Les Wallace (born 22 February 1962) is a Scottish retired 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. He adopted the nickname "McDanger", coming out for his matches dressed in a traditional

kilt A kilt ( gd, fèileadh ; Irish: ''féileadh'') is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Hi ...

. He won the 1997 BDO World Darts Championship which is one of the two versions of the

World Professional Darts Championship The World Professional Darts Championship is one of the most important tournaments in the darts calendar. Originally held as an annual event between 1978 and 1993, players then broke off into two separate organisations after a controversial split ...

Career

Wallace reached the final of the 1993

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 ...

, losing to

Steve Beaton Steve Beaton (born 5 April 1964) is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He won the BDO World Darts Championship in 1996 and is a former World No. 1. Background Beaton was born in Co ...

. He won the title five years later, beating

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 ...

in the final. Wallace made his first appearance at the World Championship in 1995, losing a first-round match to

Raymond van Barneveld Raymond van Barneveld (born 20 April 1967) is a Dutch professional darts player. Nicknamed Barney, although originally known as The Man, he is one of the most successful darts players in history. Van Barneveld is a five-time World Darts Champ ...

. His assault on the 1996 Championship ended at the hands of the defending world champion,

Richie Burnett Richard Mark "Richie" Burnett (born 7 February 1967), nicknamed Prince of Wales, is a Welsh professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is a former World No. 1 who won the 1995 Embassy World Darts Cha ...

in the semi-finals. After defeating Bob Taylor in the first round, Wallace avenged his defeat by van Barneveld in 1997, beating him 3–2 in the second round. He went on to win the World Championship with further wins against Paul Williams and Mervyn King and a 6–3 victory over Welshman

Marshall James Marshall James (born 4 October 1970 from Llanelli) is a retired Welsh 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 t ...

in the final. Wallace became the first left-handed player to win a World Championship (either PDC or BDO). He never consolidated his position after winning the World Championship in 1997. He managed only two more match victories at Lakeside, the venue of the BDO Worlds. The defense of his title ended with a second-round loss to

(another former World Champion). Wallace was beaten again by van Barneveld in 1999 (2nd Round) having had darts at double to win, and Wallace went out to

Ritchie Davies Ritchie Davies (born 27 November 1971) is a Welsh former professional darts player from Aberdare. He is best known for his run at the 2003 BDO World Darts Championship, where he reached the final. Career Davies made his World Championship debu ...

in the first round in 2000 – he hasn't qualified to play at the World Championship since.

End of career

Wallace's private life was a major contributor to his withdrawal from the full-time darts circuit. At one of his court cases, his solicitor Charles Thomas told the court that Wallace's life dramatically changed in 1999 when his partner, Carol, lost premature twins who were four days old. That led to the collapse of the relationship and his alcohol consumption became greater. He effectively withdrew from the full-time circuit in 1999, although he still participated in some BDO tournaments – including the World Masters in 2000 and 2003 – losing his first match on both occasions. His only televised appearance since came in an exhibition match before the

World Darts Trophy The Bullit World Darts Trophy was a professional darts tournament run by the British Darts Organisation and the World Darts Federation. Held each September from 2002 to 2007, it took place at the De Vechtsebanen in Utrecht, Netherlands. The tou ...

final in 2006 – when he played in a Legends match against

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 ...

. He has made some attempts to revive his career in recent years and won the Hampshire Open in 2004. In the 2010 Hampshire Open, he won three early round matches but was eliminated at the last 64 stage to K.Gamblin, he received an invitation to compete in the preliminary round of the 2010 competition but was beaten in his first match. In addition, he attended the PDC Qualifying School event in January 2012. He gained a two-year PDC tour card after finishing 23rd in the Q School Order of Merit.

Personal life

Wallace has flirted with the law on several occasions. After a 1996 court appearance, he was fined £210 and banned for 12 months for driving with excess alcohol, having no insurance. and failing to stop. Wallace, who is a father of four, was given a two-week suspended prison sentence for failing to pay £778.73 of council tax in February 2001. He owed the money to

Southampton City Council Southampton City Council is the local authority of the city of Southampton. It is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local ...

for failing to pay for the period 1 April 1997 (the year in which he won £38,000 for winning the World Championship) to 31 May 2000. He admitted non-payment of council tax and was warned that he will be jailed unless he keeps up his repayments. The magistrates were told that he had financial problems and could not afford to pay the debts. Later in 2001, he received a four-month jail sentence after admitting to dangerous driving.Jailed for dangerous driving
BBC News He received a three-year ban from driving in addition to the

custodial sentence A custodial sentence is a judicial sentence, imposing a punishment consisting of mandatory custody of the convict, either in prison or in some other closed therapeutic or educational institution, such as a reformatory, (maximum security) psychia ...

World Championship results

BDO

* 1995: First round (lost to

2–3) (sets) * 1996: Semi-finals (lost to

2–5) * 1997: Winner (beat

6–3) * 1998: Second round (lost to

2–3) * 1999: Second round (lost to

2–3) * 2000: First round (lost to

0–3)

WSDT

* 2022: First round (lost to John Walton 2–3) * 2023: First round (lost to

Darryl Fitton Darryl Fitton (born 5 May 1962) is an English professional darts player. He is nicknamed The Dazzler and comes to the stage dancing to the Madness song "One Step Beyond" wearing sunglasses; one of the most popular walk-ons with the audience ...

2–3)

References

External links

Profile and stats on Darts Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Les Scottish darts players English darts players BDO world darts champions 1962 births Living people British Darts Organisation players Professional Darts Corporation former tour card holders