Aside from winning the World Championship, there can be few better feelings than landing a nine darter in front of the television cameras and it is a select group of players that have achieved the a feat.
It is the perfect leg of darts and many consider it to be the highest single achievement in the sport. Currently the list stands at 34 nine-dart finishes live on TV, with 23 of those choosing the T20, T19, D12 route and we would be more than happy to see somebody add to the list in Citywest next week when the cream of the darting world converge on Dublin.
John Lowe was the first to achieve the feat in 1984, Michael van Gerwen the most recent and only Phil Taylor (9), Raymond van Barneveld (5), Michael van Gerwen (3), Mervyn King and Adrian Lewis (2) have achieved it twice or more.
Here are some of the most memorable.
Brendan Dolan, 2011
This has to be the best of the lot simply as he is the only player to achieve the Holy Grail with a double start. He faced James Wade in the World Grand Prix in 2011 and sent the raucous Dublin crowd, and commentators, into raptures with this sensational finish. He reached the final that year only to come unstuck 6-3 in the final against Phil Taylor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxB3t3oNc-E
John Lowe, 1984
Though the match was not shown live, it was the first ever televised nine darter and shows just how much the game has changed in nearly 20 years. And no wonder Old Stoneyface looks happy with his lot in the World Matchplay, you would be too if you were given £102,000 for the first televised maximum. By comparison, Michael van Gerwen, who hit the most recent maximum at the World Championship took away £7,500 for the deadly arrows.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10jlayhxVjk
For anyone craving to find out who indeed managed the first ever live televised maximum, it was Paul Lim in the BDO World Championship in 1990. His opponent was Kildare man Jack McKenna, the luck of the Irish you could say.
Phil Taylor, 2010
He has nine to choose from, but poor old James Wade – he must bring out the best in his opponents - was on the receiving end of two of them in the one Premier League game in 2010. Showing the versatility you would expect from the best player to ever lay his fingers on tungsten, he even mixed things up. First up he finished with T20 T17 D18, before he followed that up with T20 T19 D12 finish.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvnP2VwQb6E
Different finishes, same result and more great commentary from Sid Waddell and Dave Lanning.
Michael van Gerwen, 2012
The last nine darter was in fact 17 perfect darts in a row and millimetres from history. Wade was again on the receiving end of the MVG machine as he rattled through the trebles at a rate of knots and can count himself unlucky not to put two back to back. An outstanding effort from the man perhaps most likely to emulate Brendan Dolan’s World Grand Prix nine darter in the Citywest this week.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uX57Yei_a4
