World Grand Prix: Greatest performances of all time including Phil Taylor, Brendan Dolan, Alan Warriner and Robert Thornton

By Paul Nicholson

Darts

Tue September 26, 2023 · 1y ago

A look at four of the greatest performances in the history of the double-start World Grand Prix.

1. Alan Warriner-Little's record-breaking 106 average v Andy Jenkins (2001 first round)

This record has now stood for 20 years and it's about time someone else tries to gun for it, especially in the early rounds when it's a shorter format. However, that's not to take anything away from Alan Warriner-Little's performance whatsoever because the nature of the double-start format in a best-of-three encounter actually makes people more on edge than usual and those double beds look like trebles.

It was an almost flawless performance and only missed starting doubles in the first and last legs of the contest while he was 75% on his finishing doubles as well. The darts in between all that was also unplayable so poor old Andy Jenkins had absolutely no chance.

He also went on to win the tournament that same year and you have to wonder how much confidence that first-round display had given him.

You've got to bare in mind the greatest players we've ever seen have had numerous opportunities to break this record over this same short format but they don't really get close. Gary Anderson and Michael van Gerwen have both registered 104 averages in 2013 while Phil Taylor's best was a 103, so it really deserves to be regarded as a truly special record.

Alan Warriner vs. Andy Jenkins - First Round - 2001 PDC World Grand Prix

2. Phil Taylor v John Part (2002 final)

Phil Taylor became the first player to average over 100 in a World Grand Prix final when beating John Part 7-3 and nobody got close to that until Michael van Gerwen just about broke it when defeating Gary Anderson 5-2 in 2016 - but let's not forget that the Power played three more sets than MVG did. In double-start darts, his performance is mind-boggling.

Any average over 100 back then in conventional formats was hard enough, so to do it in this major was hard to comprehend, especially against an opponent like John Part, who had only dropped two sets. Even now there's only been 20 100+ averages in World Grand Prix history and Taylor is responsible for nine of them.

This was a point in Taylor's career when he was very dominant and comfortable being the number one but this was still an incredible display and has to be regarded as one of the finest ever.

WORLD CUP OF GREAT DARTS PERFORMANCES: GROUP E

3. Brendan Dolan makes history with a nine-darter v James Wade (2011 semi-final)

Brendan Dolan hitting the World Grand Prix's first ever nine-darter was only one incredible part of a legendary performance which helped him reach his first ever major final.

He produced his moment of magic quite early in the match and we've seen many examples in the past where it can be counter productive when there's still so much more work to do. It can play with your mind but Dolan's mental strength to stay focused from start to finish during his 5-2 victory is what stands out for me.

Dolan had the pressure of an expectant crowd on his side, especially when he took the lead, as well as coming up against the defending champion at the time, so he handled it brilliantly.

RECORD-BREAKING NINE-DARTER! | Brendan Dolan v James Wade (Double-Start!)

4. Robert Thornton v Michael van Gerwen (2015 final)

Robert Thornton did hit one of the three nine-darters in World Grand Prix during his match with James Wade, who incredibly achieved the feat in the same game as well, but it's his tenacious performance in the 2015 final that has to be included instead.

TWO NINE-DARTERS IN ONE MATCH | Wade and Thornton - 2014 World Grand Prix

As wonderful a player as Thornton was, this has to go down as one of the biggest shocks in a major final when you consider how dominant Michael van Gerwen had become by this time.

MVG was hoovering up titles and looked on course for another only for Thornton to stay focused throughout and dig in to take it right to the wire, before holding his nerve in a deciding set.

Van Gerwen averaged 96 compared to Thornton's 90.79 and fired in 18 maximums but that further goes to show what a special, dogged display this was.

Thornton v Van Gerwen - 2015 World Grand Prix Final Highlights