The 2019 William Hill World Darts Championship was the 26th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The event took place at Alexandra Palace in London from 13 December 2018 to 1 January 2019.
In the biggest overhaul since 2006, when 16 extra participants were added, the number of participants increased from 72 to 96. The top 32 from the PDC Order of Merit competed with the 32 highest ranked players on the PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit and 32 qualifiers from around the world, including two female darts players. The tournament length was consequently increased from six to seven rounds, while the preliminary round was dropped. The tournament was played in 28 afternoon and evening sessions (an increase of six sessions over 2018) over the 20-day period with four rest days included for both Christmas and also New Year's Eve, with 95 matches played.
Rob Cross was the defending champion, but lost 4–2 to Luke Humphries in the fourth round. Michael van Gerwen won his third world title with a 7–3 victory over Michael Smith.
It was the first PDC World Championship without retired Phil Taylor, and the first time Taylor had not played in either World Championship since 1989. 2004 runner-up Kevin Painter was also a notable absentee, failing to qualify for the first time since 1997, when he was a BDO player.
Prize money
The prize money for the tournament was £2,500,000 in total, £700,000 more than 2018. The winner's prize money was £500,000, adding £100,000 to the previous year's winners share.
Qualification
Qualifiers
Order of MeritSecond round (seeded) Michael van Gerwen (champion) Rob Cross (fourth round) Peter Wright (second round) Gary Anderson (semi-finals) Daryl Gurney (third round) Gerwyn Price (second round) Mensur Suljović (second round) Simon Whitlock (second round) James Wade (fourth round) Michael Smith (runner-up) Ian White (second round) Dave Chisnall (quarter-finals) Darren Webster (second round) Joe Cullen (second round) Jonny Clayton (second round) Adrian Lewis (fourth round) Raymond van Barneveld (second round) Stephen Bunting (second round) Mervyn King (third round) Steve Beaton (second round) Kim Huybrechts (third round) Steve West (third round) John Henderson (third round) Jelle Klaasen (second round) Alan Norris (third round) James Wilson (second round) Kyle Anderson (third round) Jamie Lewis (fourth round) Jermaine Wattimena (third round) Benito van de Pas (fourth round) Cristo Reyes (third round) Max Hopp (third round)
Pro TourFirst Round
Danny Noppert (second round) Krzysztof Ratajski (first round) Ricky Evans (first round) Jeffrey de Zwaan (second round) Steve Lennon (second round) Chris Dobey (fourth round) Martin Schindler (first round) Josh Payne (second round) Gabriel Clemens (second round) Ryan Joyce (quarter-finals) Richard North (second round) Keegan Brown (third round) Mickey Mansell (first round) Robert Thornton (first round) Jan Dekker (second round) Nathan Aspinall (semi-finals) Ron Meulenkamp (second round) Brendan Dolan (quarter-finals) William O'Connor (third round) Vincent van der Voort (third round) Michael Barnard (second round) Toni Alcinas (third round) Paul Nicholson (first round) Simon Stevenson (first round) Luke Humphries (quarter-finals) Jeffrey de Graaf (first round) Dimitri Van den Bergh (third round) Alan Tabern (second round) Wayne Jones (first round) Ross Smith (second round) Ryan Searle (fourth round) Matthew Edgar (first round)