Sets and legs, explained.
In darts a leg is one game of 501, won by the first player to reach exactly zero with a double. A set is first to three legs. The PDC World Championship, the World Grand Prix and the World Masters are played in sets; the other PDC majors are straight legs.
What is a leg?
- Both players start on 501 and take turns of three darts, called visits.
- Every dart scores its value and comes off the total. The first to reach exactly zero wins the leg, and the last dart has to be a double or the bullseye.
- Score more than you have left, or leave yourself on 1, and the whole visit counts for nothing. That is a bust.
- The checkout chart has the standard finish for every score from 2 to 170.
What is a set?
A set is a best of five legs: the first player to win three takes it. The match is then won in sets, so a World Championship final is first to seven sets. Set play is kinder to a player who has a bad spell. Losing three legs in a row costs one set rather than the match, so favourites have more room to recover than in straight-leg events.
Which majors use sets and which use legs
World Championship: how long each round can run
| Round | Best of | First to | Fewest legs | Most legs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | 5 sets | 3 | 9 | 31 |
| Second round | 5 sets | 3 | 9 | 31 |
| Third round | 7 sets | 4 | 12 | 41 |
| Fourth round | 7 sets | 4 | 12 | 41 |
| Quarter-finals | 9 sets | 5 | 15 | 51 |
| Semi-finals | 11 sets | 6 | 18 | 61 |
| Final | 13 sets | 7 | 21 | 71 |
The deciding-set tie-break
If a World Championship match reaches its final set and that set gets to 2-2, the normal first-to-three rule stops. From there a player has to win by two clear legs. If it is still level at 5-5, one sudden-death leg decides the match, and nobody throws for the bull to decide who starts it. The "most legs" column above allows for that.
World Grand Prix 2026: the rounds
Also played in sets, each a best of five legs, but with a double start: a player has to hit a double before scoring in every leg.
| Round | Best of | First to | Fewest legs |
|---|---|---|---|
| First round | 3 sets | 2 | 6 |
| Second round | 5 sets | 3 | 9 |
| Quarter-finals | 5 sets | 3 | 9 |
| Semi-finals | 9 sets | 5 | 15 |
| Final | 11 sets | 6 | 18 |
The 2026 Grand Prix bracket and results update as each match finishes.
Straight-leg events
Everything else is a race to a number of legs, first to 11 or first to 18, for example, with the matches getting longer in each round. The World Matchplay adds its own twist: you must win by two clear legs, and if nobody has a two-leg lead after six extra legs, it goes to a sudden-death leg. Each tournament page has the round-by-round format.
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