These are the four players who survived match darts en route to World Darts Championship glory

'The luck of the champion' is an expression. which can be used in darts where players survive a scare en route to claiming glory.

Statistics from Ochepedia show that in the past four players have become world champions in the PDC after opponents earlier in the tournament missed matchdarts against the eventual world champion.

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Raymond van Barneveld took the 2007 world title, but Barney could have been out earlier in the tournament. Colin Lloyd missed four darts in the second round to eliminate the Dutchman.

Five years later, James Wade had one chance to beat Adrian Lewis in the semifinals of the 2012 World Cup of Darts. The Machine did not take advantage of his opportunity, after which Jackpot took his second world title later in the tournament.

Michael van Gerwen suffered one of the most dramatic defeats of his career at the 2018 World Darts Championship. At the time, van Gerwen missed six matchdarts to throw the later world champion Rob Cross out of the tournament.

Peter Wright also famously did so when he captured the world title in 2020. In his second round match against Noel Malicdem, the Filipino missed one chance to ensure Snakebite's elimination.