170 Finish

What is 170 Finish?

A 170 finish is the highest possible number a darts player can win a leg of darts with in the commonly used format of 501.

In professional darts, a player can only win a leg by throwing a double number or bullseye with their last dart. Each player has three darts per turn and the aim is to see who can chalk off 501 points the quickest while alternating turns.

170 is the highest number a player can finish on and comprises two treble 20s (60 + 60) and the bullseye to total 170.

A 170 finish is also known as a 170 checkout, Maximum checkout, or Big Fish and is the hardest finish to make in a game of darts.

How is a 170 Finish used in Sports Betting?

Due to the difficulty of players landing a 170 finish, many will attempt to set themselves up with an easier finish.

Double 20 is deemed the easiest way to finish as it is directly at the top of the board and when players are on a nine-dart finish (the lowest number of darts it is possible to win a leg of 501 darts with), the checkout total is 141 and not 170.

However, nine-dart finishes are extremely rare with 170 checkouts a much more common occurrence.

It is because of this that some sportsbooks will run an over/under market on the number of 170 checkouts either in a single game, day’s play or entire tournament.

Checking a player’s average score per turn is a good tip in order to give yourself of winning a 170-finish bet as those with the higher average scores will get to a possible checkout quicker.

Did you know…

From August 2017 to the end of July 2018, the now retired Phil Taylor boasted the highest checkout percentage on the professional’s darts circuit for a player with a minimum 100 throws.

Taylor’s checkout rate of 45.53% was 0.99% better than Dutchman Michael Van Gerwen.

See also

Colour of Checkout (Darts)

First 180

First Leg 180

Next Leg 180

Player to Record Most 180s