Darryl Fitton
Darryl Fitton (born 5 May 1962) is an English professional darts player. He is nicknamed The Dazzler and comes to the stage dancing to the Madness song "One Step Beyond" wearing sunglasses; one of the most popular walk-ons with the audience. Before embarking on a career in darts, Fitton worked as an undertaker. Darts career Fitton's first TV appearance was against Peter Manley in the 1997 PDC World Matchplay. However, he lost 8-6, and has not made another PDC appearance since. Fitton debuted in the BDO World Championship in 2003 as a qualifier, but lost 1-3 to fellow qualifier John Burton in the first round. In 2004, he returned to Lakeside, again hitting a 180 score with his very first turn. He reached the quarter-finals before being beaten by Andy Fordham, who went on to win the title. The following year, he reached the semi-finals, this time losing out to Raymond van Barneveld in a hard-fought 5-3 scoreline, as van Barneveld went on to win the title that year. After tha ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stockport
Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within the boundaries of the historic county of Cheshire, with the area north of the Mersey in the historic county of Lancashire. Stockport in the 16th century was a small town entirely on the south bank of the Mersey, known for the cultivation of hemp and manufacture of rope. In the 18th century, it had one of the first mechanised silk factories in the British Isles. Stockport's predominant industries of the 19th century were the cotton and allied industries. It was also at the centre of the country's hatting industry, which by 1884 was exporting more than six million hats a year; the last hat works in Stockport closed in 1997. Dominating the western approaches to the town is Stockport Viaduct. Built in 1840, its 27 brick arches carry the mai ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Andy Fordham
Andrew Fordham (2 February 1962 – 15 July 2021) was an English professional darts player, commonly known as The Viking. He won the 2004 BDO World Darts Championship and the 1999 Winmau World Masters. Darts career Fordham made his first appearance on the stage at Lakeside in the 1995 BDO World Darts Championship and reached the semi-finals before losing to Richie Burnett. Another semi-final defeat followed in 1996, this time to Steve Beaton. On both these occasions, his victor then went on to claim the title. Second round defeats followed in 1997 (to Marshall James) and 1998 (to Raymond van Barneveld) before Fordham made it to the semi-final stage of the World Championship for third time in 1999, but was defeated by Ronnie Baxter. His 2000 campaign ended in the quarter-finals at the hands of Chris Mason and his fourth semi-final loss in 2001 was to Ted Hankey. In 2002 and 2003 he went out in the first and second rounds respectively. Fordham finally put an end to his "nea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tony O'Shea
Tony O'Shea (born 9 May 1961) is an English professional darts player. His squat figure has resulted in the nickname "Silverback". O'Shea has reached the finals of seven British Darts Organisation (BDO) major darts tournaments, but to date has never won one. He also acts as a regular commentator for televised BDO coverage. Darts career BDO In 2002, O'Shea made his debut at the BDO World Championship, narrowly losing to former Masters champion Colin Monk 3–2. O'Shea returned the following year and beat former champion Ted Hankey 3–2 in the first round, before once again being beaten by Monk 3–2 – this time in the deciding leg of the deciding set. Two years thereafter he reached the semi-finals after a winning streak defeating Gary Anderson, Gary Robson and Ted Hankey before he eventually went out against Mervyn King 5–1. Later that year he had his best chance to date of winning a major title, as he led King 5–3 in the final of the Winmau World Masters before Ki ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Scott Waites
Scott Waites (born 17 February 1977) is an English professional darts player who plays in tournaments of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He is a two-time BDO World Darts Champion having won the 2013 tournament and 2016 tournament. He is also a former Winmau World Masters champion, WDF World Cup singles' champion, Zuiderduin Masters champion. He also won the 2010 Grand Slam of Darts, becoming the only BDO representative to win the event. Career Waites' first career success came in February 2007 when he won the Dutch Open an event which attracted 2867 entries. He also took the Welsh Masters title in March 2007 and earlier reached the final of the 2007 Scottish Open. Barry Hearn confirmed on 13 August 2007 via the official PDC website, that Scott Waites was the highest ranked non-qualifier in the BDO that had accepted his invitation to compete in the inaugural Grand Slam of Darts, alongside Dennis Priestley (highest PDC non-qualifier). At the tournament he failed t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Simon Whitlock
Simon Whitlock (born 3 March 1969) is an Australian professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tournaments, having also played in the British Darts Organisation (BDO) between 2004 and 2009. He uses the nickname The Wizard for his matches. His walk-on music is "Down Under" by Men at Work. His greatest achievements to date are winning the 2012 European Championship and 2022 World Cup of Darts for Australia with Damon Heta. Whitlock has also finished runner-up at the 2008 BDO World Darts Championship and the 2010 PDC World Darts Championship. He claimed that the prize money gained from the latter tournament which included money for the highest checkout (joint with Phil Taylor) would allow him to move over to the UK from Australia and compete on the PDC Pro Tour. His defeat also made him the first, and only, player to have never won a World Championship after reaching both the BDO and PDC World Championship Final. Early darts career He reached ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mark Salmon (darts Player)
Mark Salmon (born 23 February 1963 in Pontypridd) is a former Welsh professional darts player who competed in both the British Darts Organisation and Professional Darts Corporation circuits. Salmon was inspired to play darts by Leighton Rees, the first World Champion and played with flights bearing Leighton's face in his honour. Career Salmon played in the 1996 BDO World Darts Championship, losing in the first round 3–0 to Roland Scholten. A month later, Salmon won the Scottish Open, beating fellow Welshman Sean Palfrey in the final. Salmon never progressed further in the BDO and in 2005 he began playing in PDC where he qualified for the 2006 PDC World Darts Championship, beating Rod Harrington and Owen Caffrey to qualify. He was beaten in the first round 3–2 by Dennis Smith. Salmon struggled on the PDC circuit, failing to qualify for the UK Open and the World Matchplay. After failing to qualify for the 2007 World Championship, Salmon moved back to the BDO and qua ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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International Darts League
The Topic International Darts League was a darts tournament held at the Triavium in Nijmegen, Netherlands. Raymond van Barneveld dominated the tournament, held in his home country, winning it on three of the five occasions it was held. Gary Anderson was the final champion, having claimed the title in 2007, when the tournament also became the first major event to witness two nine dart finishes. Held in May, it was the second leg of the BDO’s Grand Slam title of televised majors, along with the World Darts Trophy, the Winmau World Masters and the Lakeside World Professional Championship. It began as a tournament for BDO players, but following van Barneveld's move to the PDC, Dutch broadcaster SBS-6 were able to grant five invitations to non-WDF affiliated players for the first time in 2006, in order to maintain interest in the event. The number of invitations was increased to 20 in 2007 as more Dutch players, including Jelle Klaasen and Michael van Gerwen, had moved to the PDC ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mark Webster (darts Player)
Mark Webster (born 12 August 1983) is a Welsh former professional darts player. Nicknamed Webby and The Spider, he played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Webster began his career on the British Darts Organisation (BDO) circuit, winning the BDO World Championship in 2008. He became a full-time professional in 2009, having previously been a fully qualified registered plumber. He now works as an analyst and commentator on Sky Sports and ITV. Darts career Webster made progress once he was aged 12 and could play in Local Darts Leagues in public houses in his native North Wales. He started playing for the local "Golden Lion" team like both of his parents, and still plays regularly for his pub team "The Masons" He first came to prominence in 1996, winning the 1996 WDF Europe Cup, and making the semi-finals of the 2006 Winmau World Masters. In other BDO/WDF tournaments during 2006, he won the Northern Ireland Open and reached the semi-finals of the Welsh Open. How ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gary Robson (darts)
Gary "Big Robbo" Robson (born 19 June 1967) is an English professional darts player who plays in World Darts Federation events. Robson now resides in the small rural village of Rothbury, Northumberland. Career Robson qualified twice for the World Championships, but was beaten in the first round on each occasion. He made it for a third time in 2004, but found himself 2–0 down in sets against Steve Coote. However, Robson recovered and took the match to a sudden death deciding leg, which he won. Bobby George commented that "you won't see browner darts in this tournament than that match". Robson had another excellent performance in losing to 'Silverback' Tony O'Shea in the second round. Robson's biggest tournament win so far was at the World Darts Trophy in Utrecht, Netherlands. He beat Mervyn King 6–4 in the 2005 final, averaging 91.5 for three darts, which was a fair way below his averages during his aforementioned performances in the 2004 World Championship. Robson had t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Davy Richardson
David Richardson-Page (born 21 October 1962) is an English former professional darts player who played in British Darts Organisation (BDO) events. He was nicknamed Rocky and The Face. Career Richardson was well renowned for having the worst record in the history of the World Professional Darts Championship, losing in the first round in his first five appearances. In 1993, he lost to Steve Beaton in the first round, he would return to Lakeside in 1999 where he lost to Co Stompé. He also recorded first round exits in 2001 to Jez Porter, 2002 against Wayne Mardle and 2005 against Martin Adams, making him one of three players (along with Tony Payne and Steve West (darts player), Steve West) to lose each of their first five matches at the world championship. Richardson finally won at the Lakeside on his sixth attempt in 2007, beating ninth-seed Vincent van der Voort, despite going through the pain barrier having broken two ribs just days earlier after falling in his bedroom undres ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Robert Thornton (darts Player)
Robert "Bob" Thornton (born 17 July 1967) is a Scottish professional darts player, who is the current World Seniors champion. Thornton is a three-time major winner between the BDO and PDC, having won the World Masters in 2007, UK Open in 2012, and World Grand Prix in 2015. He is also a former finalist at the Players Championship Finals in 2009 and Grand Slam of Darts in 2013. In addition, Thornton has reached three World Championship quarter-finals across both organisations and was a participant in the Premier League in 2013, 2014 and 2016. BDO career Thornton returned to playing darts in 2002, having given up the game for two decades to raise his children. He qualified for the BDO World Championship for the first time in 2005. He beat Martin Atkins and Tony West before losing to Darryl Fitton in the quarter-finals. He then failed to qualify for the 2006 and 2007 events. Thornton's first professional title came in the Central Scotland Open in April 2007, beating Mike Veitc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Winmau World Masters
The World Masters is one of the longest-running and most prestigious of the BDO/WDF tournaments, which began in 1974. The tournament is sponsored by darts board manufacturer, Winmau. The World Masters was unusual in darts in that its sets are the best of 3 legs (first to 2) rather than the standard best of 5 legs (first to 3). It was previously the final leg of the BDO's Grand Slam title of televised majors, along with the BDO World Darts Championship, International Darts League and World Darts Trophy, until the latter two tournaments were axed in 2008. The champion is referred to as the World Master. After the collapse of the British Darts Organisation in September 2020, the World Darts Federation announced plans to launch the WDF World Masters. In December 2020, it was announced that the 2021 tournament will be held at De Bonte Wever in Assen, Netherlands. This was then pushed back to 2022 due to ongoing coronavirus restrictions. The new WDF version of the event changed the f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |