The Las Vegas Desert Classic is a darts tournament, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and held each year in July since 2002. Its original venue was the MGM Grand Casino and Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada but the tournament moved down the strip to the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

The tournament carries a total prize purse of £126,400 (approx US$250,000). Due to the time difference between the UK and US, the matches are played in the morning local time - which is prime-time evening in the UK where the tournament is broadcast live on Sky Sports.

Initially Fox Sports World transmitted the tournament live but in recent years they have broadcast recorded coverage in the United States. Partypoker.net became the first sponsors of the event in 2006.

The format of the Classic has changed over the years with an unusual group stage and matchplay (legs only) in 2003, which reverted to straight knockout and sets from 2004. It moved back to a straight legs format in 2007 - when Raymond van Barneveld took the title.

Phil Taylor bounced back from a shocking first-round defeat in 2007 to win the title once again in the 2008 tournament, beating James Wade in the final 13 legs to 7 with a 105.53 average. This marked Taylor's fourth Desert Classic Title.

Past Finals

Year	Champion (average in final)	Score	Runner-Up (average in final)
2002	Phil Taylor	3-0 (sets)	Ronnie Baxter
2003	Peter Manley	16-12 (legs)	John Part
2004	Phil Taylor	6-4 (sets)	Wayne Mardle
2005	Phil Taylor	6-1 (sets)	Wayne Mardle
2006	John Part (92.80)	6-3 (sets)	Raymond van Barneveld (92.86)
2007	Raymond van Barneveld (101.56)	13-6 (legs)	Terry Jenkins (92.38)
2008	Phil Taylor (105.53)	13-7 (legs)	James Wade (92.26)

External links

• PDC Las Vegas Desert Classic IV 2005 - Review
• PDC Las Vegas Desert Classic 2006 - Review
• Desert Classic
• Pictures from the 2006 Las Vegas Desert Classic