Krzysztof Ratajski

Krzysztof Ratajski (Polish pronunciation: Template:IPAc-pl; born 1 January 1977) is a Polish professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He previously participated in British Darts Organisation (BDO) tournaments; his biggest achievement in the BDO was winning the 2017 World Masters. In the PDC, Ratajski has won eleven ranking titles on the PDC Pro Tour; including two PDC European Tours. He reached the semi-finals at the 2021 World Matchplay. He is a one-time world championship quarter-finalist, reaching the last eight at the 2021 PDC World Championship.

Nicknamed "the Polish Eagle", Ratajski is regarded as the best Polish player in the sport's history. He has represented Poland at the PDC World Cup of Darts 11 times; in 2010, 2013, and then every year from 2016 onwards. At the 2023 World Cup, Ratajski and his teammate Krzysztof Kciuk set the world record for highest pairs three-dart average, with a 118.10 average against Lithuania.

Career

Ratajski's first major run came in the 2007 Czech Open where he reached the semi-finals. He gained notable wins over Joey ten Berge and local player Marek Polak, eventually losing to Patrick Loos who won the tournament. He then went on to win the 2008 Denmark Open, defeating Hungary's Nándor Bezzeg, Finland's Marko Kantele and Belgian Geert De Vos en route to the final where he beat Fabian Roosenbrand.

On 4 December 2008 Ratajski qualified for the 2009 BDO World Darts Championship, earning one of five spots available. He earned notable wins over former qualifier Ian Jones and Mike Veitch before beating Robbie Green to qualify, becoming the first Polish player to qualify for either world championship. The next day, Ratajski took part in the 2008 Winmau World Masters, but lost in the very first round to Denmark's Stig Jorgensen. Ratajski then lost in the first round of the 2009 World Championship to Edwin Max.

Ratajski represented Poland in the inaugural PDC World Cup of darts in partnership with Krzysztof Kciuk. They lost 2–6 in the first round to New Zealand, who were represented by Phillip Hazel and Warren Parry. He did not feature in the tournament again until 2013, once more with Kciuk, and they progressed to the last 16 by finishing second in Group E thanks to beating Gibraltar 5–2. They played the host nation Germany, who were represented by Jyhan Artut and Andree Welge, and were defeated 5–2.

He lost in the semi-finals of the 2015 Polish Open 5–2 to Scott Waites. Ratajski made his PDC European Tour debut at the 2015 European Darts Trophy and was edged out 6–5 by Adam Hunt in the first round. He was knocked out 3–2 by Martin Adams in the last 16 of the World Masters.

Ratajski played in the BDO World Trophy for the first time in 2016 and lost 6–4 to Scott Waites. He teamed up with Mariusz Paul at the 2016 PDC World Cup of Darts and they were defeated 5–1 by Belgium in the opening round. He qualified for the International Darts Open and was eliminated 6–1 by Chris Dobey in the first round.

Ratajski qualified for the 2017 BDO World Darts Championship. He earned his first two wins at the event, including a 3–0 victory over Wesley Harms, before narrowly losing to Darius Labanauskas in the last 16. At the 2017 World Cup, Ratajski and Tytus Kanik lost 5–3 in the first round to the Irish team of Mick McGowan and William O'Connor.

At the 2017 World Masters, Ratajski was unseeded and had to start from the first round. He defeated two-time reigning champion Glen Durrant in the quarter-finals, Scotland's Cameron Menzies in the semi-final, and world number one Mark McGeeney 6–1 in the final for his first televised major title. In doing so, Ratajski also guaranteed qualification for the 2018 BDO World Darts Championship, but declined his invitation in favour of an attempt to qualify for the rival 2018 PDC World Darts Championship. He qualified for the latter as the top ranked Eastern European on the PDC Pro Tour.

Ratajski competed in his first PDC premier event as a singles player at the 2017 European Championship. He lost 3–6 to Peter Wright in the first round. In the 2018 World Championship Ratajski lost 1–3 to James Wilson despite winning the first set.

2018

In January, Ratajski entered Q-School, but failed to gain a PDC Tour Card. Ratajski played on the 2018 Challenge Tour. Ratajski made the final at event 8 and won event 14. Due to these successes, he was able to play some Players Championship events towards the end of 2018.

In February Ratajski became the first Polish player to win a PDC event, defeating Daryl Gurney 6–4 in the final of the sixth UK Open qualifier.

Ratajski won a Players Championship event on 20 October 2018, defeating Chris Dobey 6–2 in the final of Players Championship 21, despite not having a tour card. Ratajski also won Players Championship 22 the following day, joining an elite club of only 8 PDC players to win two Players Championship titles in a single weekend by beating Adrian Lewis 6–4. His weekend “double header” win secured him a place at the 2019 PDC World Darts Championship. Ratajski also made the 2018 Players Championship Finals, where he beat Gerwyn Price and Adrian Lewis before losing to Danny Noppert, and the 2018 Grand Slam of Darts, where he was drawn in Group B. He defeated Raymond van Barneveld and Adam Smith-Neale and losing to Michael Smith, which meant that he went through to the last 16 stage where he lost to Jonny Clayton.

2019

File:Michael van Gerwen 6-5 Krzysztof Ratajski - Krzysztof Ratajski - 2019251192205 2019-09-08 PDC European Darts Matchplay - 0065 - B70I7302.jpg

Ratajski at the 2019 European Darts Matchplay

Despite a 3–2 loss to Seigo Asada in the first round of the 2019 PDC World Championship, Ratajski was able to secure an automatic PDC Tour Card thanks to his placement in the top 64 of the PDC Order of Merit.

He made his debut in several major tournaments over the course of the year, qualifying for the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, and World Series Finals. He reached the quarter-finals of the latter, bowing out in a deciding leg to Mensur Suljović.

He picked up two ranking titles in Players Championship events. He defeated reigning UK Open champion Nathan Aspinall 8–3 in the final of Players Championship 17 and followed that with another win at Players Championship 21, where he defeated Dimitri Van den Bergh 8–7 in the final. These wins saw him enter the world's top 32 for the first time. In September, he won his first European Tour title by beating Dave Chisnall 8–2 in the final of the Gibraltar Darts Trophy, securing his sixth PDC ranking title and the first European Tour victory for a Polish player.

2020

Ratajski was the 21st seed at the 2020 World Championship and started in the second round. In his third appearance at the competition, he achieved his first win by defeating Zoran Lerchbacher 3–1. In the third round, he was beaten 4–3 by Nathan Aspinall.

He won his sole title of the year at Players Championship 4 in February, narrowly beating Ian White 8–7 in the final. In his second appearance at the World Matchplay, he reached the quarter-finals. He defeated Jermaine Wattimena 10–4 in the first round with a three-dart average of 107.53. He progressed to the last eight with a 12–10 win over Gabriel Clemens, before being eliminated by Michael Smith who won 16–13. He reached a further two ranking finals during the year but failed to claim another title, finishing as runner-up at the 18th and 23rd Players Championship events.

2021–2022

Ratajski achieved his best PDC World Championship result at the 2021 event by reaching the quarter-finals. After whitewashing Ryan Joyce 3–0 in his opening match, he then whitewashed Simon Whitlock in a 4–0 victory in the third round. A fourth-round win against Gabriel Clemens, a match where both players had darts to win the match, saw Ratajski become the first Polish player to reach the quarter-finals of the tournament. His run was ended by Stephen Bunting, to whom he lost 5–3.

Ratajski reached two televised semi-finals in 2021. He reached the last four of the World Matchplay for the first time after a 16–8 victory over Callan Rydz in the quarter-finals. He initially led his semi-final match against Dimitri Van den Bergh 6–2 but was eventually beaten 17–9. He reached the same stage at the World Series Finals, where he was defeated once again by Van den Bergh.

Ratajski was successful in the final event of the 2021 Pro Tour, Players Championship 30, securing the title by defeating Joe Cullen 8–7 in the final. He was unable to win a title the following year; his best result during the 2022 PDC Pro Tour being a final at Players Championship 22, where he lost 8–3 to Nathan Aspinall.

2023–2025

Ratajski won his first ranking title since November 2021 at 2023 Players Championship 9 with a resounding 8–1 victory over Chris Landman in the final. In Poland's second match of the 2023 PDC World Cup of Darts group stage, Ratajski and Krzysztof Kciuk defeated Lithuania 4–1 in legs, achieving the world record for highest pairs three-dart average with an average of 118.10. At the inaugural Poland Darts Masters, home favourite Ratajski won his opening-round match against Rob Cross 6–3 before exiting the tournament in the quarter-finals. He captured his second European Tour title and tenth PDC title overall by winning the 2023 German Darts Open, beating Stephen Bunting 8–3 in the final.

Ratajski did not win any titles during the 2024 season. Prior to the 2025 World Championship, he revealed that he had been struggling with aneurysms throughout the year. He stated that he underwent two surgeries, which successfully resolved the condition. At the World Championship, he was eliminated in the third round in a 4–3 loss to Kevin Doets despite having multiple match darts to win. In May 2025, Ratajski won Players Championship 15 by defeating Dave Chisnall 8–4 in the final.

World Championship results

BDO

• 2009: First round (lost to Edwin Max 2–3)
• 2017: Second round (lost to Darius Labanauskas 3–4)

PDC

• 2018: First round (lost to James Wilson 1–3)
• 2019: First round (lost to Seigo Asada 2–3)
• 2020: Third round (lost to Nathan Aspinall 3–4)
• 2021: Quarter-finals (lost to Stephen Bunting 3–5)
• 2022: Second round (lost to Steve Lennon 1–3)
• 2023: Third round (lost to Dimitri Van den Bergh 1–4)
• 2024: Third round (lost to Jonny Clayton 2–4)
• 2025: Third round (lost to Kevin Doets 3–4)

Career finals

BDO major finals: 1 (1 title)

Legend
Winmau World Masters (1–0)

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Opponent in the final	Score
Winner	1.	2017	Winmau World Masters	Template:Flagicon Mark McGeeney	6–1 (s)

Performance timeline

PDC

Tournament	2010	2013	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
PDC Ranked televised events
World Championship	BDO				1R	1R	3R	QF	2R	3R	3R	3R
World Masters	Did not qualify							1R	2R	1R	2R	Prel.
UK Open	DNQ				5R	6R	4R	QF	4R	4R	5R	6R
World Matchplay	Did not qualify					2R	QF	SF	2R	1R	2R
World Grand Prix	Did not qualify					1R	1R	QF	2R	2R	DNQ
European Championship	Did not qualify			1R	DNQ	1R	1R	1R	1R	2R	DNQ
Grand Slam	Did not qualify				2R	DNQ	RR	RR	DNQ	2R	DNQ
Players Championship Finals	Did not qualify				3R	2R	1R	2R	3R	1R	2R
PDC Non-ranked televised events
World Cup	1R	2R	1R	1R	1R	2R	2R	2R	2R	2R	2R	RR
World Series Finals	Not held		Did not qualify			QF	2R	SF	DNQ	2R	DNQ
Career statistics
Year-end ranking	Not ranked			79	55	20	14	12	20	24	32

PDC European Tour

Season	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
2015	Did not participate						EDT 1R	DNQ
2016	Did not participate						IDO 1R	DNQ
2017	GDC 2R	GDM 1R	GDO 2R	EDG 2R	GDT 2R	EDM 1R	ADO 1R	EDO 2R	DDM QF	GDG 2R	IDO DNQ	EDT 2R
2018	EDO DNQ	GDG 1R	DNQ		EDG 1R	DDM 3R	GDT 1R	DDO 1R	EDM DNQ	GDC 2R	DNQ		EDT 2R
2019	EDO 3R	GDC DNQ	GDG 2R	DNQ		EDG 2R	DDM 2R	DDO 2R	CDO 1R	ADC DNQ	EDM QF	IDO 2R	GDT W
2020	BDC QF	GDC QF	EDG 2R	IDO QF
2021	HDT 2R	GDT QF
2022	IDO 2R	GDC 3R	GDG WD	ADO 3R	EDO 2R	CDO 2R	EDG 3R	DDC 2R	EDM 2R	HDT 2R	GDO QF	DNQ
2023	BSD DNQ	EDO 2R	IDO DNQ	GDG DNP	ADO 2R	DDC 2R	BDO 1R	CDO DNQ	EDG QF	EDM DNQ	GDO W	DNQ
2024	BDO 2R	GDG 2R	IDO 2R	EDG 2R	ADO 3R	BSD 2R	DDC DNQ	EDO 1R	GDC 3R	FDT 1R	HDT 1R	SDT 1R	CDO 2R
2025	BDO DNQ	EDT DNQ	IDO 1R	GDG QF	ADO 2R	EDG 1R	DDC DNQ	EDO DNQ	BSD	FDT	CDO	HDT	SDT	GDC

PDC Players Championships

Season	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34
2018	Did not participate																		DUB 1R	DUB 1R	BAR W	BAR W
2019	WIG 2R	WIG 4R	WIG 2R	WIG 1R	BAR 3R	BAR 4R	WIG 4R	WIG 2R	BAR 1R	BAR 2R	BAR 4R	BAR 4R	BAR 2R	BAR QF	BAR 4R	BAR 4R	WIG W	WIG SF	BAR 1R	BAR 4R	HIL W	HIL QF	BAR 3R	BAR 3R	BAR 2R	BAR 2R	DUB F	DUB 2R	BAR QF	BAR F
2020	BAR 1R	BAR 2R	WIG 4R	WIG W	WIG 3R	WIG SF	BAR QF	BAR DNP	MIL SF	MIL 3R	MIL 2R	MIL QF	MIL 3R	NIE QF	NIE 1R	NIE 1R	NIE 4R	NIE F	COV 3R	COV 1R	COV 1R	COV 2R	COV F
2021	BOL 4R	BOL 2R	BOL QF	BOL 2R	MIL 3R	MIL 1R	MIL 1R	MIL QF	NIE 1R	NIE 1R	NIE 4R	NIE 3R	MIL 1R	MIL 2R	MIL 3R	MIL 2R	COV 1R	COV 1R	COV 3R	COV 4R	BAR 4R	BAR 1R	BAR 1R	BAR QF	BAR 3R	BAR 3R	BAR 1R	BAR 4R	BAR QF	BAR W
2022	BAR QF	BAR 2R	WIG 1R	WIG SF	BAR 1R	BAR 1R	NIE 4R	NIE 4R	BAR 4R	BAR 1R	BAR 4R	BAR 1R	BAR 3R	WIG QF	WIG 1R	NIE QF	NIE 1R	BAR 1R	BAR 4R	BAR 3R	BAR 4R	BAR F	BAR 1R	BAR 2R	BAR 4R	BAR 1R	BAR 1R	BAR 2R	BAR 3R	BAR 2R
2023	BAR 1R	BAR 3R	BAR 3R	BAR 3R	BAR 3R	BAR 2R	HIL SF	HIL F	WIG W	WIG 2R	LEI 2R	LEI 1R	HIL 2R	HIL 2R	LEI 1R	LEI 1R	HIL 3R	HIL 1R	BAR 1R	BAR 2R	BAR 2R	BAR 3R	BAR 4R	BAR 1R	BAR 1R	BAR 2R	BAR 1R	BAR 2R	BAR 2R	BAR 3R
2024	WIG 2R	WIG 2R	LEI 1R	LEI 3R	HIL 3R	HIL 2R	LEI 2R	LEI 1R	HIL SF	HIL SF	HIL DNP	HIL DNP	MIL 4R	MIL 1R	MIL QF	MIL 2R	MIL 1R	MIL 4R	MIL 1R	WIG 2R	WIG 1R	MIL 1R	MIL 1R	WIG QR	WIG 2R	WIG 1R	WIG 1R	WIG 4R	LEI 4R	LEI 1R
2025	WIG 2R	WIG 4R	ROS QF	ROS 2R	LEI 1R	LEI 2R	HIL QF	HIL 1R	LEI 1R	LEI 1R	LEI 1R	LEI 1R	ROS 1R	ROS 1R	HIL W	HIL 2R	LEI 1R	LEI 3R	LEI 1R	HIL	HIL	MIL	MIL	MIL	HIL	HIL	LEI	LEI	LEI	WIG	WIG	WIG	WIG	WIG

External links

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