Every darts star has their own equipment. Whether it’s Luke Littler, Gary Anderson, or van Gerwen, the darts are precisely tailored to the player’s preferences.
Football star Cristiano Ronaldo has his own shoe, tennis legend Roger Federer had his own developed racket until the end of his career, and of course, darts professionals have their own “tools” as well.
But what preferences do the stars have, how heavy are the projectiles, and what material are they made of?
SPORT1 explains which equipment “The Machine”, MvG, and Co. have at the PDC World Darts Championship (from December 11th LIVE on SPORT1 ).
How the equipment is structured:
SPORT1 has the basic information about the structure of a dart:
There are strict regulations for the darts in the professional league. The entire dart may not exceed a length of 30.5 centimeters. There are also specifications for the weight.
With Tungsten and Nickel for great sport
No projectile may weigh more than 50 grams – most darts are made of a nickel-tungsten alloy.
At the front end of the dart is the tip, also called steeltip, as it is made of stainless steel. The tip is attached to the so-called barrel. That’s where the player holds the dart.
Steel darts as a requirement
After a small rubber ring follows the shaft, which is usually made of nylon or aluminum. The flight is in this. The flight ensures that the sports equipment can fly at all in order to overcome the distance to the dartboard in the desired manner of flight.
On most flights the logos or names of the pros can be seen.
High individual price
Professional players all use steel darts, which are provided with a metal tip. Without this tip, also called tip or point, they would not stick in the dartboard.
The price of the original tournament darts varies between the models. Good darts start at around 80 euros, but can also be well over 100 euros, depending on the model.
Luke Littler:
The shooting star and titleholder at the Darts World Championship is under contract with industry giant Target and now has his own collection. He co-developed the Luke Littler Gen1 Darts himself. They weigh 23 grams.
They are made of 90 percent tungsten, the front part of the barrels should allow a good grip, the rear part is much slimmer. As a flight “The Nuke” uses the so-called Shape or Number 6 Flight. The difference to standard flights is the slightly curved sides. This makes the darts fly faster and changes the position of how the darts stick in the board.
Michael van Gerwen:
The three-time world champion competed for years with darts from XQMax Darts. The right-hander preferred the 23-gram model. In contrast to numerous other players, MVG throws darts with a narrow shaft.
In 2020, MvG switched to industry leader Winmau – and with it his darts. The new darts were modeled on the old ones, there were no noticeable differences.
However, “Mighty Mike” could not build on his old achievements with the darts and pulled the emergency brake after the premature end in the Premier League 2020.
Meanwhile, he goes to the oche with Winmau Exakt darts, which weigh 21.5 grams.
Michael Smith:
Michael Smith secured his first title at the Darts World Championship 2023. At the World Championship he still played with darts from his long-time partner Unicorn. Despite the shared success story, Smith changed his outfitter in the summer of 2023.
Currently he trusts darts of the brand Shots – more precisely on Achieve Steel Tip, which weigh 24 grams.
Transverse grooves run over the entire barrel, which guarantee perfect control over the dart during the throw. The flights are in Smith’s colors red and black and bear his name.
Gary Anderson:
The two-time PDC world champion also values thin darts, but with 26 grams he opted for somewhat heavier darts for a long time. Meanwhile, the Scottish darts player trusts the somewhat lighter model. His Unicorn Maestro Phase 3 now only come to 23 grams.
A small detail is particularly noticeable: At the front end of the Anderson torpedoes flashes a small, round, blue circle – the typical trademark of the equipment.
James Wade:
“The Machine” plays darts like the Scotsman from Unicorn, but prefers the “Unicorn James Wade”. At 20 grams, they are even a bit lighter than the darts from MvG or Anderson.
Gerwyn Price:
The enfant terrible of the darts scene relies on darts of the brand Red Dragon. His 23-gram darts have a central focus and a round front profile.
The grip surface goes over the entire front part of the darts and allows an aggressive throwing style – perfect for the “Iceman”.
Peter Wright:
The exotic bird among the darts stars also takes a special role in the choice of his darts.
In contrast to his competitors, “Snakebite” changes his darts again and again – sometimes even daily or several times during a match. However, the world champion always remains true to the brand Red Dragon. When weighing he varies between 20 and 26 grams.
Rob Cross:
“The Voltage” rose like a comet into the world’s top with his World Cup title in 2018. The Special Edition Target Voltage Rob Cross 21g turned out to be the darts of his choice. This was developed according to his specifications and reflect his preference for shorter darts.
Daryl Gurney:
“Superchin” relies on 24-gram Winmau darts, which also bear his name in his competitions.
Also with him, the focus is central and is rounded off by a conical end profile.
Martin Schindler:
The Strausberger has been one of the hottest irons in the fire of German darts for years. But he only made his breakthrough in 2022, when he advanced into the top 32 in the world with consistently strong performances.
The German relies on darts of the brand “DPULS” with a weight of 23 grams.
Gabriel Clemens:
The first World Cup semi-finalist in the darts history from Germany competes with darts of the brand Target at the oche.
The design was specified by the grip style of the “German Giant”. The conical shape with fine transverse grooves in the front area is supplemented by coarser grooves at the end of the barrel and precise nano-grip technology. His darts come to 23 grams.
Phil Taylor:
Even if he no longer participates in world championships, he is still the living legend of darts: Phil “The Power” Taylor. The 16-time world champion of the PDC, who has now also announced his retirement from the Senior Tour, of course has personalized darts adapted to his game – the “180” with the darts model “Target Power 9Five 95%” of the brand Target.
They weigh 26 grams, the barrels consist of 95% Tungsten. The focus of the darts is far forward on the dart – apparently a tried and tested means to win so many World Cup titles.
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