"The Saint" Alan Tabern (born 29 September 1966) is an English

darts Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, missiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dar ...

player who plays in events of the

Professional Darts Corporation The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 when a group of leading players split from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form what was initially called the World ...

(PDC).

Darts career

A left-hander, Tabern made his PDC World Championship debut in 2006 with a surprising win over

Alex Roy Alexander Roy (born November 23, 1971) is an American writer, podcaster, TV host and rally race driver who has set various endurance driving records, including the US " Cannonball Run" transcontinental driving record, which he and Dave Maher bro ...

. He was beaten in the second round by

Mark Dudbridge Mark "Flash" Dudbridge (born 11 January 1973) is an English professional darts player. He appeared in the 2005 Premier League Darts after reaching the final of the 2005 PDC World Darts Championship. He also is a former World Master and has r ...

. Tabern reached the quarter-finals of the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship, where he was beaten 0–5 by eventual winner

Raymond van Barneveld Raymond van Barneveld (born 20 April 1967) is a Dutch professional darts player. Nicknamed Barney, although originally known as The Man, he is one of the most successful darts players in history. Van Barneveld is a five-time World Darts Champ ...

. In the 2008 World Championship, Tabern defeated Denmark's

Per Laursen Per Laursen (born 16 April 1966) is a Danish professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and British Darts Organisation (BDO) tournaments. BDO career Laursen reached the final of the WDF World Cup in both singl ...

and

Andy Jenkins Andrew Jenkins (born 11 March 1971) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He was nicknamed "Rocky" due to his rough personality. Jenkins has reached high rankings in the PDC, but ha ...

, before losing 3–4 in the third round to Phil Taylor. Tabern caused a major shock in the 2008 Las Vegas Desert Classic by beating No. 2 seed and reigning champion van Barneveld 8–4 in the second round. In the 2008 World Matchplay, Tabern reached the quarter-finals, knocking out current World Champion

John Part John Part (born June 29, 1966) is a Canadian former professional darts player and current commentator. Nicknamed Darth Maple, he is a three-times World Champion, having won the 1994 BDO World Darts Championship on his world championship debut, a ...

before losing to

Dennis Priestley Dennis Priestley (born 16 July 1950) is an English former professional darts player. He has won two world championships, and was the first player to win both the BDO and WDC (now PDC) world championships, in 1991 and 1994 respectively. He is ...

. Following this great run of form, Tabern attracted a new sponsor in Target Darts. In August 2008, he claimed his second

PDC Pro Tour The PDC Pro Tour is a series of non-televised darts tournaments organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). They comprise Professional Dart Players Association (PDPA) Players Championships and European Tour events. Only four players ...

victory in the Peach Tree Open in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, by defeating

Andy Hamilton Andrew Neil Hamilton (born 28 May 1954) is a British comedian, game show panellist, television director, comedy screenwriter, radio dramatist, novelist and actor. Early life and education Hamilton was born in Fulham, southwest London. He ...

3–1 in the final, and the next month Tabern claimed another Players Championship win in Wales. This put him in the top 10 in the

PDC Order of Merit The PDC Order of Merit is a world ranking system used by one of the darts organisations, the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Following the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship it superseded a world ranking system based on points being awarded fo ...

for the first time in his career. He played in the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts, where he was involved in the first televised nine-dart shootout after he and Hamilton had finished level on points and leg difference in their group. Tabern lost 265–169 in it, with only one of his nine darts hitting treble 20, with three others in either five or one beds, contrasting with Hamilton's four treble 20s from six darts. Tabern suffered a second round exit in the 2009 PDC World Championship, losing to

Co Stompé Jacobus Wilhelmus "Co" Stompé (born 10 September 1962) is a Dutch former professional darts player. He was nicknamed The Matchstick because of his almost bald head and very thin appearance, making him look like a matchstick. He was also one of ...

. The following year, he suffered another second round defeat, this time losing 3–4 to Mark Dudbridge, having missed six darts to win. Tabern once again missed six match-darts in the second round of the 2011 tournament against Mark Walsh. On the second day of 2018 Q School in

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

, Tabern managed to regain his tour card for 2018–2019 after beting Steven Kirkby 5–1 in the final.

World Championship results

PDC

*2006: 2nd round (lost to

0–4) *2007: Quarter-final (lost to

0–5) *2008: 3rd round (lost to Phil Taylor 3–4) *2009: 2nd round (lost to

1–4) *2010: 2nd round (lost to Mark Dudbridge 3–4) *2011: 2nd round (lost to Mark Walsh 3–4) *2012: 2nd round (lost to Paul Nicholson 0–4) *2019: 2nd round (lost to

Michael van Gerwen Michael van Gerwen (; born 25 April 1989) is a Dutch professional darts player. He is currently ranked number 3 in the world, having been number 1 from 2014 to 2021. He is also a three-time PDC World Champion, having won the title in 2014, 2 ...

1–3)

Performance timeline

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tabern, Alan Living people 1966 births Sportspeople from St Helens, Merseyside English darts players Professional Darts Corporation former tour card holders British Darts Organisation players PDC ranking title winners