1996 WDC World Darts Championship
# 1996 WDC World Darts Championship

The 1996 Vernons World Darts Championship was the third year that the Professional Darts Corporation (then known as the World Darts Council) held their own World Championships following an acrimonious split from the British Darts Organisation during 1992/93. The tournament had its third sponsor in as many years, with Vernons taking over from Proton Cars. The tournament was held at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet between 26 December 1995 and 1 January 1996.

Although he had not officially announced his retirement, Jocky Wilson had played his last televised competitive darts match at the World Matchplay in Blackpool in the summer of 1995, and had walked away from darts suddenly on 23 December 1995, so didn't appear at the 1996 World Championship, with Phil Taylor and Dennis Priestley both making an appeal after their 1996 World Championship final for Jocky and Malvina (Jocky's wife) to return. Nigel Justice and Steve Raw were the two English players making their WDC World Championship debuts.

Phil Taylor defeated Dennis Priestley 6–4 in the final, with Taylor gaining revenge for his 1994 final defeat against Priestley. It was Taylor's fourth overall World Championship victory.

## Seeds

* Phil Taylor
* Rod Harrington
* Dennis Priestley
* John Lowe
* Peter Evison
* Alan Warriner
* Bob Anderson
* Kevin Spiolek

## Prize money

The prize fund was £62,500.

| Position (num. of players) | Position (num. of players) | Prize money (Total: £62,500) |
| - | - | - |
| Winner | (1) | £14,000 |
| Runner-Up | (1) | £7,000 |
| Semi-finalists | (2) | £4,000 |
| Quarter-finalists | (4) | £2,500 |
| Group stage runners-up | (8) | £1,500 |
| Group stage 3rd place | (8) | £1,250 |
| Highest finish bonus | (1) | £1,500 |

## Results

### Knockout stages

| Quarter-finals (best of 7 sets) 29 December | Quarter-finals (best of 7 sets) 29 December | Quarter-finals (best of 7 sets) 29 December | Semi-finals (best of 9 sets) 30 December | Semi-finals (best of 9 sets) 30 December | Semi-finals (best of 9 sets) 30 December | Final (best of 11 sets) 1 January | Final (best of 11 sets) 1 January | Final (best of 11 sets) 1 January |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| A1 | Phil Taylor (1) 96.01 | 4 | | | | | | |
| B1 | Keith Deller 78.77 | 0 | | | | | | |
| B1 | Keith Deller 78.77 | 0 | A1 | Phil Taylor (1) 94.84 | 5 | | | |
| | | | D1 | John Lowe (4) 83.78 | 1 | | | |
| C1 | Peter Evison (5) 82.78 | 2 | D1 | John Lowe (4) 83.78 | 1 | | | |
| D1 | John Lowe (4) 85.33 | 4 | | | | | | |
| D1 | John Lowe (4) 85.33 | 4 | | | | A1 | Phil Taylor (1) 98.52 | 6 |
| | | | | | | H1 | Dennis Priestley (3) 101.48 | 4 |
| E1 | Larry Butler 81.93 | 0 | | | | | | | H1 | Dennis Priestley (3) 101.48 | 4 |
| F1 | Jamie Harvey 90.55 | 4 | | | | | | |
| F1 | Jamie Harvey 90.55 | 4 | F1 | Jamie Harvey 85.13 | 1 | | | |
| | | | H1 | Dennis Priestley (3) 90.38 | 5 | | | |
| G1 | Alan Warriner (6) 89.99 | 1 | H1 | Dennis Priestley (3) 90.38 | 5 | | | |
| H1 | Dennis Priestley (3) 90.56 | 4 | | | | | | |
