Shaun Greatbatch (13 July 1969 – 5 June 2022) was an English 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 lived in Suffolk and worked in the construction industry. His nickname was Nine Dart Man, having been the first player to hit a perfect

nine dart finish A nine-dart finish, also known as a nine-darter, is a perfect leg or single game in the sport of darts. The object of the game is to score a set number of points, most commonly 501; in order to win, a player must reach the target total exactly an ...

on live television, in the final of the 2002 Dutch Open against

Steve Coote Stephen Coote (born 19 September 1970) is an English professional darts player. He won the German Open in 1999. He is not a full-time professional and works as a fireman. BDO career Coote made his televised debut at the 1999 Winmau World Mast ...

Darts career

Shaun's family is said by commentators to have a rich darting pedigree. His Welsh mother, Sandra, reached the semi-finals of the Women's World Championship in 2002 and was a Women's World Masters finalist in 1992 and 1997. Shaun lost in the first round of the

BDO World Darts Championship The WDF World Darts Championship is a world championship competition in darts, organised by the World Darts Federation. It would previously organised by the British Darts Organisation (BDO), who held it 43 times from 1978 to 2020. The champio ...

in his first four occasions, 2001 against then reigning champion

Ted Hankey Edward Hankey (born 20 February 1968) is an English former professional darts player and convicted sex offender. Nicknamed "The Count", he won the BDO World Darts Championship in 2000, was runner-up in 2001, and won the title for a second time ...

, in 2003 against

Colin Monk Colin Monk (born 29 September 1967) is an English former professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and British Darts Organisation (BDO) events. Career Monk won the Winmau World Masters in 1996, where he be ...

, 2004 against

James Wade James Martin Wade (born 6 April 1983) is an English professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He became the youngest player to win a major PDC title, when he won the 2007 World Matchplay at the ...

and 2005 against

Mike Veitch Michael Veitch (born 15 August 1960) is a Scottish former professional darts player. Career He made his televised debut at the 1990 Embassy World Championship losing in the first round to Brian Cairns, but it would be another 12 years before ...

. This dubious honour ended in the 2006 World Championship, where Shaun finally won in five sets against

Niels de Ruiter Niels de Ruiter (born January 21, 1983 in Lelystad, Flevoland) is a former Dutch darts player and former chairman of the Dutch Darts Federation. Career On the darts circuit his nickname is The Excellent Dude, which is a reference from the ...

. He went on to reach the semi-finals, losing to eventual champion

Jelle Klaasen Jelle Klaasen (born 17 October 1984), nicknamed The Cobra, is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and World Darts Federation (WDF) events. In 2006, he became the youngest darts player to win the ...

. The result means he did not need to qualify for the 2007 championship where he lost in the second round to

Tony Eccles Tony Eccles (born 8 January 1970) is an English former professional darts player. Nicknamed The Viper, he played in both the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He reached the quarter-finals of the BD ...

. In 2008 the first round jinx came back to haunt him as he was beaten by Martin Phillips.

Personal life

On 14 June 2008, it was announced that Shaun had been diagnosed with

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, an ...

. As a result of his treatment, he lost all of his hair, weighed two stone lighter and was four inches shorter (going from 6'5" to 6'1"). Despite his illness, he still managed to play in the 2009 BDO World Darts Championship, having earned enough ranking points to claim one of the automatic spots for the events. He was soundly beaten in the first round 3–0 by John Walton, but his mere presence under such difficult circumstances showed great bravery and generated praise from fellow players and fans. He emotionally left the Lakeside stage to a guard of honour made up of the rest of the players in the tournament male and female, as well as officials, referees and former finalist

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 ...

. Greatbatch died on 5 June 2022, aged 52.

World Championship Results

BDO

* 2001: 1st Round (lost to

0–3) * 2003: 1st Round (lost to

0–3) * 2004: 1st Round (lost to

1–3) * 2005: 1st Round (lost to

2–3) * 2006: Semi-Final (lost to

3–6) * 2007: 2nd Round (lost to

0–4) * 2008: 1st Round (lost to Martin Phillips 1–3) * 2009: 1st Round (lost to John Walton 0–3)

Nine-dart finishes

Shaun Greatbatch hit the first ever live broadcast nine dart finish in the Final of the Dutch Open on 3 February 2002.

References

External links

Shaun Greatbatch's profile and stats on Darts Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greatbatch, Shaun 1969 births 2022 deaths English darts players People with multiple myeloma British Darts Organisation players People from Newmarket, Suffolk Darts players who have thrown televised nine-dart games