Michael van Gerwen
John Part
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Michael van Gerwen leads 3 of 4 categories. Our all-time ranking places Michael van Gerwen at #2 and John Part at #8.
The case for Michael van Gerwen
The best player of the post-Taylor era and the most naturally gifted thrower the sport has seen. Van Gerwen won the Winmau World Masters in 2006 at 17, becoming the youngest world champion of any description at the time, then took three PDC world titles in 2014, 2017 and 2019 from five finals, seven Premier League crowns and three World Matchplays among more than 25 televised majors. His statistical peak is unmatched: the highest televised three-dart average in history, 123.40 against Michael Smith in the 2016 Premier League, and the highest average in a World Championship final, 114.05 in the 2017 win over Gary Anderson. He held the world number one ranking continuously for roughly seven years from early 2014. Where Taylor's dominance was built on relentless accumulation, van Gerwen's was built on speed and a scoring ceiling nobody else could reach — he throws fast, rarely reconsiders, and at his best simply outscores opponents into irrelevance.
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.