There has now been 500 Players Championship events played since Phil Taylor won the inaugural title against John Part in Blackpool way back in 2003, so in this weeks column I'm going to look at a few interesting records and milestones.
Power at the top
Unsurprisingly it's Phil Taylor who holds the record for most Players Championship titles with a whopping 45 while Michael van Gerwen is not too far behind on 36.
Gary Anderson has picked up 30 during his incredible career while the only other two players out of the 90 different champions who have 20 or more are Peter Wright (22) and Gerwyn Price (20).
There are nine more players with double figures; James Wade (18), Dave Chisnall (18), Adrian Lewis (12), Simon Whitlock (12), Michael Smith (11), Raymond van Barneveld (10), Colin Lloyd (10), Rob Cross (10), Ian White (10)
It's a fascinating list of winners which you can see below in this post from The Red Bit on X.
It's been almost 10 years (16 May 2015) since Phil Taylor won his last Players Championship tournament. Michael van Gerwen had 14 wins at the time and now has 36, but will he ever catch up with „The Power“? pic.twitter.com/fqN9G4Vl0c
— TheRedBit 🔴 (@TheRedBit180) April 15, 2025
A few years ago you'd have thought it would just be a matter of time before Taylor is caught - but what about now?
I'd have said it was nailed on a few years ago but now I'm not sure.
MVG's struggles have been well documented and the deficit of nine is still a lot of ground to make up, especially if he doesn't ever rediscover his peak levels on a consistent basis.
Gary Anderson and Peter Wright don't have time on their side so the next viable challenger to the Power is Gerwyn Price.
However the Iceman has taken around 10 years to win 20 so if he was to match that for the next decade, he'd still be short of Taylor's 45. Will he want to be playing that long?
Taylor won his 45 titles across just 13 seasons so he was averaging more than three per year. That's unbelievable, especially when you consider he opted against playing in many of them towards the end of his career.
Littler averaged three in his first year and there's still plenty more to come this year for him to get off the mark for 2025 but he'll still need to play for many years to challenge Taylor's Players Championship record.
That said, it's still more likely than him eclipsing Phil's World Championship record!
Four-middable!
I managed to win four Players Championship titles in my career which puts me joint 35th on the list alongside current stars Luke Humphries, Josh Rock and Ross Smith.
I'm also alongside former players I admire greatly in Colin Osborne, Andy Smith and Mark Walsh and this is a very, very proud thing for me. To see myself in the middle of the pack after as many as 500 events means I can feel a lot happier about my career.
I'm even ahead of Luke Littler on three at the moment but I'm sure that won't last for much longer!
Three's a crowd
Littler finds himself alongside a fellow legend in Wayne Mardle, while you may be surprised to know Dimitri Van den Bergh is still on three.
To me it's probably more shocking that Benito van de Pas never won a fourth having won all three of his in 2016 and promised so much more with his talents.
His career sadly fell into freefall and his story is probably a cautionary tale to anyone who thinks they are guaranteed to keep winning after a prolific start to their career.
One hit wonders
There aren't many unfamiliar names in the list of 90 different winners but the ultimate one-hit wonder in this list has to be Felix McBrearty, who hit the darting headlines around 16 or 17 years ago.
Nobody knew who he was when he turned up and he ended up winning the event! He wouldn't win another one, which isn't a surprise, and I will be flabbergasted if Felix McBrearty’s title of 'most unexpected champion' is ever eclipsed.
Another curveball winner was Radek Szaganski, who ended up going on to lose his Tour Card in the same year as picking up his maiden PDC title.
That actually happened to Keegan Brown a year earlier when he briefly returned to form to claim his second.
They only won how many?!
There are several wonderful players with only one Players Championship title to their names and you'd have expected to be much higher up the list.
Let's start with Mark Webster.
Every time I mention this, people think that can't be true. But his Players Championship triumph was actually the only title of any kind that he won throughout his PDC career.
Think of all of the Premier League appearances, a World Championship semi-finals and other memorable TV runs including the time he reached the final of the Players Championship Finals at Doncaster.
And just one title. It doesn't fit.
Peter Manley is another example of just one solitary Players Championship title and he was a world number one!
Andy Hamilton is also down on one title and he certainly didn't win anywhere near as much as he should have really for his work ethic and his talent.
When you go down that list one by one, you'll find some great players who have fewer titles than some who were perceived as being weaker.
Take Justin Pipe, for example. He managed to win five of these which is more than a lot of fantastic players that you'd probably rank above him in terms of status and ability.
His best years came in an era where there probably weren't quite as many Players Championship events as there are today.
Wayne Jones is top of the list for those who haven't managed to pick up a single Players Championship title but I'm sure others will brand John Henderson or Kevin Painter as the best player never to win one.
Floor specialism
There are several players on this list such as Dave Chisnall and Ian White who are well known for being prolific winners of floor tournaments but are yet to break their duck on the televised stage.
This doesn't make them lesser players - but it highlights a different kind of skill that is required to thrive in the quiet, sterile Players Championship conditions.
Some players absolutely hate it.
Luke Littler managed to win three in 2024 which is a superb tally but he's yet to break his duck for 2025 and some say he produces his A-game when the TV cameras are rolling.
Kevin Painter always told me he hated the leisure centre environment and much prefered events with atmospheres, so it's no surprise that he's one of the most famous names never to have won a single Players Championship tournament.
There are of course many who can do both. Look at Jonny Clayton, for example.
In the most recent Players Championship event, he won his seventh title with a stunning day average of 103.5 whereas when we see him on stage we'll see him more vibrant and pointing the finger at the camera when hitting his 180s.
You almost need a stage game and then a more placid floor game to keep your emotions in check. So, no celebrations, just tunnel vision. Get it done and move on.
It is a very different skill.
Daryl Gurney is a prime example of a player who seems to need the energy of a crowd to bring his A-game and that's one of the reasons he's only won two of these type of floor titles to date.
What would you change for the future?
I think format wise they've got it nailed, especially to get a 128-player tournament all done in six hours.
But the only thing I would say that would enhance it would be if you had all the tournaments in a purpose built place. That could be an Matchroom arena for example.
It could be similar to how the Modus Super Series is operated and not affected by outside influences.
I would have three purpose built venues for this including one in England, another in Germany then another elsewhere.
This is definitely an idea for the future and we may not see it for another 500 Players Championship events!
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