Editing Nine-dart finish (section)

<span class="plainlinks"></span>{{short description|Perfect leg in the sport of darts}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
[[File:Dartboard_diagram.svg|thumb|300px|Standard dartboard]]
A '''nine-dart finish''', also known as a '''nine-darter''', is a '''perfect leg''' or single game in the sport of [[darts]]. The object of the game is to score  a set number of points, most commonly 501; in order to win, a player must reach the target total exactly and hit a double scoring area with their last dart. 

When the target is 501, the minimum number of darts needed to reach it is nine. For example, one way to achieve a nine-dart finish is to score 60 (treble 20) on each of the first seven throws, then a 57 (treble 19) on the eighth, and lastly a 24 (double 12) on the ninth. It is regarded as an extremely difficult feat to achieve—even for the sport's top players—and is considered the highest single-game achievement in the sport, similar to a [[Maximum break|maximum 147 break]] in [[snooker]] or a [[Perfect game (bowling)|300-point game]] in [[bowling]].

The feat was first achieved on television by [[John Lowe (darts player)|John Lowe]] in 1984, and it has since been accomplished in televised matches a total of 96 times. [[Paul Lim]] was the first to hit a nine-darter in the [[World Professional Darts Championship|World Championship]], making history during the [[1990 BDO World Darts Championship]] in a second-round victory over [[Jack McKenna]]. [[Phil Taylor (darts player)|Phil Taylor]] has achieved the most on television, with 11, his first coming in 2002 and his last in 2015. Taylor is the only player to achieve two nine-darters in the same match, doing so in the final of the [[2010 Premier League Darts|2010 Premier League]] against [[James Wade]]. The following year, [[Brendan Dolan]] became the first to accomplish a nine-darter by starting and finishing with a double, as per the format of the [[World Grand Prix (darts)|World Grand Prix]] event of [[2011 World Grand Prix (darts)|that year]].

[[Adrian Lewis]] was the first player to hit a nine-darter in a World Championship final, doing so during the [[2011 PDC World Darts Championship]] final against [[Gary Anderson (darts player)|Gary Anderson]]. Twelve years later, [[Michael Smith (darts player)|Michael Smith]] repeated the feat in the [[2023 PDC World Darts Championship]] final against [[Michael van Gerwen]]. In 2013, [[Terry Jenkins]] and [[Kyle Anderson (darts player)|Kyle Anderson]] were the first players to hit a nine-darter on the same day, doing so on the second day of the [[2014 PDC World Darts Championship]]. Wade and [[Robert Thornton (darts player)|Robert Thornton]] were the first players to both achieve a perfect leg in the same match, doing so during the [[2014 World Grand Prix (darts)|2014 World Grand Prix]]. In 2023, [[Fallon Sherrock]] became the first woman to achieve the feat on television.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fallon Sherrock makes more history with televised nine-dart finish |url=https://www.skysports.com/darts/news/12288/12947619/fallon-sherrock-makes-more-history-with-televised-nine-dart-finish |access-date=13 November 2023 |work=[[Sky Sports]] |date=26 August 2023 |language=en}}</ref> At the [[2024 Bahrain Darts Masters]], [[Luke Littler]] became the youngest player to hit a televised nine-darter, accomplishing the feat two days before his 17th birthday.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 January 2024 |title=Luke Luke Littler hits incredible nine-darter in Bahrain Darts Masters before booking spot in final |url=https://www.skysports.com/darts/news/12040/13051689/luke-littler-hits-incredible-nine-darter-in-bahrain-darts-masters-quarter-finals-opening-leg |access-date=19 January 2024 |website=Sky Sports |language=en}}</ref>