PDC世界錦標賽

A match between Mensur Suljović and Kevin Painter at the 2010 championship

In 1992, some high-profile players, including all previous winners of the BDO World Darts Championship still active in the game, formed the WDC, and in 1994, held their first World Championship. Dennis Priestley won the inaugural competition.

The players who broke away were taking a significant gamble – the tournament was broadcast on satellite television rather than terrestrial, and from 1994 to 2001, the prize fund for the players in the WDC/PDC World Championship was lower than the prize fund in the BDO version, although the 1997 PDC World Champion received £45,000 compared to that year's BDO World Champion receiving £38,000. In 2002, the PDC prize fund overtook that of the BDO for the first time, and the PDC event now boasts the largest prize fund of any darts competition. In 2010, the prize fund reached £1 million for the first time, with the champion collecting £200,000.

The 2014 and 2015 PDC world champions collected £250,000 for their wins. For the next three years, the winner's share increased by £50,000 each year culminating in a 2018 prize fund of £1.8 million. The prize fund for the tournament was £2.5 million with £500,000 to the winner from 2019. The 2025/26 World Championship will see the field expand to 128 players with the prize fund increasing to £5 million with a record £1 million to the champion.

In the 2001 PDC World Darts Championship Gayl King became the first woman to play in the PDC World Darts Championship. Since then Anastasia Dobromyslova, Deta Hedman, Lisa Ashton, Fallon Sherrock, Mikuru Suzuki, Beau Greaves and Noa-Lynn van Leuven have all played in the PDC World Darts Championship. In the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship Sherrock became the first woman to defeat a man in the PDC World Darts Championship, when she defeated Ted Evetts. In the next round she also defeated Mensur Suljovic before losing to Chris Dobey. Sherrock remains the only woman to defeat a man in the PDC World Darts Championship.