John Lowe (born 21 July 1945) is an English former 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. Along with

Eric Bristow Eric John Bristow, (25 April 1957 – 5 April 2018), nicknamed "The Crafty Cockney", was an English professional darts player. He was ranked World No. 1 by the World Darts Federation a record five times, in 1980, 1981 and 1983–1985. He was ...

and Jocky Wilson, he was known for dominating darts during the 1980s. Lowe was

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

on three occasions, in 1979, 1987 and 1993. He was also a two-time winner of the

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 ...

and a two-time

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

singles champion. In total, Lowe won 15 BDO and WDF majors. He held the World No. 1 ranking on four occasions. In October 1984, he became the first player to hit a televised nine-dart finish. Lowe is one of only six players to have won the World Championship three or more times, and was the first person to win it in three separate decades; along with Phil Taylor, he remains one of only two players to achieve this. Amidst growing dissatisfaction with the

British Darts Organisation The British Darts Organisation (BDO) was a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft. Made up of 66 member counties, it oversaw professional, semi-professional and amateur darts competitions in Britain. The BDO was a founder ...

, Lowe was also one of 16 players who in 1993

broke away "Broke Away" is the second single from Scottish band Wet Wet Wet's third studio album, '' Holding Back the River''. It was released on 27 November 1989, entering the charts at number 39 the following Sunday. It peaked four weeks later at number ...

to form their own governing body, the

World Darts Council 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 Worl ...

(now known as 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 ...

Career

Lowe won the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

title in three different decades – 1979, 1987 and 1993. He met

six times in the World Championship in various semi-finals and finals, and it was not until his fourth attempt (in the 1987 final) that he managed to overcome his rival. His record against Bristow in majors was three wins and six defeats. Lowe achieved the first ever televised nine-dart finish (the sport's equivalent of a 147 break in

snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...

) on 13 October 1984 during the World Matchplay tournament against

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 ...

, although it was not live and instead shown on a highlights programme on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

. It was achieved via a rare third visit combination of treble 17, treble 18 and double 18. Lowe won £102,000 for this success. He went on to win the tournament. In addition to his three world titles, Lowe has also won two

World Masters The World Masters, known for sponsorship reasons as the Mita/Sky World Masters, was a snooker tournament held between 13 and 26 January 1991. Conceived by promoter Barry Hearn, the tournament had a similar format to the Grand Slam events in tenn ...

titles, two British Open titles, two British Matchplay championships, two World Cup Singles, and three European Cup Singles Titles, as well as other titles around the world in his career. He played for England over 100 times and was captain for seven years, during which time his team were unbeaten. Lowe gained credit for his

decorum Decorum (from the Latin: "right, proper") was a principle of classical rhetoric, poetry and theatrical theory concerning the fitness or otherwise of a style to a theatrical subject. The concept of ''decorum'' is also applied to prescribed limit ...

and

sportsmanship Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport, or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake. This is with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. A "sore loser" refers to on ...

at the

oche The oche , also the throw line or toe line, in the game of darts is the line behind which the throwing player must stand. For steel tipped darts, it is generally from the face of the dartboard, measured horizontally. This is the recognized wo ...

, often in contrast to Eric Bristow. Lowe was also probably unique in darts in that he looked after his health, never developing the weight difficulties associated with darts players, though he did consume alcohol onstage alongside other players when it was still permitted during matches. Nicknames have always been common in darts, but Lowe never really had one which caught on. A composed performer, he did not have anything which stood out in his demeanour or personality – until someone decided to use these traits to come up with the nickname of "Old Stoneface". This is also the title of Lowe's autobiography which was published in 2005. Lowe has enjoyed a longevity at the sport. He played in the televised stages of the World Championship for a then record 28 consecutive years, from the inaugural championship in 1978 to his last appearance in 2005 where he was defeated by the Canadian John Verwey in a final leg tie-break. Lowe played at the

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Origi ...

in 1980 in front of 7,000 people in the News of the World Championship. Lowe was secretary of the World Professional Dart Players Association (later to become the

Professional Dart Players Association The Professional Dart Players Association (PDPA) is an organisation for professional dart players within the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Its intention is to look after the interests of all professional players through an annually electe ...

(PDPA)), and in 2005, enjoyed a testimonial year in the sport to commemorate his 30th year as a professional. He attempted to qualify for the World Championship each year until 2008, but fell short in the early qualifying rounds. After joining a short-lived venture, the

Setanta Sports Setanta Sports is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland broadcasting throughout select Eurasian. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to international audiences. The company previo ...

-televised BetFred League of Legends in 2008, Lowe became ineligible to compete at the PDC World Championship so could not attempt to qualify for the 2009 event.

Post-darts career

In May 2009, Lowe released a book, ''The Art of Darts'', in which he offered his personal insights into the game to both amateur and aspiring professional dart players. In 2013, ''The Art of Darts'' was produced in app-form for the iPhone and

iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...

. In 2014, Lowe was one of several celebrities to take part in

's new game show ''

Amazing Greys ''Amazing Greys'' is a British game show that aired on ITV, co-hosted by Paddy McGuinness and Angela Rippon. It was aired from 12 April to 17 May 2014 and ran for six episodes. Production A pilot episode was recorded at Fountain Studios in W ...

'', in which members of the public take on icons of British sport and entertainment.

Personal life

Lowe was born in New Tupton,

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

. He is married to Karen and lives in

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

. They both support Sunderland football club.

World Championship results

BDO

*1978: Runner-up (lost to

Leighton Rees Leighton Thomas Rees (17 January 1940 – 8 June 2003) was a Welsh professional darts player. He is best known as the first BDO World Professional Darts Champion, having won the inaugural 1978 BDO World Darts Championship and was a former Wor ...

7–11 legs) *1979: Winner (beat Leighton Rees 5–0 sets) *1980: 2nd round (lost to

Cliff Lazarenko Cliff Lazarenko (born 16 March 1952) is an English former professional darts 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 ...

0–2) *1981: Runner-up (lost to

3–5) *1982: Runner-up (lost to Jocky Wilson 3–5) *1983: Quarter-finals (lost to

3–4) *1984: Semi-finals (lost to Eric Bristow 0–6) *1985: Runner-up (lost to Eric Bristow 2–6) *1986: Quarter-finals (lost to Bob Anderson 3–4) *1987: Winner (beat Eric Bristow 6–4) *1988: Runner-up (lost to Bob Anderson 4–6) *1989: Semi-finals (lost to Eric Bristow 1–5) *1990: 2nd round (lost to Ronnie Sharp 2–3) *1991: 1st round (lost to

Peter Evison Peter Kenneth Evison (born 27 May 1964) is an English former professional darts player who competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and British Darts Organisation (BDO) events. Nicknamed The Fen Tiger, his greatest achievements were th ...

2–3) *1992: Semi-finals (lost to Phil Taylor 4–5) *1993: Winner (beat

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 ...

6–3)

PDC

*1994: Group Stage (beat Tom Kirby 3–2 and lost to Larry Butler 2–3) *1995: Semi-finals (lost to Phil Taylor 4–5) *1996: Semi-finals (lost to Phil Taylor 1–5) *1997: Last 24 group (lost to Jamie Harvey 2–3 and beat Paul Lim 3–1) *1998: Last 24 group (lost to

Peter Manley Peter David Manley (born 7 March 1962) is an English former professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events from July 1996 until 2017. He won one major title, the Las Vegas Desert Classic, in 2003, and twic ...

0–3 and lost to

Gary Mawson Gary Mawson (born May 17, 1963) is a Canadian-born American professional darts player. He currently resides in Fort Myers, Florida, United States. Mawson played darts for the USA in 2004 and the years immediately following, having previously ...

0–3) *1999: 2nd round (lost to Phil Taylor 1–3) *2000: Quarter-finals (lost to Dennis Smith 3–5) *2001: 2nd round (lost to Jamie Harvey 0–3) *2002: 2nd round (lost to Peter Manley 5–6) *2003: 2nd round (lost to Les Fitton 1–4) *2004: 3rd round (lost to Alan Warriner 3–4) *2005: 2nd round (lost to John Verwey 2–3)

WSDT

*2022: 2nd round (lost to Dave Prins 0-3)

Career finals

BDO major finals: 25 (9 titles, 16 runners-up)

WDF major finals: 6 (5 titles, 1 runner-up)

Independent major finals: 1 (1 title)

Performance timeline

Nine-dart finishes

Lowe accomplished the first ever televised nine-dart finish. This finish was not broadcast live.

References

External links

Interview with John LoweJohn Lowe's profile and stats on Darts DatabaseJohn Lowe's Blog at Unicorn-Darts.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lowe, John English darts players 1945 births Living people BDO world darts champions Sportspeople from Chesterfield, Derbyshire Professional Darts Corporation founding players People from Tupton Members of the Order of the British Empire Darts players who have thrown televised nine-dart games Professional Darts Corporation Hall of Fame