Russell "Rusty" Stewart (born 9 October 1960 in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
) is an Australian 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. He used the nickname Rusty for his matches.
Playing career
Stewart was one of the most successful Australian darts players of the 1980s, Australian Singles Champion four times (1988, 1989, 1993 and 1994), also Pacific Masters Champion three times (1983, 1984, 1990), winning the Australian Masters five times in six years (1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988) and the Australian Grand Masters six times in three different decades (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 2001). He won Pacific Cup singles on two occasions in Tokyo, Japan and Vancouver, Canada. His only major title won on UK soil was the Scottish Open in 1983, but he twice reached the semi-finals of the MFI World Matchplay and was also a quarter-finalist at 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 ...
in 1985 and 1988. He came runner up to Eric Bristow MBE in then the world's richest dart tournament the World Grand Prix – Tokyo 1988. He obtained his highest world ranking position in November 1989 at No. 2 to
Bob Anderson who was the No. 1 ranked player.
He made his World Championship debut in 1984, but lost in the first round to
Peter Locke. He competed eleven times at the BDO World Championship, but failed to progress beyond the last sixteen. Between 1985 and 1991, he suffered defeats to some of the best players of the era including to
Bob Anderson in 1988 and
Phil Taylor in 1990 during their world title runs.
Stewart represented Australia in seven WDF World Cup teams; 1983 Edinburgh, Scotland, 1985 Brisbane, Australia, 1987 Copenhagen, Denmark, 1989 Toronto, Canada, 1993 Las Vegas, United States, 1995 Basel, Switzerland and 2001 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Stewart was runner-up in the
1985 WDF World Cup pairs with
Frank Palko
Frank or Franks may refer to:
People
* Frank (given name)
* Frank (surname)
* Franks (surname)
* Franks, a medieval Germanic people
* Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang
Curr ...
, 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 ...
and
John Lowe John Lowe may refer to:
Sports
* John Lowe (darts player) (born 1945), English darts player.
* John Lowe (footballer) (1912–1995), Scottish football player
* John Lowe (rugby league), English rugby league footballer
* John Lowe (cricketer) (18 ...
by 0–4.
After eight successive appearances in the world championships, he missed out in 1992 and 1993 but returned to the event in 1994 following the loss of many top players who left to form the
World Darts Council
The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 when a group of leading players split from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form what was initially called the Worl ...
. He went out 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 ...
in the first round in 1994 and to
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 second round in 1995 – Burnett went on to take the title.
Stewart only managed to qualify for the World Championship on one further occasion – when he suffered a first round defeat to
Mervyn King in 2002.
Stewart continued to compete in darts tournaments in his native country – adding more titles to his collection. He narrowly missed out on qualification for the
2006 PDC World Darts Championship, losing in the final of the Oceanic Masters to
Warren Parry
Warren "Wazza" Parry (born 9 January 1964) is a New Zealand professional darts player who played in the World Darts Federation (WDF) events. Parry is widely considered the greatest New Zealand player of all time.
Career
Parry reached the final o ...
and suffered a semi-final defeat to 15-year-old
Mitchell Clegg
Mitchell Clegg (born 12 November 1990) is an Australian professional darts player. He lives in Newcastle, New South Wales
Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, ...
the following year. Stewart finally captured the Oceanic Masters in 2008 and earned qualification for the
2009 PDC World Darts Championship. It was his PDC World Championship debut and only his second appearance in any version of the World Championship in 14 years. He was beaten 3–1 in the first round 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 ...
.
Outside darts
Stewart earns his living working for the Australian Government in Canberra.
World Championship results
BDO
* 1984: 1st Round (lost to
Peter Locke 0–2) (sets)
* 1985: 2nd Round (lost to
Jocky Wilson 1–3)
* 1986: 1st Round (lost to
Malcolm Davies Malcolm Davies may refer to:
* Malcolm Davies (darts player)
* Malcolm Davies (rugby)
See also
* Malcolm Davis, American ornithologist
{{hndis, Davies, Malcolm ...
1–3)
* 1987: 1st Round (lost to
Cliff Lazarenko
Cliff Lazarenko (born 16 March 1952) is an English former professional darts player. Nicknamed "Big Cliff" due to his height (193 cm / 6'4") and weight (over 127 kg at his peak), he is known for being a colourful character on and off the stage ...
2–3)
* 1988: 2nd Round (lost to
Bob Anderson 0–3)
* 1989: 2nd Round (lost to
Dennis Hickling
Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius.
The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is someti ...
0–3)
* 1990: 1st Round (lost to
Phil Taylor 1–3)
* 1991: 2nd Round (lost to
Bob Anderson 2–3)
* 1994: 1st Round (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 ...
0–3)
* 1995: 2nd Round (lost to
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 ...
1–3)
* 2002: 1st Round (lost to
Mervyn King 1–3)
PDC
* 2009: 1st Round (lost to
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 ...
1–3)
Performance timeline
References
External links
Stats on Darts Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Russell
1960 births
Australian darts players
Living people
Place of birth missing (living people)
British Darts Organisation players
Professional Darts Corporation associate players
People from Canberra
People from Melbourne