John Kuczynski (born October 16, 1973 in Bloomsburg,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

) is a former American professional darts player. He currently resides in Zion Grove,

and used the nickname Johnny K for his matches.

Career

For five years running – 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 – he was ranked number one according to American Darts Organisation's (ADO) points standings. He played at the

2005 BDO World Darts Championship The 2005 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was held from 1–9 January 2005 at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey. Raymond van Barneveld lifted the title for a fourth time, defeating England captain Martin Adams ...

, losing in the first round to former world champion

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 ...

. He was the ADO's 2006 National

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

champion. In 2005, he reached the last 32 at the

Las Vegas Desert Classic The Las Vegas Desert Classic was a darts tournament, organized by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and was held each year in July from 2002 until 2009. Its original venue was the MGM Grand Casino and Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada from 2002 to ...

and was a finalist at the Quebec Open and a member of the U.S. World Cup Team. He played in the

2006 PDC World Darts Championship The 2006 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 13th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) since it separated from the British Darts Organisation (BDO). It was held from 19 December 2005 to 2 January ...

, whitewashing

Lionel Sams Lionel Jeffrey Sams (born 20 January 1961 in Paddington, London) is a former English darts player who previously played in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tournaments. His nickname was The Lion for his matches. Since 2011, he played f ...

in the first round without dropping a single leg. He then went on to beat Dutchman

Jan van der Rassel Jan van der Rassel (born 5 January 1964) is a former Dutch professional darts player. He used the nicknames The Project and Rassel Dazzle for his matches. Career He began his darts career competing on the BDO circuit in 2002, and reached the ...

in the second round before losing to Gary Welding in the last 16. Kuczynski had won the first set and could have taken the second before Welding leveled. The American went back in front to lead 2–1, but Welding fought back to take the next three sets and a quarter final place to end Kuczynski's run. At the 2006 World Series of Darts where the prize for an American winner was $1 million, he was the only American player who managed to progress beyond the opening round. He defeated

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 ...

in the first round but went out in the second round to

Wayne Mardle Wayne Elliot Mardle (born 10 May 1973) is an English former professional darts player who played in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and British Darts Organisation (BDO). He was runner-up in three PDC majors, losing to Phil ...

. He reached the third round of the 2008 US Open, beating Vincent van der Voort and

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Daniel Beauregard in the first two rounds before losing to Ben Burton. The next day he reached the quarter-finals of the North American Darts Championship. Kuczynski then suffered a disappointing exit from the 2008 UK Open, losing in the preliminary round to pub qualifier Johnny Haines.

World Championship Results

BDO

* 2005: 1st Round (lost to

1–3)

PDC

* 2006: 3rd Round (lost to Gary Welding 2–4) * 2007: 1st Round (lost to

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 rea ...

1–3)

External links

John Kuczynski's official web siteStats at Darts Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuczynski, John 1973 births American darts players Sportspeople from Pennsylvania Living people British Darts Organisation players Professional Darts Corporation former pro tour players