Tony Ayres (17 June 1967 – 27 November 2021) 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 who played for the

Professional Darts Corporation 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 World ...

events.

Career

Ayres' first television exposure came during the 2008 UK Open, reaching the last 64 stage where he lost 9–0 to

Raymond van Barneveld Raymond van Barneveld (born 20 April 1967) is a Dutch professional darts player. Nicknamed Barney, although originally known as The Man, he is one of the most successful darts players in history. Van Barneveld is a five-time World Darts Champ ...

. Ayres qualified for the

2009 PDC World Darts Championship The 2009 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 16th 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 19 D ...

, taking one of eight qualification spots at the qualifying event in

Telford Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in the same direction. With an est ...

. He defeated Andy Smith in the first round but was beaten in the second round by

Andy Hamilton Andrew Neil Hamilton (born 28 May 1954) is a British comedian, game show panellist, television director, comedy screenwriter, radio dramatist, novelist and actor. Early life and education Hamilton was born in Fulham, southwest London. He ...

. In the 2010 UK Open, he reached the semi-finals and in doing so, beat

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 ...

10–9 In the semi-final he was defeated 10–3 by Scotsman Gary Anderson. Ayres won £10,000 by getting to the semi final which lifted him from 57th to 49th in the Order of Merit. On 27 November 2021, Ayres died at the age of 54 after suffering a heart attack whilst playing in a county darts match for Sussex.

World Championship Results

PDC

*2009: 2nd Round (lost to

2-4) (sets)

References

External links

Profile and stats on Darts Database
1967 births 2021 deaths English darts players Professional Darts Corporation former tour card holders People from Billingshurst {{UK-darts-bio-stub