only secondary to his stellar skills. Bristow, despite being riddled with dartitis, won a total of 28 major finals including five World Championships. 

John Lowe can’t boast some of the pure numbers like some of the players on this list but his influence on darts and legacy in the sport is undoubted. For one thing, he was the first person caught on camera throwing a nine darter - that’s something that can never be taken away from him. 

‘Old Stoneface’ also enjoyed plenty of glory in his career too. He won three world championships across three different decades - the seventies, eighties and nineties. He is just one of two players to achieve such a feat.

Lowe might have been the first player to sink a nine darter but he wasn’t the youngest to do so - that honour belongs to Michael van Gerwen. The current world number three tossed his first ‘niner’ at just 17-years-old, which came on his way to success at the 2006 World Masters. 

Needless to say, that was just the beginning for van Gerwen. He went on to enjoy mass amounts of titles winning a total of 46 majors from 59 final appearances. Alongside those triumphs, there were an array of other tournament wins including 13 World Series wins. 

When you consider the sheer numbers Raymond can Barneveld has put up it feels incredibly harsh that he hasn’t made the top spot. In many sports, he would almost definitely be regarded as the GOAT having reached the pinnacle on so many occasions. 

Barney has won five world championships and has reached 33 major finals. His record in the BDO majors is pretty bonkers; he reached the final 17 times and came out on top in 14 of those - a success rate of over 82%. The Dutchman will forever be remembered in the sporting world.

And as many may have guessed, coming in at number one is a man that features highly in any online sports Canada personality lists - Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor. What can you say about him? He is unquestionably the greatest of all time. You simply cannot knock the achievements Taylor racked up in his career and, actually, you wonder if anyone will ever eclipse him. During his 30 year career, Taylor won a record setting 16 world titles, 85 majors and, even more mentally, north of 200 tournaments in all. Beyond honours, Taylor also boasts a host of records centred around his throwing ability - he is untouchable in our eyes! No

There you have it, the best dart players of all time.