Who are the 10 best Welsh darters of all time?

For years, Wales has been considered one of the leading countries within the sport of darts. This is not surprising considering that darts is originally a British sport.

Wales has produced many famous darters and successful ones in recent decades, including several world champions and major winners. In this article, Dartsnews.com names the top 10 best Welsh darters of all time.

10. Wayne Warren

Wayne Warren has entered the history books as the last world champion ever within the BDO. After never getting past the quarterfinals in his four previous World Championship appearances, he managed to shine brightest in at the O2 Arena in London in 2020.

With wins over Justin Thompson (3-2), Andy Hamilton (4-1), Chris Landman (5-3), Scott Mitchell (6-3) and Jim Williams (7-4), Warren became the oldest world champion ever in darts.

It is the only major title on the record of 'Yank', who incidentally managed to win some other BDO ranking tournaments including the Antwerp Open, Romanian Classic and Slovak Masters. Moreover, he took the title with the Welsh team at the WDF Europe Cup in 2014.

9. Alan Evans

Alan Evans is player who was mostly active in the 1970s and 1980s, and at its peak was even the world number one in the BDO. Evans was one of the first players to appear on television when he reached the final of the News of the World Championship in 1972.

Evans won the British Open in 1975, which was the first darts event broadcast on the BBC. Later that year, he won his biggest title by winning the World Masters. At the time, that was the biggest tournament along with the News of the World Championship, as the BDO World Championship did not begin until 1978. In 1979 and 1987, Evans reached the semifinals of the World Championship.

In 1977, Evans, along with compatriots Leighton Rees and David "Rocky" Jones, won the inaugural WDF World Cup in the team event and overall category.

8. Barrie Bates

Barrie Bates was especially successful on the darts circuit in the first decade of this century. His first major feat was reaching the 2006 UK Open final, which was lost against Raymond van Barneveld.

In 2010, he represented Wales in the first PDC World Cup of Darts, where he and Mark Webster reached the final after victories over New Zealand, Spain, Scotland and Australia. In the final, however, Van Barneveld and Co Stompé proved too strong, leaving Bates once again to settle for second place at a televised tournament.

On the floor, Bates did manage to win four tournaments. His highlight was winning a Players Championship tournament in the Dutch town of Lisse in 2006. There he defeated Phil Taylor in the final 3-2 in sets.

7. Jim Williams

Jim Williams was active with the BDO from 2012 through 2020. On his debut at the World Masters in 2012, "The Quiff" kicked it straight to the quarterfinals. A feat he repeated in 2017, and even improved on in 2018 with a semifinal finish.

In 2017, Williams also reached the final at the Finder Darts Masters, followed by his first major title at the BDO World Trophy in 2019. In 2020, the Welshman could dream of the world title, but he lost in the BDO World Championship final to his compatriot Wayne Warren.

In 2021, Williams made the move to the PDC, where he captured his first ranking title in 2022. At the PDC, Williams has qualified for the World Darts Championship each time, but did not manage to advance beyond a spot in the last 32.

6. Martin Phillips

Martin Phillips has had a tremendously long career. He first played a television tournament in 1988 and last competed at Lakeside in 2019. There, Phillips was in the semifinals in 2010 and 2011. In 2014, "The Welsh Legend," as his nickname goes, did manage to win the World Masters. Phillips went on to be the captain of the Welsh national team.

With his country, Phillips had much success at international tournaments. In 1994 and 1998 he won the pairs tournament at the WDF Europe Cup, while at the same tournament he won the singles tournament in 2010 and won the team event in 2014. Also at the 1994 WDF World Cup, Phillips triumphed in the pairs tournament, while he also led Wales to first place in the team event at the 1997 WDF World Cup.

5. Richie Burnett

Another dart player with an amazing track record is Richie Burnett. 'The Prince of Wales' could call himself the darts king for a while after he took the world title at Lakeside in 1995 by defeating Raymond van Barneveld in the final.

Before that, Burnett had also won the British Matchplay (1994) and World Masters (1994). In 1996 and 1998, Burnett again reached the final at Lakeside, but then the Welshman lost to Steve Beaton and Raymond van Barneveld, respectively.

After the 1999 World Championship, Burnett made the move to the PDC. There 'The Prince of Wales' was a lot less successful, although he did reach the final of the World Matchplay in 2001. In 2011, Burnett won his only PDC ranking title by beating Jerry Hendriks (6-1), Dave Smith (6-2), Dennis Ovens (6-2), Paul Nicholson (6-4), Kevin Painter (6-5), Mark Webster (6-2) and Dave Chisnall (6-4). In 2023, Burnett made his presence felt again with a quarterfinal finish at the UK Open.

4. Leighton Rees

Leighton Rees had the honour of winning the very first edition of the BDO World Championship in 1978 by defeating John Lowe in the final. Also, Rees was part of the Welsh team that won the first-ever WDF World Cup in 1977.

Rees managed to reach the final of the BDO World Championship again in 1979. Again Lowe was the opponent, but this time it was the Englishman who prevailed.

In 1980, the Welshman reached the finals of the Butlins Grand Masters and British Matchplay, but these finals were lost against Bobby George and Jocky Wilson, respectively. Rees' last highlight was the final at the British Professional Championship in 1987, but then the title went to Keith Deller.

3. Mark Webster

Mark Webster first came to prominence in 2006 when he won the 2006 WDF Europe Cup and reached the semifinals of the World Masters. A year later, "The Spider" was then in the final of the International Darts League and Zuiderduin Masters, but Gary Anderson kept him from the title in both cases. In 2008, Webster crowned himself world champion at Lakeside by defeating Simon Whitlock in the final.

Within the PDC, Webster reached the semifinals of the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace in 2010 and the 2011. In 2010, Webster, along with Barrie Bates, lost in the final of the World Cup of Darts to the Dutch duo of Raymond van Barneveld and Co Stompé. In 2017, Webster was again in the final of the Nations tournament, but this time alongside Gerwyn Price. The Netherlands once again thwarted him, as the title went to Van Barneveld and Michael van Gerwen.

Furthermore, Webster made it to the final match at the Players Championship Finals in 2011, but the overall victory then went to Kevin Painter. In 2011, he was allowed to compete in the Premier League Darts. In 2010, he won his only ranking title in the PDC by winning a Players Championship tournament. Sadly due to dartitis Webster's career ended in 2019. These days, the 40-year-old Webster works as an analyst for Sky Sports and ITV.

2. Jonny Clayton

Jonny Clayton is a player who did not have his true breakthrough until late in life, but has since emerged as one of the most successful Welsh darters ever. In 2017, Clayton won his first ranking title and made it to the final of the Players Championship Finals. A first Euro Tour title followed in 2018, before Clayton took his first television title in 2020 by winning the World Cup of Darts with Gerwyn Price.

This proved to be the springboard to more success, as in 2021 Clayon won the Masters, Premier League Darts, World Grand Prix and World Series of Darts Finals. In 2022, "The Ferret" took his first World Series title, before winning the World Cup of Darts with Price again in 2023. Clayton also stood in the final of the World Matchplay, but another major title proved out of reach for now. Meanwhile, Clayton has balanced in or around the top-10 of the world rankings for more than three years.

1. Gerwyn Price

This former rugby pro has become the best dart player of all time from Wales in just a decade. On the advice of compatriot Barrie Bates, Price decided to swap rugby for darts in 2014 and entered the PDC Q-School. 'The Iceman' immediately captured a PDC Tour Card and developed quite smoothly within the PDC circuit.

In 2016, Price won his first PDC ranking title and broke into the top-32 of the world rankings. A year later, Price had already nestled into the top-16 of the PDC Order of Merit after making the final at the UK Open. The biggest breakthrough came in 2018, when he won the Grand Slam of Darts after a much-discussed final at the expense of Gary Anderson. Price also won a European Tour tournament for the first time in 2018.

Price successfully defended his Grand Slam title in 2019 and won the World Cup of Darts, World Grand Prix and World Series Finals in 2020. The highlight of his career came at the 2021 World Darts Championship, where "The Iceman" captured the world title.

In total, the tally stands at 11 television titles, eight Euro Tour titles and 17 Players Championship titles. In 2021 and 2022, he concluded the darts year as world number one.