What Is a 9 Dart Finish? The Perfect Leg Explained
Darts glory · The nine-darter · Updated 2026-08-04
A 9 dart finish is a leg of 501 won in nine darts - the absolute minimum the arithmetic allows. It is darts' perfect game, the equivalent of a 147 maximum break in snooker or a 300 game in bowling: every dart must do its job, and the last one has to land in a double. Players and commentators call it a nine-darter, and it is rare enough that crowds are on their feet before the seventh dart is thrown.
This guide covers why nine is the mathematical floor, the classic 180, 180, 141 route and its famous alternatives, the landmark firsts from John Lowe to Phil Taylor, and a realistic way to chase your own perfect leg - or the 12-darter elite players treat as their working standard.
What counts as a nine-dart finish
The definition is strict. The leg must start at 501, the standard competitive format, and finish in exactly nine darts, the ninth landing in a double - the thin outer ring, or the inner bull. The inner bull scores 50 and counts as double 25, which matters: one famous route ends on the bull rather than a conventional double. Standard play is straight in, so there is no condition on the first dart; the only gate is at the end.
Nine darts can score at most 530 - eight trebles of 60 plus a 50 bull to finish - so a 501 leg leaves just 29 points of slack across the whole attempt. One dart drifting from the treble 20 into the big single 20 costs 40 points, more than the entire allowance, and the attempt is over on the spot.
Why nine darts is the minimum
The tempting shortcut says eight darts at a maximum of 60 each make 480, short of 501. That reasoning is wrong, because the last dart of a leg cannot be a treble at all - it must be a double. The correct argument runs through the finishing dart:
- The most any single dart can score is 60, the treble 20.
- The final dart must land in a double, and the highest double on the board is the bull, worth 50.
- Eight darts therefore cap at 470: seven trebles of 60 make 420, plus a bull finish of 50. That is 31 short of 501, so an eight-dart leg is mathematically impossible.
- Nine darts cap at 530: eight trebles make 480, plus the bull. That clears 501 with 29 to spare, so nine is the true minimum.
That 29-point margin explains every route. Each legitimate nine-darter is a way of spending the allowance: a treble 19 instead of a treble 20 spends 3, a double 12 finish instead of the bull spends 26. The classic route spends it exactly - seven treble 20s, one treble 19 and a double 12 come to 501 on the nose.
The classic route: 180, 180, 141
By far the most common nine-darter is 180, 180, 141. The first two visits are maximums - six treble 20s - leaving 141 after six darts. The standard 141 combination is treble 20, treble 19, double 12.
| Visit | Darts | Visit score | Remaining |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | T20, T20, T20 | 180 | 321 |
| 2 | T20, T20, T20 | 180 | 141 |
| 3 | T20, T19, D12 | 141 | 0 |
Professionals favour this route because the first eight darts stay on the two beds they groove every day, treble 20 and treble 19, and the leg ends on double 12, an ordinary finishing double with the full width of the ring rather than the small bull.
Alternative routes worth knowing
Any sequence of nine darts totalling 501 with a double at the end qualifies. Two alternatives come up often enough to be recognised on sight.
| Route | Visit 1 | Visit 2 | Visit 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classic | 180 (T20, T20, T20) | 180 (T20, T20, T20) | 141 (T20, T19, D12) |
| All-bull | 167 (T20, T19, Bull) | 167 (T20, T19, Bull) | 167 (T20, T19, Bull) |
| Front-loaded | 180 (T20, T20, T20) | 167 (T20, T19, Bull) | 154 (T20, T18, D20) |
The all-bull route is the purist's version: three identical visits of treble 20, treble 19, bull, each worth 167, with the final bull serving as the finishing double. Beyond the named routes the space opens right up: counted dart by dart there are thousands of dart-by-dart permutations, all sharing the same shape - roughly eight darts at big trebles, then a double.
180s, tons and ton-80s
The building block of every nine-darter is the 180: three treble 20s, the maximum a three-dart visit can score. A single treble 20 is worth 60, the highest single dart on the board. In callers' language any visit of 100 or more is a ton, so a 140 is a ton-40 and the maximum 180 is a ton-80 - the call you hear twice before a classic-route attempt reaches its final visit.
Famous firsts and records
The televised nine-darter has a short, well-documented history, and three names anchor it.
| Milestone | Player | When and where |
|---|---|---|
| First televised nine-darter | John Lowe | 1984, MFI World Matchplay |
| First at the World Championship | Paul Lim | 1990 World Championship |
| Most televised nine-darters | Phil Taylor | 11 in total |
John Lowe's 1984 leg at the MFI World Matchplay made the nine-darter a television event. Paul Lim followed with the first at the World Championship in 1990, and Phil Taylor's 11 televised nine-darters remain the record - a tally that says as much about two decades of dominance as about the feat itself.
How rare is a nine-darter, really?
Run the numbers and the rarity explains itself. A nine-dart leg is played at a three-dart average of 167 - 501 points over nine darts. PDC professionals typically average 95 to 105 in matches, a solid pub or league player sits around 60 to 80, and a beginner around 40. A nine-darter is not a slightly better leg than usual; it is nine consecutive darts at the outer limit of what the scoring allows.
That is why even elite professionals can go entire seasons without throwing one on stage, and why an attempt that survives to the third visit brings an arena to its feet. With only 29 points of slack, one wire, one bounce-out or one dart in a neighbouring bed - the 20 sits between the 5 and the 1 - ends it instantly.
The 12-darter: the elite working standard
Because nine-darters are so rare, the practical benchmark for a world-class leg is the 12-darter: four visits, for example 140, 100, 140 and a 121 checkout of treble 20, single 11, bull. A 12-dart leg works out to a 125.25 three-dart average - higher than the best televised match average ever recorded, Michael van Gerwen's 123.40 against Michael Smith in the 2016 Premier League. Winning legs in 12 darts consistently is elite-standard; the nine sits beyond it as an occasional moment of perfection.
Chasing your own perfect leg
Most players will never throw a nine-darter, and that is fine - chasing one sharpens your whole game, because the chase runs through numbers you can actually move.
- Track your first-9 average: The first-9 average measures your scoring over the opening nine darts of each leg - exactly the window a nine-darter lives in. A nine-darter is, by definition, a perfect first nine, so this number tells you how far away you are.
- Groove treble 20 and treble 19: Eight of the nine darts in the classic route land in these two beds. Practise them in deliberate blocks, and learn to switch to treble 19 without hesitation when your own darts block the 20.
- Memorise 141 and 167: Know treble 20, treble 19, double 12 for the 141 and treble 20, treble 19, bull for the 167 so thoroughly that the final visit is automatic. Working out a combination at the oche is how attempts die as busts.
- Drill your finishing double: The ninth dart is a double under the greatest pressure you will ever feel at a board. Doubles ladders and checkout drills build the habit, and tracking your checkout percentage - doubles hit divided by darts thrown at a double - shows whether the work is landing.
- Count darts per leg: Record how many darts each winning leg takes and celebrate the first 18-darter, then the first 15, then the first 12. Each step down is the nine-darter's skill arriving in instalments.
Chase the nine with Darts Scorer. Darts Scorer & Dart Scoreboard by Panda Taps scores X01 from 301 to 1001 with checkout hints on every finishable score, so the 141 and 167 combinations are on screen the moment they matter. It tracks first-9 average, checkout percentage and darts per leg, with checkout drills and doubles ladders for the ninth dart. Launching soon on iPhone and iPad. Learn more about Darts Scorer & Dart Scoreboard.
Frequently asked questions
What is a 9 dart finish in darts?
It is a leg of 501 completed in nine darts, the minimum the rules allow, with the final dart landing in a double or the bull. The classic route is 180, 180, 141, finishing treble 20, treble 19, double 12.
Why can a 501 leg not be finished in 8 darts?
The last dart must be a double, and the highest double on the board is the bull at 50. Seven trebles of 60 plus the bull make only 470, short of 501, while nine darts can reach up to 530, so nine is the minimum.
Who threw the first televised nine-darter?
John Lowe, in 1984 at the MFI World Matchplay. Paul Lim threw the first at the World Championship in 1990, and Phil Taylor holds the record for televised nine-darters with 11.
What is the all-bull nine-darter?
Three identical visits of 167, each scored treble 20, treble 19, bull. It works because the inner bull scores 50 and counts as double 25, making the final bull a valid finishing double.