Stephen Farmer (born 24 March 1965 in
West Bromwich
West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, ...
) is an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
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.
Career
Farmer's first big run came in the 2006
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 ...
, reaching the semi-finals with wins over
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 ...
,
Michael Rosenauer
Michael "Mike" Rosenauer (born July 13, 1966) is a former professional German darts player who has played in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.
Career
Rosenauer created controversy when he chose to play in the 2008 PDC World Darts ...
and
John Walton before losing 6–0 in sets to
Martin Adams
Martin Adams (born 4 June 1956) is an English professional darts player who plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) events. Nicknamed "Wolfie", he is a three-time BDO World Champion and three-time World Masters champion. He represents Cambridgesh ...
. He then reached the final of the 2007 British Classic, losing to
Co Stompé
Jacobus Wilhelmus "Co" Stompé (born 10 September 1962) is a Dutch former professional darts player. He was nicknamed The Matchstick because of his almost bald head and very thin appearance, making him look like a matchstick. He was also one of ...
. He was then part of the England team in the
2007 WDF World Cup, reaching the quarter-finals of the Men's Singles event and helping England to victory in the Team Event.
Farmer qualified for the
2008 BDO World Darts Championship outright but lost in the first round to England team-mate
Tony O'Shea
Tony O'Shea (born 9 May 1961) is an English professional darts player. His squat figure has resulted in the nickname "Silverback". O'Shea has reached the finals of seven British Darts Organisation (BDO) major darts tournaments, but to date ...
. Farmer though was unable to maintain his form from the previous year and was forced to qualify for the
2009 BDO World Darts Championship and lost in the early qualifying rounds. He did though reached the quarter-finals of the 2008 World Masters, qualifying for the last 16 where he beat
Gary Robson before losing to Martin Adams.
In 2010, Farmer switched to the PDC. On 4 September he reached his first PDC ProTour event final in
Crawley
Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...
, losing 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 ...
4–6 in the final. Two weeks later, on 19 September, he won his first career title: the Dutch Players Championship by beating
Kevin Painter
Kevin Painter (born 12 July 1967) is an English retired darts player, known as "The Artist". He is arguably most famous for finishing as the runner-up to Phil Taylor in the 2004 PDC World Championship final, now widely credited as one of the ...
6–4 in the final. This win meant that Farmer qualified for his first PDC major, the
2010 World Grand Prix. He lost in the first round against
Steve Brown by 2 sets to 1. In the 2011 PDC world championship, Farmer came up against a strong player in Paul Nicholson. He lost 0–3 in sets. He reached the semi-finals of the
2011 Players Championship, but lost to an on form Gary Anderson, 7–10.
He reached the second round of the
PDC World Championship for the first time in
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
. In a tight game against number fourteen seed
Ronnie Baxter
Ronnie Baxter (born 5 February 1961) is an English former professional darts player who competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He used the nickname "The Rocket" for his matches. Baxter was known for his fast robotic throwing a ...
, Farmer trailed 1–2 in the best-of-five-sets match. He then produced some of his best darts by hitting five 180's in taking six of the final eight legs to seal a 3–2 victory. He continued his run by beating German qualifier
Kevin Münch in the second round, but was then whitewashed 0–4 by world number three
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 ...
in the last 16. In March he hit a
nine-dart finish in the third
UK Open Qualifier during a first round match against Andy Relf. Farmer was knocked out in the last 16 of the event by
Andy Smith. Farmer lost in the preliminary round of the
UK Open
The Cazoo UK Open is a ranking major darts tournament held annually at the Butlins Minehead Resort by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) in England. Often referred to as the "FA Cup of darts", the UK Open replicates the abolition of seedin ...
1–4 to
Jamie Lewis
Jamie Lewis (born 8 November 1991) is a Welsh professional darts player who currently plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and World Darts Federation (WDF) events. His biggest achievement to date was reaching the semi-finals of the 2018 ...
, and reached the last 16 once more in his final ten tournaments of 2012, at the penultimate Players Championship where he was beaten by
Gary Anderson 6–1.
Farmer began 2013 ranked world number 49. He reached the last 16 of the final
UK Open
The Cazoo UK Open is a ranking major darts tournament held annually at the Butlins Minehead Resort by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) in England. Often referred to as the "FA Cup of darts", the UK Open replicates the abolition of seedin ...
qualifier where he lost 6–4 to
Matthew Edgar
Matthew Edgar (born 28 August 1986) is an English darts player currently competing in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.
Career 2011
Edgar joined the PDC in 2011, and qualified for the UK Open. He defeated Nigel Heydon, Andy Pearce ...
, but the £600 he earned was enough to see him enter the tournament in the preliminary round. Farmer defeated Chris Aubrey 5–3, before being beaten 5–2 by Gareth Cousins in the first round. He played in 10 more events during the rest of the year but couldn't advance beyond the last 64 in any of them. Farmer dropped 61 places on the Order of Merit during the year to start 2014 110th in the world, well outside the top 64 who remain on the tour. He did not enter Q School and has not played in a PDC event since.
World Championship results
BDO
*2008: First round (lost to
Tony O'Shea
Tony O'Shea (born 9 May 1961) is an English professional darts player. His squat figure has resulted in the nickname "Silverback". O'Shea has reached the finals of seven British Darts Organisation (BDO) major darts tournaments, but to date ...
2–3)
PDC
*2011: First round (lost to
Paul Nicholson 0–3)
*2012: Third round (lost to
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 ...
0–4)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farmer, Steve
English darts players
Living people
Professional Darts Corporation former tour card holders
1965 births
British Darts Organisation players
PDC ranking title winners