The 1996 Vernons World Darts Championship was the third year that the

Professional Darts Corporation The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 when a group of leading players split from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form what was initially called the World ...

(then known as the World Darts Council) held their own World Championships following an acrimonious split from the British Darts Organisation during 1992/93. The tournament had its third sponsor in as many years, with Vernons taking over from Proton Cars. The tournament was held at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet between 26 December 1995 and 1 January 1996. Although he had not officially announced his retirement,

Jocky Wilson John Thomas "Jocky" Wilson (22 March 1950 – 24 March 2012) was a Scottish professional darts player. After turning pro in 1979, he quickly rose to the top of the game, winning the World Professional Darts Championship in 1982, then again ...

had played his last televised competitive darts match at the World Matchplay in Blackpool in the summer of 1995, and had walked away from darts suddenly on 23 December 1995, so didn't appear at the 1996 World Championship, with

Phil Taylor Phil Taylor may refer to: * Phil Taylor (musician) (1954–2015), English drummer, best known as "Philthy Animal" Taylor * Phil Taylor (darts player) (born 1960), English darts player * Phil Taylor (American football) (born 1988), American footbal ...

and Dennis Priestley both making an appeal after their 1996 World Championship final for Jocky and Malvina (Jocky's wife) to return. Nigel Justice and Steve Raw were the two English players making their WDC World Championship debuts.

defeated Dennis Priestley 6–4 in the final, with Taylor gaining revenge for his 1994 final defeat against Priestley. It was Taylor's fourth overall World Championship victory.

Seeds

Rod Harrington Rodney Harrington (born 30 December 1957) is an English former professional darts player and former commentator. He used the nickname "The Prince of Style" for his matches, often wearing a suit and waistcoat for his games. Harrington enjoyed so ...

# Dennis Priestley # John Lowe # Peter Evison #

Alan Warriner Alan Warriner-Little (born Warriner; 24 March 1962) is an English former professional darts player. Nicknamed The Iceman, he is a former World Grand Prix champion and a former runner-up at the World Professional Darts Championship. Darts ca ...

# Bob Anderson # Kevin Spiolek

Prize money

The prize fund was £62,500.

Results