Andy Boulton (born 22 February 1973) is a Scottish professional

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). He is nicknamed X-Factor.

Career

Boulton made his televised debut in the PDC

UK Open The Cazoo UK Open is a ranking major darts tournament held annually at the Butlins Minehead Resort by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) in England. Often referred to as the "FA Cup of darts", the UK Open replicates the abolition of seedin ...

in 2005 starting at the preliminary round and reaching the third round, beating players such as Sergio Bongiovanni. He was drawn against rising star

Colin Osborne Colin Osborne (born 19 June 1975) is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. In 2009, he won the Championship League and reached the final of the UK Open. Darts career Osborne has won two ...

and lost 5-1. Boulton played in the 2006

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 th ...

, beating three previous opponents before defeating

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 h ...

in the last 32 stage. He eventually lost to

Martin Adams Martin Adams (born 4 June 1956) is an English professional darts player who plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) events. Nicknamed "Wolfie", he is a three-time BDO World Champion and three-time World Masters champion. He represents Cambridgesh ...

in the last 16. He then played at the 2008 BDO World Darts Championship, causing a big upset in the first round beating

Martin Atkins Martin Clive Atkins (born 3 August 1959) is an English drummer and session musician, best known for his work in post-punk and industrial groups including Public Image Ltd, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Pigface, and Killing Joke. He also works as ...

before losing to

Ted Hankey Edward Hankey (born 20 February 1968) is an English former professional darts player and convicted sex offender. Nicknamed "The Count", he won the BDO World Darts Championship in 2000, was runner-up in 2001, and won the title for a second time ...

in the second round. In March 2008 Boulton won the unranked North Lanarkshire Open beating Robert Thornton in the final. Boulton qualified for the

2009 UK Open The 2009 Blue Square UK Open was the seventh year of the PDC darts tournament where, following numerous regional qualifying heats throughout Britain, players competed in a single elimination tournament to be crowned champion. The tournament was ...

as a pub qualifier. Beating Darren Latham 6-5 in the first round he lost 6-4 to

Wes Newton Wesley Newton (born 27 August 1977) is an English professional darts player. Darts career Newton's first PDC major was the 2003 UK Open where he lost 8–6 to Mark Thomson in the last 32. He was beaten in the semi-finals of the Eastbourne Op ...

in the second round. Later that year he claimed the Granite City Open title in Aberdeen by beating former world champion John Walton in the final. Boulton was a stand-by qualifier for the 2011 BDO World Championship and progressed to the first round as Martin Adams was already assured of a place at the Lakeside had won the

. Boulton was defeated in the first round 3-0 by

Robbie Green Robbie Green (born 19 July 1974) is a former English professional darts player. His nickname was Kong. PDC career Green made his televised debut at the 2004 UK Open, reaching the last 64 stage. The same year he qualified for the World Matchp ...

. In 2011 Boulton won the Scotland National Championship and again qualified for the

. Boulton crossed over to the PDC in 2015 through the Q School Order of Merit with 20 points. He also qualified for the German Masters. The X Factor is currently sponsored by Showtime Darts who helped to design and manufacture his new signature darts. Boulton won a two-year PDC Tour Card at UK Q-School in January 2019 via the Order of Merit. Boulton switched his allegiance from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

on residency grounds after previously living in England for many years.

Private life

Boulton has three children – Lloyd, Ebony, and Bailey.About Andy
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World Championship performances

BDO

*2008: Second round (lost to

1–4) *2011: First round (lost to

0–3) *2011: First round (lost to

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. ...

1–3)

PDC

*2016: First round (lost to Gary Anderson 0–3) *2020: First round (lost to

Danny Baggish Daniel "Danny" Baggish (born 19 August 1983) is a Guamanian–born American professional darts player. He had a PDC tour card from 2021 to 2022, after being the only American player to win one at Q-School in 2021. He is a sponsored by Target ...

2–3) *2021: Second round (lost to

Stephen Bunting Stephen Bunting (born 9 April 1985) is an English professional darts player who competes in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Nicknamed The Bullet, Bunting won the 2014 BDO World Darts Championship and is a twice former Wor ...

2–3)

Performance timeline

References

External links

Andy Boulton's Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boulton, Andy 1973 births Living people Professional Darts Corporation current tour card holders Scottish darts players Sportspeople from Edinburgh British Darts Organisation players