Are these the 10 most surprising major winners in PDC history?

The first and so far only American to lift a major PDC title, Larry Butler shocked the world in 1994 when he left Blackpool with the inaugural World Matchplay title. Although Butler had shown some signs of his abilities with a win over John Lowe in the World Championship earlier that year, few fancied ‘The Eagle’ heading into the World Matchplay.

Nevertheless, with wins over Steve Raw (8-2), compatriot Jerry Umberger (8-2), Jocky Wilson (11-4) and Shayne Burgess (11-7), Butler found himself facing Dennis Priestley in the final at the Winter Gardens. Averaging 92.7, Butler stunned the first ever PDC world champion 16-12, taking the title and what would turn out to be his biggest career win.

Two years after Butler, the big names were again upset at the Winter Gardens. In the opening round, Evison actually defeated Butler 8-3 before taking a massive win in the second round over the great Phil Taylor. Averaging a touch under 104, Evison switched off ‘The Power’ 8-1 and then avoided the fate that so often befalls those who beat Taylor, by backing it up in the next round with an 11-3 win over American Sean Downs.

In the semifinals, Jamie Harvey also fell to Evison before, in the final, much like when Butler won, Dennis Priestley was left rueing a missed opportunity as Evison prevailed By 16 legs to 14, averaging over 100 again and lifting the title.

Already an established name by the time the 2004 UK Open came around, Roland Scholten had been there or thereabouts in the PDC majors for a few seasons, reaching the final of the 2001 World Grand Prix and semifinals at each of the UK Open and Las Vegas Desert Classic. In the era of Phil Taylor's most epic dominance however, the Dutchman was by no means expected to lift the title in Bolton in 2004.

When Phil Taylor struck his second televised nine darter in the fourth round, another title for the Power looked on the cards. Scholten meanwhile was quietly moving his way through the draw. In the quarter-finals, Taylor was dumped out by long time rival John Part in a thriller and after Scholten saw off Alan Warriner the draw was suddenly wide open. After recovering from 3-0 down to beat Steve Beaton 8-4 in the semifinals, Scholten then defeated Part 11-6 in the final to lift the title.

For a short spell, Paul Nicholson looked set to take the darting world by storm. Walking out with his trademark sunglasses and tie, Nicholson was the pantomime villain wmto the crowd but could more than back it up on the board too. At the 2010 Players Championship Finals, Nicholson's looked to have kicked on to the next level. Sadly however, it proved to be the sharp peak of the Asset's career in the PDC.

Whilst Nicholson was an emerging talent at the time, his title win and the route to victory ensure his title win enters our list. Incredibly, his route to the final reads like a who's who of the PDC era. Dennis Priestley fell in the opening round before Steve Beaton and Adrian Lewis followed. In the semi-finals however, Nicholson produced arguably his greatest ever performance to dispatch Phil Taylor 10-9 in an absolute thriller. Surviving another testing encounter in the final with Mervyn King 13-11, Nicholson joined the elite list of PDC major winners.

Whilst the BDO and PDC had often been at odds since the latter's formation, the Grand Slam of Darts offered darts fans a unique chance to view the two codes best players facing off. In truth, the BDO’s often failed to make much of an impact over the years, that is except for two time Lakeside champion Scott Waites.

Joined by Dave Chisnall, John Henderson, Tony O'Shea, Martyn Phillips, Darryl Fitton and Ted Hankey as the BDO representatives, Waites topped a group that included the aforementioned Phillips, Co Stompe and Adrian Lewis. In the first knockout round, Raymond van Barneveld's hopes were ended 10-7, before Stompe was again beaten by Waites 16-10. In the semifinals, Steve Beaton couldn't handle ‘Scotty 2 Hotty’, with Waites setting up a final showdown with James Wade. Having been obliterated 16-2 by Phil Taylor in the previous year's final, Waites would've been forgiven for giving up hope when trailing Wade 8-0. The Englishman refused to be denied again however and mounted an incredible comeback to seal the title with a 16-12 win becoming the only BDO winner of the Grand Slam.