Cliff Lazarenko (born 16 March 1952
) is an English former professional
darts
Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small sharp-pointed missiles known as darts at a round target known as a dartboard.
Points can be scored by hitting specific marked areas of the bo ...
player. Nicknamed "Big Cliff" due to his height (193 cm / 6'4") and weight (over 127 kg at his peak), he is known for being a colourful character on and off the stage.
[Hartley, Alan J. (2004) ''Darts for Everyone'', p. 71]
Biography
Lazarenko was born in
Liss, Hampshire
Liss (previously spelt Lys or Lyss) is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, 3.3 miles (5.3 km) north-east of Petersfield, on the A3 road, on the West Sussex border. It covers 3,567 acres (14 km2) o ...
, growing up in
Greatham, where his parents ran a garage.
[Gripton, Peter (2008) ''Greatham Memories'', Las Atalayas Publishing, , p. 72] He honed his darts skills in his local pub, The Queen.
He later moved to
Wellingborough
Wellingborough ( ) is a large market and commuter town in the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, 65 miles from London and from Northampton on the north side of the River Nen ...
. Before becoming a professional darts player in 1975, he worked as a labourer.
Lazarenko first appeared in a televised match on the show ''
Indoor League'' in the 1970s.
He went on to win several singles and pairs titles.
He won the British Open in 1980, winning it again later in the decade, and reached the semi-finals of the World Championship four times.
[Doyle, Paul (2004)]
'Big' Cliff Lazarenko
, ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'', 3 December 2004, retrieved 2010-12-05 In
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – In ...
, he lost out to
Bobby George; the
next year
"Next Year" is a song released as the last single from the third Foo Fighters (band), Foo Fighters' album ''There Is Nothing Left to Lose''.
History
A shorter version (running at just 3:21 compared to the original's 4:36) was released as a s ...
he gained revenge on George by beating him in the quarter-finals, eventually losing to world champion
Eric Bristow. In
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
, he reached the semi-finals again, this time without losing a single set en route, winning the opening round against
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
's
Paul Lim
Paul Lim Leong Hwa (born 25 January 1954) is a Singaporean professional darts player. He was the first player to hit a perfect nine-dart finish during the Embassy World Darts Championship, which he achieved in 1990 during his second round ...
(2–0), the second round against the Swede
Stefan Lord
Stefan may refer to:
* Stefan (given name)
* Stefan (surname)
* Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname
* Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname
* Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer
* Stefan Heym, pseudonym of German writ ...
(3–0), and the quarter-finals against
Northern Irish
Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...
player
Fred McMullan
Freddie "Fred" McMullan (born 4 June 1950) is a Northern Irish former professional darts player who competed in the 1980s.
Career
McMullan played at the World Darts Championship three times. In 1985, he beat Peter Locke of Wales in the first ...
(4–0), but was narrowly defeated in the semi-finals by fellow Englishman
John Lowe 5–3. He reached the semis again in
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...
, but once again fell short of the final, losing 5–0 to eventual winner
Phil Taylor.
Big Cliff made a habit of winning the Dartsathlon (an event made up of having 15 darts at various doubles, trebles, Bullseyes, 25s, and 501 legs) in the early–mid 80s winning the event four times in 1982, 1983, 1985, and 1986. He also won the Autumn Gold Masters in 1984 and 1986, the British Matchplay in 1979, British Gold Cup in 1984, Jersey Open in 1982 and 1983, and the Danish Open in 1981 and 1983. He came to the fore, however, with his 1977 win in the Marlboro Masters.
Lazarenko was one of the sixteen players who defected from the BDO to form the PDC. Although he managed to maintain his popularity with the fans, he never managed to repeat his performances in the
PDC World Darts Championship
The PDC World Darts Championship, known for sponsorship purposes as the Cazoo World Darts Championship, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), is a World Professional Darts Championship held annually in the sport of darts. The ...
, with several first-round exits to his name, and only managing a quarter-final at best in
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
. In other PDC tournaments, however, Lazarenko showed great promise: he reached the semi-finals of the
1995 World Matchplay, beating
Dennis Smith,
Shayne Burgess
Shayne Burgess (born 1 June 1964) is an English former professional darts player who competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tournaments. He is known for his unorthodox throwing action, where he draws the point of the dart up close ...
, and
Nigel Justice
Nigel Justice (born 29 August 1956) is an English former professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.
Career
Justice played in three PDC World Darts Championships between 1996 and 2001, with his best r ...
along the way, before losing to
Dennis Priestley. He was also a Matchplay quarter-finalist in
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...
.
In the mid-2000s, Lazarenko suffered from ill health, losing a lot of weight, and ceased competing in darts tournaments.
However, in the
2007 UK Open Darts at the
Reebok Stadium
The University of Bolton Stadium is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers F.C. in Horwich, Greater Manchester, England.
Opening in 1997, it was named the Reebok Stadium, after club sponsors Reebok. In 2014, Bolton Wanderers signed a naming ri ...
in
Bolton
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th ...
, Lazarenko made a return to the big stage, and won two matches in one night, en route to the second round. He then won another game the next night, before falling in the third round. In 2008 it was announced that Lazarenko would compete in the BetFred League of Legends along with players including Bristow, Lowe, George, and
Bob Anderson. Lazarenko reached the semi-finals of the tournament, losing to
Keith Deller
Keith Kelvin Deller (born 24 December 1959) is an English former professional darts player best known for winning the 1983 BDO World Darts Championship and Unipart British Professional Championship in 1987. He was the first qualifier ever to ...
.
In popular culture
In the 1981 film ''
An American Werewolf in London'', a darts match between
Rab Smith and Lazarenko is featured on TV in the flat of the character played by
Jenny Agutter
Jennifer Ann Agutter (born 20 December 1952) is a British actress. She began her career as a child actress in 1964, appearing in '' East of Sudan'', ''Star!'', and two adaptations of '' The Railway Children''—the BBC's 1968 television seria ...
.
World Championship performances
BDO
* 1978: First round (lost to Hillyard Rossiter)
* 1979: First round (lost to
Terry O'Dea
Terence "Terry" O'Dea (3 May 1945 – 18 May 2021) was an Australian professional darts player who competed in the 1970s and 1980s.
Darts career
O'Dea rejoined of the BDO in March 1978.
O'Dea played in ten successive BDO World Darts Champions ...
)
* 1980: Semi-final (lost to
Bobby George)
* 1981: Third place (beat
Tony Brown, lost to
Eric Bristow in semi-finals)
* 1982: Second round (lost to
Nicky Virachkul
Nicholas "Nick" Virachkul (June 3, 1948 – April 17, 1999) was an American professional darts player who competed in the 1970s and 1980s.
Personal life
Nicky Virachkul was born in Thailand, studied in the United States and became a naturalized ...
)
* 1983: Quarter-final (lost to
Jocky Wilson
John Thomas "Jocky" Wilson (22 March 1950 – 24 March 2012) was a Scottish professional darts player. After turning pro in 1979, he quickly rose to the top of the game, winning the World Professional Darts Championship in 1982, then agai ...
)
* 1984: First round (lost to
Ceri Morgan
Ceri Rhys Morgan (22 December 1947 – 29 February 2020
) was a Welsh professional darts player who competed in the British Darts Organisation (BDO) events in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
Career
Morgan made his World Championship debut in 1979, ...
)
* 1985: Semi-final (lost to
John Lowe)
* 1986: First round (lost to
Dave Lee)
* 1987: Quarter-final (lost to John Lowe)
* 1988: Second round (lost to Paul Reynolds)
* 1989: First round (lost to
Wayne Weening
Wayne Dirk Weening (born 15 March 1965) is an Australian former professional darts player who competed in the 1980s and 90s.
Career
Weening made his debut in 1989 BDO World Darts Championship reaching the last 16 by beating Cliff Lazarenko be ...
)
* 1990: Semi-final (lost to
Phil Taylor)
* 1991: Second round (lost to
Dave Whitcombe
David Whitcombe (born 27 June 1954) is an English former professional darts player who won several major tournaments and reached two World Championship Finals between 1980 and 1992.
Biography
Whitcombe was twice a winner of the Winmau World M ...
)
PDC
* 1994: Group stage (lost both group games to
Alan Warriner
Alan Warriner-Little (born Warriner; 24 March 1962) is an English former professional darts player. Nicknamed The Iceman, he is a former World Grand Prix champion and a former runner-up at the World Professional Darts Championship.
Darts care ...
and
Richie Gardner)
* 1995: Group stage (beat
Graeme Stoddart
Graeme Stoddart (born 30 July 1959 in Newcastle upon Tyne) is a former English– Dutch professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation events. His nickname was Shark.
Career
Stoddart represented Holland in the 1984 Eu ...
but lost to
Peter Evison)
* 1996: Group stage (lost both group games to
Shayne Burgess
Shayne Burgess (born 1 June 1964) is an English former professional darts player who competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tournaments. He is known for his unorthodox throwing action, where he draws the point of the dart up close ...
and Phil Taylor)
* 1997: Group stage (lost both group games to Peter Evison and
Steve Raw
Stephen "Steve" Raw (born 27 February 1966) is a retired English professional darts player, who played in Professional Darts Corporation events.
Career
Raw played in six PDC World Darts Championships between 1996 and 2001, with his best run be ...
)
* 1999: Quarter-final (lost to Shayne Burgess)
* 2000: First round (lost to
Dennis Smith)
* 2001: Second round (lost to
Roland Scholten
Roland Scholten (born 11 January 1965) is a Dutch former professional darts player who played in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and British Darts Organisation (BDO). Nicknamed The Tripod and The Flying Dutchman, Scholten tu ...
)
* 2002: First round (lost to Roland Scholten)
* 2003: First round (lost to
John Part)
* 2004: Second round (lost to
Steve Maish)
Career finals
BDO major finals: 1 (1 runner-up)
Performance timeline
References
External links
Cliff Lazarenko's profile and stats on Darts Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lazarenko, Cliff
1952 births
Living people
English darts players
People from Liss
British people of Russian descent
British people of Ukrainian descent
Professional Darts Corporation founding players