The 2015 William Hill World Darts Championship was the 22nd

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

organised by 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 Wor ...

since it separated from the

British Darts Organisation The British Darts Organisation (BDO) was a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft. Made up of 66 member counties, it oversaw professional, semi-professional and amateur darts competitions in Britain. The BDO was a founder ...

. The event was held at the

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Origi ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

between 18 December 2014 and 4 January 2015.

Michael van Gerwen Michael van Gerwen (; born 25 April 1989) is a Dutch professional darts player. He is currently ranked number 3 in the world, having been number 1 from 2014 to 2021. He is also a three-time PDC World Champion, having won the title in 2014, 2 ...

was the defending champion, having won his first World Championship title in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

, but he lost 6–3 to Gary Anderson in the semi-finals. Anderson won the title by beating 16-time World Champion Phil Taylor 7–6 in the final. Taylor became the first player in PDC World Championship history to reach the PDC World Champsionship final, achieve a tournament 3-dart average of over 100, and yet not win the title.

Adrian Lewis Adrian Lewis (born 21 January 1985) is an English professional darts player currently playing in the PDC. He is a two-time PDC World Darts Champion, winning in 2011 and 2012. He is nicknamed Jackpot, as he won a jackpot gambling in Las Vegas ...

threw the event's only

nine-dart finish A nine-dart finish, also known as a nine-darter, is a perfect leg or single game in the sport of darts. The object of the game is to score a set number of points, most commonly 501; in order to win, a player must reach the target total exactly a ...

in his third round match with

Raymond van Barneveld Raymond van Barneveld (born 20 April 1967) is a Dutch professional darts player. Nicknamed Barney, although originally known as The Man, he is one of the most successful darts players in history. Van Barneveld is a five-time World Darts Cham ...

. John Michael and

Boris Koltsov Boris Koltsov (russian: Борис Сергеевич Кольцов; born 10 September 1988) is a Russian darts player who plays in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Career BDO In September 2014, Koltsov reached the semi-fina ...

became the first players from

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

respectively to play in the first round of a PDC World Championship. Cristo Reyes became the first Spanish player to reach the last 16 in the history of the event.

Format and qualifiers

The tournament featured 72 players. The top 32 players on the

PDC Order of Merit The PDC Order of Merit is a world ranking system used by one of the darts organisations, the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Following the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship it superseded a world ranking system based on points being awarded f ...

on 2 December 2014 (after the

Players Championship Finals The Players Championship Finals is a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The tournament originally featured the top 32 players from the Players Championship Order of Merit, a separate ranking system that only takes int ...

) were seeded for the tournament. They were joined by the 16 highest non-qualified players from the Pro Tour Order of Merit, based on the events played on the 2014 PDC Pro Tour. These 48 players were joined by two PDPA qualifiers (as determined at a PDPA Qualifying event held in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

on 1 December 2014), the highest ranked non-qualified player on the PDC Challenge Tour Order of Merit, and 21 international players: the four highest names on the European Order of Merit not already qualified, and 17 further international qualifiers determined by the PDC and PDPA. Some of the international players, such as the four from the European Order of Merit, and the top American and Australian players were entered straight into the first round, while others, having won qualifying events in their countries, were entered into the preliminary round. The field was set on 1 December 2014. John Michael became the first

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

player to play in the PDC World Championship.

Qualifiers

Order of Merit Pro Tour #

Andrew Gilding Andrew Gilding (born 7 December 1970) is an English professional darts player who plays in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He made his television debut in 2011. Gilding's best result at a PDC major event was reaching the sem ...

Darren Webster Darren Michael Webster (born 10 June 1968) is an English darts player nicknamed Demolition Man. Career Webster won the 2005 Open Oust Nederland, beating Co Stompé in the final. Originally nicknamed The Sniper, Webster reached the quarter-fina ...

Benito van de Pas Benito van de Pas (born 18 January 1993) is a Dutch professional darts player. Career BDO Van de Pas reached the semi-finals of the 2011 PDC Under-21 World Championship, losing 1-4 to Michael van Gerwen. Van de Pas won the 2011 German Open. Th ...

Christian Kist Christian Kist (born 21 April 1986) is a Dutch professional darts player. In 2012, he won the BDO World Darts Championship, defeating Tony O'Shea in the final. Since 2014, he has competed in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Career BDO K ...

# Jamie Lewis #

Ronny Huybrechts Ronny Huybrechts (born 20 July 1965) is a former Belgian professional darts player. Career Ronny and his brother Kim Huybrechts became the first brothers to play in the World Cup of Darts in February 2013 and advanced from Group H courtesy of a ...

# Wayne Jones #

Gerwyn Price Gerwyn Stephen Price (born 7 March 1985) is a Welsh professional darts player and former professional rugby union and rugby league player. Nicknamed "The Iceman", he competes in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), where he is cu ...

# John Henderson #

Keegan Brown Keegan Brown (born 5 November 1992) is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He won the 2014 PDC World Youth Championship. Career Early career Brown began playing darts at the age of ni ...

David Pallett David John Pallett (born 8 February 1990) is an English professional darts player playing in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Career In January 2013, Pallett entered PDC Q School and stood just one match from joining the tour in ...

# Joe Cullen # Kyle Anderson #

Jyhan Artut Jyhan Artut (born 9 October 1976) is a German professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Career Artut defeated Wayne Mardle 3–0 in the 2010 PDC World Darts Championship in the first round. He was ...

Mickey Mansell Michael "Mickey" Mansell (born 31 August 1973) is a Northern Irish darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Career In October 2010, Mansell reached the semi-finals of a Players Championship in Dublin. A week late ...

# European Order of Merit
''First Round Qualifiers'' #

Mensur Suljović Mensur Suljović (Serbian Cyrillic: Менсур Суљовић; born 5 March 1972) is an Austrian professional darts player. He plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, having previously played in the British Darts Organisation (B ...

# # Max Hopp # Ryan de Vreede PDPA Qualifier
''First Round Qualifier'' * Jason Hogg ''Preliminary Round Qualifier'' * Scott MacKenzie International Qualifiers
''First Round Qualifiers'' * Dave Richardson *

Laurence Ryder Laurence "Loz" Ryder (born 28 December 1966) is an Australian former darts player who competed in British Darts Organisation (BDO) events. Career Ryder was born in Britain but in 2001 moved from Derby to Western Australia. In 2013 he won th ...

* John Weber ''Preliminary Round Qualifiers'' * Nolan Arendse *

Daryl Gurney Daryl Gurney (born 22 March 1986) is a Northern Irish professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Gurney is a winner of two majors, having won the World Grand Prix in 2017 in his native Ireland, and the P ...

Jani Haavisto Jani Haavisto (born 11 May 1987) is a Finnish former professional darts player. Career Haavisto won two events on the Professional Darts Corporation's Scandinavian Tour in 2012, finishing second in the Order of Merit to qualify for the 2013 PD ...

* Alex Hon *

Scott Kirchner Darren Scott "Scotty" Kirchner (born August 27, 1969) is a former American professional darts player who competed in the Professional Darts Corporation tournaments. Career Kirchner's first tournament win came at the 2002 Soft Tip Bullshooter Wo ...

Robert Marijanović Robert Marijanovic (born 6 May 1980) is a German darts player of Croatian heritage. Career Marijanović qualified for the 2013 PDC World Darts Championship after coming through the Eastern European qualifier. He was beaten 3–4 by Northern Ir ...

Mark McGrath Mark Sayers McGrath (born March 15, 1968) is an American singer who is the lead vocalist of the rock band Sugar Ray. McGrath is also known for his work as a co-host of '' Extra'', and he was the host of '' Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' in 2010. ...

* John Michael *

Haruki Muramatsu Haruki Muramatsu (村松治樹; born 15 April 1977) is a Japanese darts player. Career Muramatsu qualified for the 2010 PDC World Darts Championship. He defeated Poland's Krzysztof Kciuk 4–1 in the preliminary round, but lost 3–0 to Ronni ...

* Ian Perez * Cristo Reyes *

Sascha Stein Sascha Stein (born 19 October 1984) is a German professional darts player who currently playing in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Career In November 2014, Stein lost in the final of the Bulls Superleague qualifier for the 2015 PDC ...

* Kim Viljanen * :1

Jarkko Komula Jarkko Komula (born 13 March 1976) is a Finnish former professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is nicknamed Smiley because he rarely smiles. Darts career BDO Komula reached the final of the 2001 ...

, who finished second in the Scandinavian Order of Merit, was ineligible to play due to a suspension from the Finnish Darts Organisation. Kim Viljanen, who finished third, therefore replaced Komula. :2 Ryan de Vreede qualified after

Richie Burnett Richard Mark "Richie" Burnett (born 7 February 1967), nicknamed Prince of Wales, is a Welsh professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is a former World No. 1 who won the 1995 Embassy World Darts C ...

was removed from the field due to personal reasons. As a result,

Stuart Kellett Stuart Kellett (born 12 August 1981) is a former English darts player. BDO career Kellett reached the last 16 of the 2007 Winmau World Masters, having beaten Andy Fordham among others on the way to the televised stages. He lost 1-3 in sets ...

moved into the top 32 seeds and

Rowby-John Rodriguez Rowby-John Rodriguez (born 27 March 1994) is an Austrian professional darts player currently playing in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Career In 2010, as a 16-year-old, Rodriguez won the Austrian National Championship by bea ...

qualified through the Pro Tour instead of the European Tour.

Prize money

The 2015 World Championship featured a prize fund of at least £1,250,000 - an increase of £200,000 from the 2014 tournament. The prize money is allocated as follows:

Results

Preliminary round

The preliminary round was played in a first to four legs format. One match was played per session with the winners playing their first round matches later on the same day. The draw was held on 30 November 2014, two days before the main draw. Gurney achieved the highest average in the history of the Preliminary round.

Exhibition

The event also included a single-leg exhibition between two England cricket teammates – fast bowler

James Anderson James Anderson may refer to: Arts *James Anderson (American actor) (1921–1969), American actor *James Anderson (author) (1936–2007), British mystery writer *James Anderson (English actor) (born 1980), British actor * James Anderson (filmmaker) ...

and opening batsman and Test captain

Alastair Cook Sir Alastair Nathan Cook (born 25 December 1984) is an English cricketer who plays for Essex County Cricket Club, and played for England in all international formats from 2006 to 2018. A former captain of the England Test and One-Day Intern ...

Last 64

Final

Statistics

Representation from different countries

This table shows the number of players by country in the World Championship, the total number including the preliminary round.

Broadcasting

The tournament was available in the following countries on these channels: † Sky Sports 3 was renamed as Sky Sports Darts for the duration of the tournament. The channel's coverage of the event was later named the Best Sports of Live Event Coverage at the Broadcast Digital Awards.

References

External links

Official sitePDC Netzone
- Results, schedule {{DEFAULTSORT:Pdc World Darts Championship 2015

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