Nicholas "Nick" Virachkul (June 3, 1948 – April 17, 1999) was an American

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

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 who competed in the 1970s and 1980s.

Personal life

Nicky Virachkul was born in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, studied in the United States and became a naturalized citizen.

Darts career

Virachkul represented the United States internationally in dart tournaments. He competed at the first Embassy World Darts Championship in 1978, losing narrowly by 7–8 in the semi-final to eventual champion,

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 ...

. He won third place in a play-off by defeating Stefan Lord. Virachakul reached the quarter-finals on three other occasions: in 1981 (losing 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 ...

), 1982 (losing 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 ...

) and 1984 (losing to

Dave Whitcombe David Whitcombe (born 27 June 1954) is an English former professional darts player who won several major tournaments and reached two World Championship Finals between 1980 and 1992. Biography Whitcombe was twice a winner of the Winmau World M ...

). Despite his respectable record, it was nevertheless a surprise when he defeated the defending World Champion, Keith Deller, in the first round of the 1984 World Championship. Deller had his revenge in the first round the following year. The 1985 championship was Virachkul's last appearance in the final stages. Despite competing in the first eight World Championships, he never again qualified after the tournament moved to the Lakeside Country Club in 1986. Virachkul competed in the third

WDF World Cup darts The WDF World Cup is a major darts tournament organized by the World Darts Federation and has been held biennially since 1977. The tournament has featured men's events since the beginning, while women's events were added in 1983 and youth events in ...

tournament in 1979 and won the singles title. In 1980 he reached the semi-finals 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 ...

. He also won the 1978 Windy City Open, the 1982 North American Open and the 1983 Dallas Open. Nicky Virachkul was inducted into the National Darts Hall of Fame in 1996.

Death

Suffering from cancer, Virachkul died in 1999 at the age of 50.

World Championship Results

BDO

* 1978: 3rd Place (beat Stefan Lord 4–5) (legs) * 1979: 2nd Round (lost to Alan Glazier 1–2) (sets) * 1980: 2nd Round (lost to Bill Lennard 0–2) * 1981: Quarter Finals (lost to

0–4) * 1982: Quarter Finals (lost to

1–4) * 1983: 1st Round (lost to Keith Deller 1–2) * 1984: Quarter Finals (lost to

0–5) * 1985: 1st Round (lost to Keith Deller 0–2)

Career finals

WDF major finals: 1 (1 title)

References

External links

Details of deathNicky Virachkul's profile and stats on Darts Database
1948 births 1999 deaths American darts players British Darts Organisation players Thai emigrants to the United States {{US-darts-bio-stub