The PDC has been going for over 30 years now and whilst the majority of major titles have been collected by the usual suspects such as Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, James Wade and Gary Anderson, there have been some tournaments where the winner completely out of the blue.
In this article, Dartsnews.com takes a look at the ten most surprising and unsuspected winners of major tournaments in PDC history.
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Larry Butler - 1994 World Matchplay
Peter Evison - World Matchplay 1996
Roland Scholten - UK Open 2004
Paul Nicholson - Players Championship Finals 2010
Scott Waites - Grand Slam of Darts 2010
Kevin Painter - Players Championship Finals 2011
In the first decade of this century, Kevin Painter was considered one of the top players on the PDC circuit. 'The Artist' regularly made it to the final stages at major finals such as the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix, and even stood in the final of the 2004 World Darts Championship. Painter was very close to the world title then, but eventually lost the final 7-6 to Phil Taylor.
Just when Painter seemed past his prime, that long-hoped-for major title still came. In 2011, he won the Players Championship Finals, making his record a major title after all.
Painter had qualified for the tournament in Doncaster as number 18 on the Players Championship Order of Merit. He began the tournament with a 6-2 victory over Colin Osborne before beating Gary Anderson 8-4. Painter then reached the final match after victories over Mervyn King (9-7) and Scott Rand (10-9). He was then too strong for Mark Webster in the final, 13-9.
Mensur Suljovic - Champions League of Darts 2017
From 2015 to 2019, Mensur Suljovic was considered a very tough opponent for all the top players on the PDC circuit. With his unorthodox style of play and headstrong pace, he drove several big names to despair.
In the midst of his heyday, Suljovic managed to win the Champions League of Darts. The BBC tournament then featured eight players, with Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld, Michael van Gerwen, Adrian Lewis, Gary Anderson, Peter Wright and Dave Chisnall in addition to Suljovic.
Suljovic found himself in a pool with Anderson, Wright and Chisnall. He beat them all, as 'The Gentle' started the tournament with a resounding victory over Anderson (10-3). After that he also defeated Wright (10-8) and Chisnall (10-5). In the semifinals, he defeated Raymond van Barneveld (11-9), before Suljovic beat Anderson again (11-9) in the final.
Jose de Sousa - Grand Slam of Darts 2020
At the 2012 World Darts Championship, there was suddenly a Portuguese in the preliminary round of the World Darts Championship. Jose de Sousa failed to win his preliminary round match, then disappeared from the big stage again for several years.
At the 2019 edition, he returned to Alexandra Palace, and then 'The Special One' picked up a Tour Card at the Q-School. That same year, De Sousa already won his first Players Championship title. It turned out to be the prelude to an extraordinary 2020, in which De Sousa won not only a Euro Tour tournament but also a major. The Portuguese darter had never reached the quarterfinals of a major before, but out of nowhere he won the Grand Slam of Darts.
De Sousa lost a group match against Michael Smith (5-2), but advanced to the knockout stage thanks to wins over Krzysztof Ratajski (5-4) and Lisa Ashton (5-1). He then dealt with Dave Chisnall (10-7), Michael Smith (16-14), Simon Whitlock (16-12) and James Wade (16-12) to take the title.
Ross Smith - European Championship 2022
In October 2022, Ross Smith established his name in the PDC history books as a major winner. 'Smudger' had already reached the quarterfinals at the UK Open once in 2019, but since then never managed to get past the last sixteen of a PDC major. Until the European Championship in 2022.
Smith played only five of 12 Euro Tour tournaments in 2022, but thanks to two quarterfinals he still qualified for the final tournament at the Westfalenhallen in Dortmund.
The Englishman opened the tournament with a 6-4 victory over Joe Cullen, before beating Dimitri van den Bergh (10-8), Peter Wright (10-8) and Chris Dobey (11-9) for a spot in the final. Ross Smith seemed the ideal opponent in the final for Michael Smith, who at that point had already lost seven major finals. However, an eighth defeat was added to that, as after a sensational match, Ross Smith drew the longest straw in the final, 11-8.
Andrew Gilding - UK Open 2023
At 52, winning your first major by beating top favorite Michael van Gerwen in the final. It sounds like a dream, but Andrew Gilding made that dream come true at the 2023 UK Open.
Gilding began his participation in the 2023 UK Open with wins over Darren Webster (6-2), Ricky Evans (10-5), Luke Woodhouse (10-5) and Brendan Dolan (10-8) to qualify for the final day.
In the quarterfinals, he convincingly dealt with Martin Schindler (10-4), before 'Goldfinger' was too strong for another tournament sensation in the semifinals. An 11-6 win kept Adam Gawlas from a final spot.
Van Gerwen led 9-6 and 10-9 in the final, but missed one matchdart in the deciding leg to win the tournament. Gilding then threw his first matchdart into the double 20 to become the oldest darter in PDC history to win his first major final.
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