John Part
Luke Littler
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
John Part leads 3 of 4 categories. Our all-time ranking places John Part at #8 and Luke Littler at #12.
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The case for John Part
The first player from outside the United Kingdom to win a world championship, and the only man to win world titles in both organisations and beat Phil Taylor in a final to do it. Darth Maple won the BDO title in 1994 as an unheralded Canadian, then crossed to the PDC and won the 2003 world championship by beating Taylor 7-6 in a deciding set — ending an eight-year reign and producing one of the sport's genuine upsets — before adding a third title in 2008. Four world finals in all, from a country with no darts infrastructure to speak of and a transatlantic commute to every tournament. He remains the benchmark for non-European players and the proof that the sport's talent pool was never geographically fixed. His post-playing career as a commentator has made him the most respected analytical voice in the game, and his articulate deconstruction of checkout routes taught a generation of viewers how professionals actually think.
The case for Luke Littler
The youngest world champion in the sport's history and the biggest audience driver it has ever had. Littler reached the 2024 World Championship final at 16, losing 7-4 to Luke Humphries after arriving as a qualifier ranked outside the top 150, and won the title a year later on 3 January 2025, beating Michael van Gerwen 7-3 at 17 years and 347 days old. In between he won the 2024 Premier League at his first attempt, beating Humphries in the final, and the 2024 Grand Slam of Darts, among a major haul already larger than most professionals manage in a career. He throws quickly, appears immune to the occasion, and has averaged above 100 in televised finals since he was a schoolboy. His 2024 run drew the largest television audiences in the sport's history and a surge in board sales and junior participation across Britain, the Netherlands and Germany.