To outsiders, darts can look harmless enough — a few heavy-set blokes lobbing sharp points at a board.
Step inside the arena, though, and it’s a different beast entirely.
Players stand inches apart, celebrate right in each other’s faces, and perform under the roar of thousands of boozy fans who cheer one moment and heckle the next.
Add the fact that the same names collide week after week on tour, and it’s no wonder tempers flare.
Over the years, darts has quietly produced rivalries every bit as nasty, funny and personal as anything in boxing or football.
When a Mentor Becomes the Man to Beat
Phil Taylor’s place in darts folklore is secure: 16 world titles and decades of dominance make him untouchable.
But Taylor didn’t just rule the sport — he helped shape it, mentoring young talents along the way.
One of them was fellow Stoke native Adrian Lewis.
Lewis’s parents asked Taylor to take him under his wing, and for a time it worked beautifully.
Taylor treated him like family. The problem came when Lewis stopped being the apprentice and started winning the biggest prizes himself.
Lewis’s 2011 World Championship win should have been a fairytale moment. Taylor even cheered him on.
But Lewis’s post-match comments, insisting he wasn’t anyone’s protégé and downplaying Taylor’s influence, landed badly.
Taylor later admitted he felt insulted and cut Lewis off for weeks, also pointing out that Lewis had conveniently forgotten to mention living in one of his properties at reduced rent.
They faced each other 72 times, Taylor winning most of them.
The bond was bruised, but never completely broken. Respect, if not warmth, survived.
The Rivalry That Defined a Generation
If darts had a headline act, it was Phil Taylor versus Raymond van Barneveld.
For years, they shared the summit of the sport, and every meeting felt seismic.
Barneveld once marched out for a World Championship final waving a Dutch flag, a move Taylor later described as a spectacular miscalculation.
The crowd turned instantly, and Taylor rode the hostility to yet another world title.
Their most infamous clash came in the 2012 World Championship semi-final.
Taylor won 6-4, but the post-match handshake stole the spotlight.
Van Barneveld wouldn’t let go, pulling Taylor into what felt less like a hug and more like a headlock.
Cameras caught Taylor snapping and swearing. He later apologised, admitting regret.
Despite the flashpoints, this rivalry elevated darts.
Barneveld’s 2007 victory over Taylor cracked the Power’s stranglehold and gave the sport a narrative it desperately needed.
Taylor has since retired; Barneveld is still grinding away.
Crafty Cockney Versus Old Stoneface
Wind the clock back to the 1980s and you’ll find another classic feud: Eric Bristow against John Lowe.
Bristow was the king of the era, but Lowe was his perfect foil.
They couldn’t have been more different. Bristow, “The Crafty Cockney,” played fast, loud and loved a bit of gamesmanship.
Lowe, nicknamed “Old Stoneface,” was calm, methodical and utterly unmoved by theatrics.
Their rivalry peaked with Lowe’s stunning comeback from 6-0 down to win 7-6, before finally beating Bristow in the 1987 World Championship final.
Along the way came one of darts’ great anecdotes: Lowe’s historic televised nine-darter in 1984, worth £102,000.
Just a week earlier, Bristow had ended their prize-money sharing deal.
That decision cost him £51,000 — and Lowe still laughs about the irony to this day.
When Gerwyn Price Lit the Fuse
Gerwyn Price doesn’t do subtle, and his most combustible rivalry was with Gary Anderson.
It all kicked off at the 2018 Grand Slam of Darts final, when Price clawed back from 11-8 down to win his first major title.
Anderson hated Price’s celebrations and accused him of slowing the game deliberately.
Price was fined £12,000 and handed a suspended ban, but the resentment lingered.
Two years later, after Price beat Anderson in the World Championship final, Anderson didn’t even offer congratulations. The silence spoke volumes.
Adrian Lewis and His Never-Ending Arguments
If darts had a magnet for controversy, Adrian Lewis might be it.
His blow-up with Peter Manley in 2006 became infamous.
Manley’s muttering and subtle antics got under Lewis’s skin, leading to an on-stage argument and Lewis storming off mid-match.
Both were fined. Manley walked away £50,000 richer and largely unbothered.
Then came the floorboard saga. In 2012, James Wade accused Lewis of distracting him, prompting Lewis to stomp around the stage, point furiously at the carpet and physically drag the referee over to inspect a rogue board.
The theme repeated itself in 2021 against Peter Wright. Another loose floorboard.
Another accusation. Lewis claimed Wright deliberately disrupted his rhythm and didn’t hold back in his assessment.
When critics pointed out Lewis seemed to be at the centre of every storm, he shrugged it off.
Trouble follows him, he said, because he’s honest, emotional and refuses to stay quiet.
Why Darts Drama Never Really Ends
Darts thrives on proximity, pressure and personality.
These players can’t escape each other, and when pride, prize money and packed arenas collide, sparks are inevitable.
From frosty handshakes to full-blown rows, the sport’s rivalries have become part of its charm — messy, petty and utterly unforgettable.
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