Kevin Kenny (born 3 April 1961) 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 who played for England and
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...
.
Career
Kenny received 12 caps for England, winning 11 times, and 116
caps
Caps are flat headgear.
Caps or CAPS may also refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...
for Merseyside, winning 92. He was also a two time semi-finalist at the
BDO World Darts Championships and a semi-finalist at the
News of the World Darts Championship
The News of the World Championship was one of the first major organised darts competitions, which began in 1927. It became England's first national darts competition from 1947, as the years went by it gradually became international essentially ...
in 1983. Kenny also won the 1990 Welsh Open.
Kenny is remembered for his quarter-final match against Jocky Wilson in the
1991 BDO World Darts Championship. Jocky was a former World Champion, winning it in 1982 and 1989, and this was only Kenny's second appearance at the Lakeside. However, the match went to 3 sets all, 5 legs all, with Kenny winning the deciding leg. He also hit a 170 finish in that final set, to achieve the highest checkout of the tournament.
Kenny also could have played for Scotland as his mother was born there, and with the home internationals only days away, his mind was on Scotland until he got the call from the English squad.
After the big split in darts when the
PDC was formed, Kenny stayed with the BDO and went to Las Vegas to represent England in the WDF World Cup in 1993. At the time, he was a full international anyway, but it was doubtful whether he would have taken his place in the four-man team (home internationals had a team of 12, whereas the world cup was squads of 4). Kenny represented England 12 times, winning 11 of those matches. He retired from competitive darts in 1995 aged just 34, the age when most players are just reaching their peak.
Other notable achievements was twice being on the winning team in the Champions Cup, a darts event which yearly finds the best pub darts team in the land. The fact that he and teams from
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
won it twice was quite special due to the size of darts in the city at the time, compared to places with more darting pedigree like
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
,
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
, and London. Secondly winning the county men's individual averages twice, a feat which at the time had only been equalled by five-time World Champion
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 ...
(who became great friends with Kenny and also represented Merseyside with him as well).
Kenny quit the BDO in 1994.
World Championship results
BDO
* 1987: 1st round (lost to
Dave Lee 0–3)
* 1991: Semi-finals (lost to
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 ...
2–5)
* 1992: Semi-finals (lost to
Mike Gregory
Michael Keith Gregory (20 May 1964 – 19 November 2007) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1990s and 2000s. He played for Warrington from 1982 to 1994, and won 20 caps fo ...
3–5)
* 1993: 1st round (lost to
Kevin Spiolek
Kevin Spiolek (born 5 May 1962 in Cambridge) is a retired English professional darts player who played during the 1980s and 1990s. He made a brief return to form in 2006, when qualifying to play in the PDC World Darts Championship.
Career
His ...
1–3)
* 1994: Quarter-finals (lost to
Bobby George
Robert Francis George (born 16 December 1945) is an English television presenter and former professional darts player. He is widely recognised as one of the game's biggest personalities, known for his flamboyant entrances in which the "King ...
2–4)
External links
Profile at Darts Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenny, Kevin
1961 births
English darts players
Living people
Sportspeople from Liverpool
Place of birth missing (living people)
British Darts Organisation players