501 leg of darts and different formats

In a standard version of darts 501 legs, this means that both players or teams start off on 501 and the aim is to get down to a checkout in the least amount of darts possible or simply before your opponent reaches a checkout. There is also another shorter version of a leg in 301 legs, where players/ teams start with a 301 score counting downwards.

Each player throws 3 darts and whatever they score, you subtract this from 501 and the process continues until a player checks out by hitting a double or the bullseye.

In order to reach zero and win the leg, a player must finish on a double (refer to previous post) the double is the outer ring of the numbered segments.

This is where it gets confusing, in every competition except the World Grand Prix, the leg starts with the players throwing normally from 501 and finishing the leg with a double. The World Grand Prix is different, in this tournaments' format players must start with a doubled as well as ending the leg with one.

The minimum amount of darts that can be thrown in order to win a leg of 501 is 9, which is referred to as a 9-Darter or the perfect leg. For hitting a perfect leg, players win additional prize money, however this prize money is shared if another player hits a perfect leg within the span of the tournament. If no other player hits a perfect leg then the prize money goes to the only player to hit the 9 darter. Only two players in PDC history have hits two 9 darters in the same match, these two players are Phil Taylor against James Wade (2010) and Michael Van Gerwen in a qualifying tournament in Wigan (2016). No player has hit 9 darters in consecutive legs, Michael Van Gerwen has come the closest to doing so (CHECK OUT THE VIDEO).

Games can be played in a "best of" format for example the best of 12 legs, which is the format of the Betway Premier League which is the only event where players can draw in the PDC. The player to win the match is the first to reach 7 legs or the match can be drawn 6-6 both players won 6 legs. In any other tournament the format is first to 10 for example, where players can be drawing 9-9 however the game would go into a last leg decider and the next player to win the leg wins the game. In a last leg decider the player to throw first is decided by a pre-match shot for the bullseye. In the contest to decide who will throw first in the match and in the deciding legs, off stage, players have aim to get as close to the bull as possible or hit it. Whichever player hits the bull first will throw first in the first leg and in the deciding leg if the match goes that far. In a game, the players alternate first throw each leg after the first leg.

Within the PDC, the Betvictor World Matchplay and the Coral UK open use the best of format. The PDC pro tour is held over the best of 11 legs.

Other tournaments are played in sets, such as the World Championships and the World Grand Prix. To put this is an example, a match where the format is the best of 5 sets with each set the best of 5 legs. A player would win a set by winning 3 legs within the set, in order to win the match, they must win another 2 sets (6 legs). The first player to reach 3 sets wins, the score line could be a whitewash referring to one player winning the match without the other player scoring a set (3-0) or in a first to 7 format: 7 legs won to zero legs.