(10 February 1977 – 13 March 2017) was a Japanese

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 The Ogre.

Career

Hashimoto first appeared in the PDC circuit competing in the

2009 Las Vegas Desert Classic The 2009 Las Vegas Desert Classic (officially the 2009 PartyPoker.com Las Vegas Desert Classic for sponsorship) was a professional darts tournament staged from July 1 to July 5, 2009 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the eig ...

qualifiers, as well as a Players Championship. He attempted to qualify for the

2010 PDC World Darts Championship The 2010 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 17th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The event took place at Alexandra Palace in London from 18 Dec ...

, but lost in the final of the Japanese Qualifying event to

Haruki Muramatsu Haruki Muramatsu (村松治樹; born 15 April 1977) is a Japanese darts player. Career Muramatsu qualified for the 2010 PDC World Darts Championship. He defeated Poland's Krzysztof Kciuk 4–1 in the preliminary round, but lost 3–0 to Ronnie ...

. In September 2010, Hashimoto won through the qualifier, beating Mitsumasa Hoshino in the final and qualified for the 2011 PDC World Darts Championship. A month later, he was a quarter-finalist in the Japan Open and in November, he reached the final of the

WDF Asia-Pacific Cup The WDF Asia-Pacific Cup is a darts tournament held biennially since 1974. The tournament consists of a team championship, a pairs championship and a singles championship. All events have a men's competition, and a women's competition. The most re ...

men's singles, losing to New Zealand's

Koha Kokiri Koha Kokiri (born 7 June 1976) is a New Zealand-born Australian professional darts player. Career Kokiri won the men's singles at the 2010 WDF Asia-Pacific Cup in Tokyo, seeing off Morihiro Hashimoto 4–1 in the final. Kokiri defeated Warre ...

. Hashimoto was drawn in the preliminary round against PDPA qualifier

Matt Padgett Matthew Padgett (born 27 March 1982) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tournaments. Career A bowling alley technician by trade, Padgett joined the PDC in 2010. In June 2010, he qual ...

and quickly became popular with the crowd. After winning his first leg, levelling the match at 1–1, the crowd started chanting his name to the tune of "Reach Up (Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag)", which was used as a walk on by

Adrian Lewis Adrian Lewis (born 21 January 1985) is an English professional darts player currently playing in the PDC. He is a two-time PDC World Darts Champion, winning in 2011 and 2012. He is nicknamed Jackpot, as he won a jackpot gambling in Las Vegas ...

. Hashimoto went on to win the match by 4 legs to 2 and become the second Japanese qualifier to win through the preliminary round after Muramatsu. The song, performed by the Perfecto Allstarz, was played at the end of the match instead of the traditional "Chase the Sun" by Planet Funk, and Hashimoto would have it played as his walk on for his first round match against Gary Anderson. He would not win a leg as Anderson whitewashed him 3–0 in sets. After the match, Hashimoto, speaking English, thanked the crowd for their support. Hashimoto represented Japan with

in the 2012 PDC World Cup of Darts and together they were beaten 5–2 by Sweden in the first round. Hashimoto beat Muramatsu 6–5 in the final of the Japanese qualifying tournament for the 2014 World Championship. He saw off Paul Lim 4–2 in the preliminary round and won the opening set in his first round match against Michael Smith, but went on to lose 3–1. In June, Hashimoto and Muramatsu watched as Canada missed seven darts for the match in the first round of the

World Cup of Darts The PDC World Cup of Darts is a team darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation, and was one of the three new tournaments introduced into the PDC calendar in 2010. It is broadcast live by Sky Sports.Brendan Dolan Brendan Gabriel Dolan (born 2 August 1973) is a Northern Irish professional darts player from County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is best known for becoming the first player to hit a ...

and

Michael Mansell Michael Alexander Mansell (born 5 June 1951 in northern Tasmania) is a Tasmanian Aboriginal leader who, as an activist and lawyer, has worked for social, political and legal changes to improve the lives and social standing of Tasmanian Aborigi ...

to exit the tournament. A year later, after whitewashing China 5–0, they were knocked out at the same stage this time by the top seeds England. Hashimoto lost 6–2 in the first round of the inaugural Japan Darts Masters to James Wade.

Death

Hashimoto died suddenly on 13 March 2017 of a

brain haemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

. His death was confirmed by his sponsor, Monster Barrels, on their Facebook page. A number of darts players paid tribute to him including Gary Anderson, Hashimoto's opponent in the first round of the 2011 World Championship. He also received condolences from the official PDC website.

World Championship results

PDC

* 2011: First round (lost to Gary Anderson 0–3) * 2014: First round (lost to Michael Smith 1–3)

References

External links

Annie's Diary
Official Blog * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hashimoto, Morihiro 1977 births 2017 deaths Japanese darts players Professional Darts Corporation associate players PDC World Cup of Darts Japanese team