Nine-dart Finish - Methods of Achievement

Methods of Achievement

See also: Darts#Scoring and Darts#Playing darts

A single game (known as a leg) of darts requires a player to score 501 points, ending with either the bullseye or a double. Each shot consists of three darts, making 180 the maximum score of any shot. As a result of these rules, nine throws is the minimum necessary to win. Although other combinations are possible, the traditional way of completing in nine throws requires a score of 60 (treble 20) with each of the first six darts, that is, with the first two shots of three. This leaves 141 to score on the final shot, known as the outshot.

This outshot is traditionally performed in one of three ways:

  • treble 20 (60), treble 19 (57) and double 12 (24)
  • treble 18 (54), treble 17 (51) and double 18 (36)
  • treble 20 (60), treble 15 (45) and double 18 (36)

There are two ways to perform the 141 outshot with a bullseye finish:

  • treble 17 (51), double 20 (40), and bullseye (50)
  • treble 19 (57), double 17 (34), and bullseye (50)

Also possible are:

  • treble 20 (60), treble 17 (51) and double 15 (30)
  • treble 19 (57), treble 18 (54) and double 15 (30)
  • treble 19 (57), treble 16 (48) and double 18 (36).

Another way is to score 167 with each set of three darts, scoring a perfect 501 total, in the following way:

  • treble 20 (60), treble 19 (57) and bullseye (50)

This eliminates the chance of any dart being deflected by an already thrown dart into the wrong scoring area by throwing each dart at a different location on the board. It is only usually seen in exhibition matches as, in tournaments, players are inclined to aim for the triple 20, only switching to the triple 19 for a cover shot.

Arguably the most difficult nine dart finish would be 180 (3xT20), 171 (3xT19), and 150 (3xBULL) – owing to the difficulty of getting all three darts in the bullseye: it is the smallest double on the board.

A nine dart finish is also attainable in games which require a double to commence scoring, though the scoring patterns seen are typically different. In such games, throwing for double 20 first can lead to a maximum score of 160 with the first throw, leaving the thrower commonly requiring 180 then 161 (T20,T17,BULL) in their remaining six darts, though other outcomes are possible. It is worth noting that in these games, only throwing for double 20, double 17, or bullseye to start the leg can result in a nine dart finish.

Another, sometimes overlooked method of achieving a 9 darter is 180 (3xT20) 151 (T20,D20,T17 / T18,T19,D20 / T20,T19,D17 or BULL,BULL,T17) all of which leave 170, the top finish possible in Darts achieved by T20,T20,BULL.

The total number of different ways of achieving 501 with 9 darts is 3944, of which 2296 finish with the BULL, 672 end on D20, 792 on D18, 56 end with D17, 120 finish on D15, and 8 end with D12.

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