Max stats - Will the 180 record be broken?

Peter Wright (Lawrence Lustig, PDC)

The PDC's statistical analyst Christopher Kempf takes a look at the likelihood of the record for the most 180s to be hit during the William Hill World Championship being broken. 

Ahead of the semi-finals, 83 more maximums are needed to surpass last year's record of 880, and it will be a close call for the last four to produce that many in the space of only three matches - especially if any players record a handsome victory.

The record is statistically projected to be more likely to be broken if Peter Wright, who has recorded more than one maximum for every three legs thrown, meets Nathan Aspinall in the final.

The 2019 UK Open Champion's 35 180s in 112 legs works out to the second-highest rate per leg.

So why can we not expect Michael van Gerwen or Gerwyn Price to be of more help in breaking the record?

The pair's readiness to switch to treble 19 lowers their rates of hitting 180s, even (and perhaps especially) when they are playing well.

Everything depends on the length of the matches - a 50-leg thriller is of course more likely to produce more 180s than a 25-leg blowout.

With 110 to 120 legs likely, on average, to be played on the final two days of the tournament, the players will need to surpass both their 2019 and their World Championship tournament rates to date to rack up 83 or more 180s out of the three remaining matches.

William Hill World Championship 
180s per semi-finalist

Peter Wright - 41  (0.34 per leg)
Nathan Aspinall - 35  (0.31)
Michael van Gerwen - 24  (0.29)
Gerwyn Price - 21  (0.24)