For one night only, they formed a dream team that made Hamlet, Macbeth and Othello look like the poor relations of West End theatre.
Some of them were born great, some achieved greatness, others had greatness thrust upon them – but they could all hit a double or bullseye when a world title was on the line.
From Dennis Priestley to Michael Smith, every Professional Darts Corporation world champion of the last 30 years convened in London's Leicester Square for a unique chat show.
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Among the Oche Dream Team was two-time champ Adrian Lewis, who admitted he was considering a comeback in 2024 after taking an extended break from darts for personal reasons.
'Jackpot' Lewis has lived a charmed life at Ally Pally, including a break for gusts of wind across the stage when he trailed James Wade 5-1 in a semi-final 11 years ago and being stung by a wasp on his way to the title 12 months earlier.
Compere Dan Dawson reminded him: “You nearly had a gun pulled on you by Royal protection officers when you kissed Prince Harry.”
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Lewis laughed: “I'd just got into my first final, I come off the stage, Prince Harry comes up to me, puts his arms round and, as people have seen loads of times, I kiss people.
“On this occasion it was Prince Harry. Then the shock hit me. Oh my God. I have just kissed Prince Harry, his security people were looking at me and I am thinking, ‘Oh s***, here we go.’ But there you go…”
A word to the wise, Jackpot: Don't tell Meghan.
It was probably the best XI put together in London since Sir Alf Ramsey's boys of 1966 won the World Cup. And it's unlikely it will ever happen again.
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In the inaugural breakaway tournament at the Circus Tavern in 1994, Priestley and runner-up Phil Taylor shared their combined £24,000 prize money even though Dennis the Menace won 6-1.
The winner of this year's PDC World Championship at Alexandra Palace will pocket £500,000 – and the day cannot be far off when the champion's payday hits £1 million.
Just as he dominated the oche by winning 16 world titles, Taylor was not just front and centre stage at the PDC's Night with the Champions. At times, nobody else could get a word in edgeways.
The 'Power' recalled how organisers were concerned by thin ticket sales for that first final in 1994, and he was asked to round up a coachload of regulars at his pub in Stoke-on-Trent, The Cricketers, and bus them down to Purfleet to make the crowd look busier.
He teased Van Gerwen about his missed darts to knock Taylor out at Ally Pally as a teenager in 2008, and how MVG never beat him at the World Championship.
Van Gerwen replied: “Yeah, but Phil has always been scared of me. He doesn’t want to tell anyone. Every interview they ask him, 'What is your favourite meal?' Yeah, Michael, Michael, Michael. 'Phil, where did you go on holiday?' Yeah, Michael, Michael, Michael. Always.
“Deep inside his heart, he knows I was the one who made it really difficult for him in loads of games. I did it in loads of tournaments but never at the world championships and that is something I cannot do anymore. He’s so lucky I wasn’t born earlier!”
Taylor, now 63, is retiring from all competitive darts next year “unless prize money at the World Championship goes up to £1 million – then I'll be back like a shot.”
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But he gave a revealing insight into the driven winner whose remarkable longevity at the top paves the way for today's players to become multi-millionaires like him.
The Power said: “I paid myself £200 a week wages so I was always skint, always on the breadline. I could have had £1m, £2m, £3m in the bank, but a hungry lion will fight harder than a lion that hasn't eaten.
“You have got to keep yourself hungry. I had 30 houses, I was worth millions, but in my opinion that basic wage was all I was worth.”
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