Darts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target (dartboard) fixed to a wall. Though various different boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules. As well as being a professional competitive sport, darts is a traditional pub game, commonly played in the United Kingdom, across the Commonwealth, the Netherlands, Ireland, the Scandinavian countries, the United States and elsewhere.

Equipment

Dartboard

Before the First World War, pubs in the United Kingdom had dartboards made from solid blocks of wood, usually elm. They had to be soaked overnight to heal the holes made by the darts, and it was a messy business for the publican, although darts was a popular game. This changed when a company called Nodor, whose primary business was making modelling clay (which has no odor, hence the name Nodor), made a dartboard. Their model of dartboard was not a great success until someone came up with the idea of making a dartboard from sisal fibres. Small bundles of sisal fibres of the same length were bundled together. The bundles were then compressed into a disk and bound with a metal ring. It was an instant success, as the darts did little or no damage to the board—they just parted the fibres when they entered the board; this type of board was more durable and required little maintenance.

Modern dartboards are made of sisal fibres; cheap boards are sometimes made of coiled paper. However, several types of sisal fibre are used in dartboards today, originating from East Africa, Brazil or China.

A regulation board is inches (451 mm) in diameter and is divided into 20 radial sections. Each section is separated with metal wire or a thin band of sheet metal. The best dartboards have the thinnest wire, so that the darts have less chance of hitting a wire and bouncing out. The numbers indicating the various scoring sections of the board are also normally made of wire, especially on tournament-quality boards, but may be printed directly on the board instead.

Note that there are variations in the design of a dartboard, reflecting slightly different rules. These will be covered later in this article.

History

The dartboard may have its origins in the cross-section of a tree. An old name for a dartboard is a 'butt', the word comes from the French word ''but'', meaning target. In particular, the Yorkshire and Mealy Manchester Log End boards differ from the standard board in that they have no treble only double and bullseye, The Mealy Manchester board being of a smaller diameter, with a playing area of only 25 cm across with double and bull areas measuring just 4mm. Father and son Dave and Chris Mealy are the only manufacturers of the Manchester Board. The London Fives board is another variation. This has only 12 equal segments numbered 20,5,15,10,20,5,15,10,20,5,15,10 with the doubles and triples being a quarter of an inch wide. . There is speculation that the game originated among soldiers throwing short arrows at the bottom of the cask or at the bottom of trunks of trees. As the wood dried, cracks would develop, creating "sections". Soon, regional standards emerged and many woodworkers supplemented bar tabs by fabricating dart boards for the local pubs.

The standard numbering plan with a 20 on top was created in 1896 by a Lancashire carpenter called Brian Gamlin. However, a great many other configurations have been used throughout the years and in different geographical locations. Gamlin's layout was devised to penalise inaccuracy. Although this applies to most of the board, the left-hand side (near the 14 section) is preferred by beginners, for its concentration of larger numbers. Mathematically, removing the rotational symmetry by placing the "20" at the top, there are 19!, or 121,645,100,408,832,000 possible dartboards. Many different layouts would penalise a player more than the current setup; however, the current setup actually does the job rather efficiently. There have been several mathematical papers published that consider the "optimal" dartboard.

Height and distance

In the standard game, the dartboard is hung so that the bullseye is from the floor—eye-level for a person. The oche ()—the line behind which the throwing player must stand—is generally from the face of the dartboard measured horizontally. Another recognised way of dartboard / oche dimensions is as thus... set up the dartboard on a solid wall whereas the distance from the floor to the centre of the bullseye (in the centre of the dartboard) is , then measuring again from the centre of the bullseye in a diagonal manner, measure from the bulleye to the rear of the oche and this will ensure true and accurate allround dimensions, provided the floor is horizontal and the walls are plumb. An alternate means of measuring the distance from the bullseye to the far side of the oche or throwing line. It is from the rear of the oche to a plumb line hanging (right angle) from the bulls eye. This figure is calculated using Pythagorean theorem, a² + b² = c². This is the recognized world standard as set by the World Darts Federation and is used in most areas.

The London 5 board or narrow 5s board set up is slightly different from the standard board. The height is set at to the centre of the bull and the oche is at from the face of the board.

Scoring

The standard dartboard is divided into 20 numbered sections, scoring from 1 to 20 points, by wires running from the small central circle to the outer circular wire. Circular wires within the outer wire subdivide each section into single, double and triple areas. The dartboard featured on the "Indoor League" television show of the 1970s did not feature a triple section, and according to host Fred Trueman during the first episode, this is the traditional Yorkshire board.

Various games can be played (and still are played informally) using the standard dartboard. However, in the official game, any dart landing inside the outer wire scores as follows:

Hitting one of the large portions of each of the numbered sections, traditionally alternately coloured black and white, scores the points value of that section.

* Hitting the thin inner portions of these sections, roughly halfway between the outer wire and the central circle coloured red and green, scores triple the points value of that section.

* Hitting the thin outer portions of these sections, again coloured red or green, scores double the points value of that section. The double-20 is often referred to as double-top, reflecting the 20's position on the dartboard.

The central circle is divided into a green outer ring worth 25 points (known as "outer", "outer bull", or "iris") and a red inner circle (usually known as "bull", "inner bull" or "double bull"), worth 50 points. The term "bullseye" can mean either the whole central part of the board or just the inner red section. The term "bull's ring" usually means just the green outer ring.

Hitting outside the outer wire scores nothing.

Any dart that does not remain in the board after throwing (for example, a dart that hits a wire and bounces out of the board or drops out with the impact of a later throw) also scores nothing; exception should be noted if play is on any electronic board: darts falling out are counted.

The highest score possible with three darts is 180, commonly known as a "ton 80" (100 points is called a ton), obtained when all three darts land in the triple 20. In the televised game, the referee frequently announces a score of 180 in exuberant style. A "quad" ring appeared briefly in the 1990s, leading to a potential ''240'' maximum (three quad-20s), a ''210'' maximum checkout (Q20-Q20-Bull) and ''seven'' dart finishes from a 501 start (five quad-20s, triple-17, bullseye), but was swiftly dropped from professional tournament play.

Playing darts

There are many games that can be played on a dartboard, but darts generally refers to a game whereby the player throws three darts per visit to the board with the goal of reducing a fixed score, commonly 501 or 301, to zero, with the final dart landing in either the bullseye or a double segment. A game of darts is generally contested between two players, or two teams, who take turns in throwing up to three darts.

A throw that reduces a player's score below zero, to exactly one, or to zero but not ending with a double is known as "going bust", with that player's score being reset and their turn forfeited. A darts match is played over a fixed number of games, known as legs. A match may be divided into sets, with each set being contested as over a fixed number of legs.

Although playing straight down from 501 is standard in darts, sometimes a double must be hit to begin scoring, known as "doubling in", with all darts thrown before hitting a double not being counted. The PDC's World Grand Prix uses this format.

The minimum number of thrown darts required to complete a leg of 501 is nine. The most common nine dart finish consists of two 180 maximums followed by a 141 checkout (T20-T19-D12), but there are many other possible ways of achieving the feat. Three 167s (T20-T19-Bull) is considered a pure or perfect nine dart finish by some players, most notably the flamboyant Bobby George.

Other darts games and variants

There are a number of regional variations on the standard rules and scoring systems. "Round the Clock" is a variation that involves hitting the numbers in sequence. "Jumpers" is a variation played in Asia.

Fives

A regional variant still played in some parts of the East End of London. The board has fewer, larger segments, all numbered either 5, 10, 15 or 20. Players play down from 505 rather than 501, and stand the farthest () away from the board of any mainstream variation.

American darts

American Darts, despite the name, is a regional USA variant of the game (most U.S. dart players play the traditional games described above). This style of dart board is most often found in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and parts of New York state.

Darts cricket

Dartball

Dartball is a darts game based on the sport of baseball. It is played on a diamond shaped board and has similar scoring to baseball.

Dart Golf

Dart golf is a darts game based on the sport of golf. It is played on both special golf dartboards and traditional dartboards. Scoring is similar to golf.

Shanghai

Shanghai is a darts game of accuracy. Hitting doubles and triples is paramount to victory. This game is played with at least two players. The standard version is played in 7 rounds. In round one players throw their darts aiming for the 1 section, round 2, the 2 section and so on until round 7. Standard scoring is used, and doubles and triples are counted. Only hits on the wedge for that round are counted. The winner is the person who has the most points at the end of seven rounds (1-7); or you can score a Shanghai and win instantly. To score a Shanghai you have to hit a triple, a double and single (in any order) of the number that is in play.

Shanghai can also be played for 20 rounds to use all numbers.

A Fairer Start for Shanghai: To prevent players from becoming too practised at shooting for the 1, the number sequence can begin at the number of the dart that lost the throw for the bullseye to determine the starting thrower. For example; Thrower A shoots for the bullseye and hits the 17. Thrower B shoots for the bullseye and hits it. Thrower B then begins the game, starting on the number 17, then 18, 19, 20, 1, 2, 3, etc. through 16 (if no player hits Shanghai).

Killer

Killer is a 'knock-out' game for two or more players (at its best at 4-6 players). Initially each player throws a dart at the board with their non-dominant hand to obtain their 'number'. No 2 players can have the same number. Once everyone has a number, each player takes it in turn to get their number five times with their three darts (doubles count twice, and triples three times). Once a person has reached 5, they become a 'killer'. This means they can aim for other peoples numbers, taking a point off for each time they hit (doubles x2, triples x3). If a person gets to zero they are out. A killer can aim for anyone's numbers, even another killer's. You cannot get more than 5 points. The winner is 'the last man standing'.

Lawn Darts

Lawn darts (also called Jarts or yard darts) is a lawn game based on darts. The game play and objective are similar to both horseshoes and darts. The darts are similar to the ancient Roman plumbata.

Darts organizations

Amateur League Organizations

The American Darts Organization promulgates rules and standards for amateur league darts and sanctions tournaments in the United States. The American Darts Organization began operation January 1, 1976 with 30 charter member clubs and a membership of 7,500 players. Today, the ADO has a membership that averages 250 clubs on a yearly basis representing roughly 50,000 members.

Professional Organizations

Of the two professional organisations, the British Darts Organisation (BDO), founded 1973, is the older. Its tournaments are often shown on the BBC in the UK and on SBS6 in the Netherlands. The BDO is a member of the World Darts Federation (WDF) (founded 1976), along with organizations in some 60 other countries worldwide. The BDO originally organised a number of the more prestigious British tournaments with a few notable exceptions such as the News of the World Championship and the national events run under the auspices of the National Darts Association of Great Britain. However, many sponsors were lost and British TV coverage became much reduced by the early nineties.

In 1992 a breakaway organisation was formed, initially known as the World Darts Council (WDC) but shortly after known as the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). The PDC tournaments have a considerable following, although the PDC World Championship attracts lower TV viewing figures than that of the BDO.

The PDC tournaments often have higher prize money and feature the leading player in the history of the game, 15-time World Champion Phil Taylor. The highly successful BDO player Raymond van Barneveld switched to the PDC and won the PDC World Championship at his first attempt in 2007.

Professional darts

The BDO and PDC both organise a World Professional Championship. They are held annually over the Christmas/New Year period, with the PDC championship finishing slightly earlier than the BDO tournament. The BDO World Championship has been running since 1978; the PDC World Championship started in 1994.

Both organisations hold other professional tournaments. The BDO organise the World Masters and many Open tournaments. They also organise county darts for their 66 county members in the UK including individual and team events.

The PDC's major tournaments are the World Championship, Premier League, UK Open, Las Vegas Desert Classic, World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix. All of these are broadcast live on Sky Sports television in the UK. They also hold PDC Pro Tour events and smaller category events around the UK. As of 2007 the PDC have introduced two new televised major tournaments—the US Open (to be broadcast on Challenge TV) and the Grand Slam of Darts (to be screened on ITV).

Two Dutch independently organised major tournaments, the International Darts League and the World Darts Trophy introduced a mix of BDO and PDC players in 2006 and 2007. Both organisations allocated rankings to the tournaments, but these two events are now discontinued.

The WDF World Cup for national teams and a singles tournament has been played biennially since 1977. The WDF also organise the Europe Cup.

Professional darts players

World Champions

See World Professional Darts Championship

!Year	!Winner WPD (BDO)	!Winner BDO	!Winner PDC
1978	Leighton Rees (1)
1979	John Lowe (1)
1980	Eric Bristow (1)
1981	Eric Bristow (2)
1982	Jocky Wilson (1)
1983	Keith Deller (1)
1984	Eric Bristow (3)
1985	Eric Bristow (4)
1986	Eric Bristow (5)
1987	John Lowe (2)
1988
1989	Jocky Wilson (2)
1990
1991	Dennis Priestley (1)
1992
1993	John Lowe (3)
1994		John Part (1)	Dennis Priestley (2)
1995		Richie Burnett (1)
1996		Steve Beaton (1)
1997		Les Wallace (1)
1998		Raymond van Barneveld (1)
1999		Raymond van Barneveld (2)
2000		Ted Hankey (1)
2001
2002		Tony David (1)
2003		Raymond van Barneveld (3)	John Part (2)
2004		Andy Fordham (1)
2005		Raymond van Barneveld (4)
2006		Jelle Klaasen (1)
2007		Martin Adams (1)	Raymond van Barneveld (5)
2008			John Part (3)
2009		Ted Hankey (2)
2010		Martin Adams (2)
2011			Martin Adams (3)

2010 World Champions :BDO: Martin Adams ''Wolfie'' :PDC: Phil Taylor ''The Power'' :Women's BDO: Trina Gulliver ''The Golden Girl'' :Women's PDC: Stacy Bromberg

Multiple World Champions :15 Phil Taylor ''The Power'' (13 PDC, 2 BDO) : 8 Trina Gulliver ''The Golden Girl'' : 5 Eric Bristow ''Crafty Cockney'' : 5 Raymond van Barneveld ''Barney'' / ''The Man'' (4 BDO, 1 PDC) : 3 John Part ''Darth Maple'' (1 BDO, 2 PDC) : 3 John Lowe ''Old Stoneface'' : 3 Martin Adams ''Wolfie'' : 2 Ted Hankey ''The Count'' : 2 Jocky Wilson : 2 Dennis Priestley ''The Menace'' (1 BDO, 1 PDC)

Former one-time BDO World Champions :Bob Anderson ''The Limestone Cowboy'' :Steve Beaton ''Magnum-PI/ The Bronze Adonis'' :Richie Burnett ''The Prince of Wales'' :Tony David ''The Deadly Boomerang'' :Keith Deller ''The Fella'' / ''The Milky Bar Kid'' :Andy Fordham ''The Viking'' :Jelle Klaasen ''The Matador'' :Leighton Rees :Les Wallace ''McDanger'' :John Walton ''John Boy'' :Mark Webster ''Webby''

World rankings

Both the WDF, BDO and PDC each maintain their own rankings lists. These lists are commonly used to determine seedings for various tournaments. The WDF rankings are based on the preceding 12 months performances, the BDO resets all ranking points to zero after the seedings for their world championship have been determined, and the PDC Order of Merit is based on prize money earned over a two year period.

Televised darts

Darts first appeared on British television in 1962 when Westward Television broadcast the Westward TV Invitational to the south-west of England. In 1970, ITV broadcast the News of the World Championship and from 1972 the Indoor League, which featured a darts tournament.

Over the next decade darts coverage expanded with many major tournaments appearing on both ITV and BBC through the 1970s and early 1980s, but the cancellation of ITV's ''World of Sport'' show in 1985 meant they had to cut back on darts coverage but despite this they still showed the World Masters until 1988. The BBC also cut back on their coverage to the extent that one major event was still broadcast on either channel by 1988—the World Championship.

With the creation of the WDC/PDC in 1992/93, darts gradually returned to television with Sky Television covering the new organization's World Championship and World Matchplay events from 1994. Sky's coverage continued to increase throughout the 1990s, with more new events added. The PDC's World Championship, Premier League, UK Open, Las Vegas Desert Classic, World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix are all televised live on Sky.

The BBC finally began to expand their darts coverage in 2001 when they added the World Masters to their portfolio. However, it wasn't until 2005 that viewers were able to see every dart thrown live at the World Championship. This was the year that BBC introduced interactive coverage on its BBCi service.

Darts has continued to grow again on television and there now several major tournaments broadcast in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world. Dutch station, Sport One, DSF in Germany and several other TV stations across the globe also broadcast the PDC events.

In Europe, Eurosport broadcast the Lakeside World Championships, having signed a three-year contract in 2006, and that year also broadcast the Finland Open, the BDO British Internationals, the BDO England Open and the BDO British Open. There has been no Eurosport coverage of Open events since 2007.

In the Netherlands, SBS6 has broadcast the Lakeside (since 1998) and the Dutch Open. They also shown the International Darts League and World Darts Trophy, however they are now defunct. RTL 5 broadcast the Dutch Grand Masters in 2005. Some of these tournaments can also be watched on the internet for free using a live stream, depending on contractual restrictions (''external links: SBS Streams and Watchdarts.com stream'')

The PDC has also tried to break into the television market in the United States by introducing the World Series of Darts in 2006. It had a $1 million prize to showcase professional darts in the United States. Unfortunately the programme was not a ratings success and was taken from its peak time broadcast slot on ESPN after just a few weeks. The tournament was replaced with a US Open event in 2007 which was screened in the UK on digital television channel Challenge TV, with Nuts TV showing the 2008 tournament.

ITV returned to darts coverage in November 2007, showing the inaugural Grand Slam of Darts—its first major darts tournament coverage in almost twenty years. They also added a second PDC event in October 2008 with the new European Championship. Setanta Sports have also televised darts tournaments for the first time during 2008 by showing several BDO Open events and the new BetFred League of Legends.

Betting

In places where alcohol is consumed, English law has long permitted betting only on games of skill, as opposed to games of chance, and then only for small stakes. An apocryphal tale relates that in 1908, Jim Garside, the landlord of the Adelphi Inn, Leeds, England was called before the local magistrates to answer the charge that he had allowed betting on a game of chance, darts, on his premises. Garside asked for the assistance of local champion William Bigfoot Anakin who attended as a witness and demonstrated that he could hit any number on the board nominated by the court. Garside was discharged as the magistrates found darts, indeed, to be a game of skill. More recently, in keeping with Darts' strong association with pubs and drinking, matches between friends or pub teams are often played for pints.

In the professional game, betting is prominent with many of the big bookmaking companies sponsoring events (particularly within the PDC). Sky Bet (Premier League), Bodog (World Grand Prix), Stan James (World Matchplay), Blue Square (UK Open) and Ladbrokes (World Championship) are all title sponsors of major PDC events.

On FSN broadcasts in the United States, the logos for Ladbrokes are pixelized out and digitally obscured, along with any audible references to Ladbrokes, due to American laws and policies against online gambling.

See also

Darts world rankings—current ranking lists for BDO and PDC

Darts tournaments—previous winners, history and information

Darts players profiles

Nine dart finish—the "perfect" game in darts

Glossary of darts

Pub games

''Bullseye''—a British game show based on darts

References

Further reading

. Scholarly history showing how darts figured in publicans' efforts to improve their establishments, and how the sport moved from a working-class pursuit to gain middle- and upper-class players.

External links

American Darts Organization

British Darts Organisation

International Dart Federation

Professional Darts Corporation

World Darts Federation

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Coordinates	45°30′″N73°40′″N
name	Martin Adams
nickname	Wolfie
birth date	June 04, 1956
birth place	Sutton, London, England
hometown	Deeping St James, Lincolnshire
homecountry	England
since	1981
darts	Engraved 22 Gram Datadart M3
laterality	Right-handed
music	"Hungry Like the Wolf" (Duran Duran)
bdo	1982 to present
currentrank	1 (WDF)1 (BDO)
bdo world	Winner 2007, 2010, 2011
world masters	Winner 2008, 2009, 2010
world darts trophy	Finalist 2004, 2006
int. darts league	Quarter Finalist 2006
matchplay	Semi Final 2001
grand prix	Quarter Final 2001
tournament	WDF World Cup Singles Europe Cup Singles British Pentathlon British Open Jersey Open Finland Open Swiss Open British Matchplay European Grand Masters Belgium Open Portland Open Scania Open Primus Masters German Gold Cup Schiedam Open Denmark Open German Open Antwerp Open Granite City Open Scottish Open Dutch Open
resultyears	1995, 2001 1996 1994, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 1994, 2004 1995 1996, 2002 1996, 1999 1996 1996, 2000 1997, 1998 1999 1999 1999, 2000 2000, 2001, 2002 2000 2000 2001, 2007 2001 2005, 2007 2005 2010, 2011
achievement	WDF World Cup Champions Team 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003 World Cup Pairs Champion 1995, 2003 Europe Cup Team Champions 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000 Europe Cup Pairs Champion 1996, 2002, 2010
updated	7 December 2008 }}

Martin Adams (born 4 June 1956) is an English international darts player. Nicknamed ''Wolfie'' or ''Mr BDO'', he is BDO world ranked number one, three-time and reigning BDO World Champion and three-time and reigning World Masters champion. He represents Cambridgeshire at county darts level and has been captain of England since 1993/94 - the longest any individual player has held that role.

Darts career

Adams was born in Sutton, London and started his darts career in pubs. He still plays pub darts, currently playing for Rigby's in Market Deeping, Lincolnshire. He turned professional in 1982.

Following the formation of the World Darts Council in 1993, all the players that left the British Darts Organisation were banned from playing county darts, leaving England searching for a new team and a new captain. Adams took over the role in 1993 and has remained captain since, becoming the longest reigning England captain ever.

Adams has won many BDO Open events and twice won the WDF World Cup singles, but often missed-out on winning the biggest tournaments. He was sometimes the victim of great comebacks and also great collapses himself when he found himself in winning positions. In particular, his 5–4 defeat to Chris Mason in the 1999 World Championship quarter-finals, having led 4–1 and seen nine match-darts pass him by in the match, is always mentioned among the greatest matches in the history of the event.

In the Grand Slam BDO events, other than the World Championship, Adams was runner-up on three occasions. He was beaten 6-4 in the 2004 Bavaria World Darts Trophy final by Raymond van Barneveld and lost the 2006 Bavaria World Darts Trophy final to Phil Taylor 7-2. He also lost to 17-year-old Dutch youngster Michael van Gerwen 7–5 in the 2006 Winmau World Masters final, having led 5-2 and despite averaging 107 for the first nine darts of each leg.

Having made his Lakeside debut in 1994 at the age of 37, Adams failed to progress beyond the semi finals of the World Championship until 2005 when he reached the final at the 12th attempt. He beat Davy Richardson 3-2, John Henderson 3-2, Ted Hankey 5-3 and Simon Whitlock 5-0 before losing 6-2 against van Barneveld in the final.

Adams reached his second world final in 2007. He was number one seed for the second time in his career and put out Tony O'Shea, Co Stompé, Ted Hankey and Mervyn King in his run to the final where he faced qualifier Phill Nixon. The two oldest players in the tournament (they were both 50 years old) reached the final. Adams stormed into a 6-0 lead, before Nixon produced an incredible comeback to level the match. Just when it looked like Adams was heading for another dramatic defeat, he went off the stage to compose himself. When he did that he finally justified why he'd started as strong favourite when he won all three legs in the final set to win through 7–6 and finally claim the world title that he said he had been chasing for 14 years.

In the draw for the 2008 BDO World Championships, Adams was again paired with Nixon in the first round. In the match, Adams beat Nixon 3–0. After the game, Adams was clearly emotional in an interview following his victory, citing the memories of the 2007 final as the reason (the first time he had won comfortably). In the second round he came up against Martin Phillips. It was easy pickings for Adams, who cruised to a 4–0 victory with Phillips paying the price for many missed doubles. In the quarter-finals he played a fiercely fought match against Masters champion Robert Thornton, whom he led at one time 4–2. Thornton fought back to make it 4-4 but Adams eventually took control of his visible nerves to win 5–4. Adams went on to lose in the semi-finals to number-one seed Mark Webster, who eventually won the tournament.

Adams defeated Scott Waites in the World Masters final of 2008 to record his first Masters victory and his second major (after the 2007 Worlds), in another epic 7–6 encounter. A month later, at the 2009 World Championship, he reached the semifinal for the fifth successive year, where he was narrowly defeated by eventual champion Ted Hankey. Later that year, he won his second successive Masters title, once again by a 7-6 scoreline in the final, over Robbie Green after Green led by 6–3 and had a dart for the title. This win made Adams the first man to retain the Masters title since Bob Anderson in 1988. Adams joined Eric Bristow, Richie Burnett, Bob Anderson and John Walton as the fifth player to win them in the same season.

In the 2010 World Championship he beat a visibly nervous Anthony Fleet in the first round without losing a leg, followed by further comfortable victories over Daryl Gurney and Garry Thompson. In the semi-final he let a 5-1 lead slip over Welshman Martin Phillips before finally winning 6-4. He then defeated unseeded Dave Chisnall 7–5 in the final to win a second World Championship in a rematch of their first round match a year earlier.

In February 2010 he won the Dutch Open title for the first time in his long career. The England captain triumphed 3–1 over international team-mate Scott Waites in the men's singles final in Veldhoven.

Adams won his third successive World Masters title in 2010 by defeating Stuart Kellett 7-3 in the final, becoming only the second player in history to win three consecutive World Masters titles (the other being Bob Anderson). However although it matched Bob Anderson's record, it was not in the same vain, as Bob Anderson won the masters with a unified field.

Adams reached his fourth World Championship final in the 2011 tournament, defeating Tony West, John Walton, Ross Smith and Martin Phillips to get there. The match against Walton was especially memorable as it went to a sudden death leg, which Adams won despite Walton having the advantage of throw. Adams played Dean Winstanley in the final, the #3 seed - marking the only time Adams played a seed in either the 2010 or 2011 World Championship - and won 7-5 to become the first player since Raymond van Barneveld to successfully defend the BDO World Championship.

Later in January, Adams successfully defended his Dutch Open crown, once again defeating Winstanley in a close final (3-2 in sets).

Stance on the PDC

After the 1997 Tomlin Order, some BDO players took the opportunity to play in some PDC events and Adams competed in the 2000 and 2001 World Matchplays where he lost 17-9 to Phil Taylor in the semi-final. Adams also played in the 2001 World Grand Prix Darts, as well as winning a non-televised Players Championship tournament where he beat Phil Taylor in the final. Adams played in the 2006 World Darts Trophy and lost 7-2 to Phil Taylor in the semi-final. However, when eligibility rules changed Adams was unable to compete as a BDO player.

When the Grand Slam of Darts began in 2007, Adams turned down the invitation to compete in the PDC event and continued to decline the offer to compete in subsequent years, with many believing the PDC removing his earlier eligibility for events as a reason for him refusing to play. The PDC's Board of Directors ruled that Adams will no longer be eligible for invitations into the tournament in future. Adams brushed off their decision, saying that it would simply save him the time in having to refuse them. Despite this, commentators at the 2009 Grand Slam of Darts confirmed that they had once again unsuccessfully invited him to that year's event.

However in an interview with BBC commentator David Croft just before the 2011 BDO World Championship, Adams said that "he had held discussions with the BDO and certain political issues had been sorted regarding the other side of the game" when asked by Croft about whether in theory a match could take place with the winner of the respective PDC World Championship. These comments have led to rumours that he may be competing in the 2011 Grand Slam of Darts after the BDO offered to support him entering the event.

Outside darts

Adams lives in Deeping St James, near Market Deeping, Lincolnshire with his wife Sharon who is a swimming instructor. They met at her 18th birthday party when Martin was helping his brother, John Adams MBE, who was the disc jockey and got married the following year in 1979. They have two sons – Warren, (born 1982) and Darren, as well as a granddaughter Lauren (born 1984).

Professional record

BDO World Championship record

Year	Seed	Reached	Opponent	Score	Notes
1994	unseeded	Quarter Final	Magnus Caris	2-4
1995	4	Semi Final	Raymond van Barneveld	4-5
1996	3	Quarter Final	Steve Beaton	1-4	Beaton was eventual winner
1997	1	1st Round		1-3
1998	4	1st Round	Robbie Widdows	2-3
1999	3	Quarter Final		4-5
2000	6	1st Round	Steve Coote	2-3
2001	unseeded	2nd Round	Ronnie Baxter	1-3
2002	2	Semi Final	Tony David	4-5	David was eventual winner
2003	4	2nd Round		1-3
2004	6	1st Round	Richie Davies	2-3
2005	7	Final	Raymond van Barneveld	2-6	Runner Up
2006	2	Semi Final	Raymond van Barneveld	2-6
2007	1	Won	Phill Nixon	7-6	Winner
2008	4	Semi Final		4-6	Webster was eventual winner
2009	3	Semi Final	Ted Hankey	4-6	Hankey was eventual winner
2010	3	Won	Dave Chisnall	7-5	Winner
2011	1	Won	Dean Winstanley	7-5	Winner

BDO Majors (6)

World Championship

Winner (3)

2007 BDO World Darts Championship2010 BDO World Darts Championship2011 BDO World Darts Championship

width="50"	'''Year
2007	BDO World Darts Championship ||	Phill Nixon	7-6
2010	BDO World Darts Championship ||	Dave Chisnall	7-5
2011	BDO World Darts Championship ||	Dean Winstanley	7-5

World Masters

Winner (3)

2008 Winmau World Masters2009 Winmau World Masters2010 Winmau World Masters

width="50"	'''Year
2008	Winmau World Masters ||	Scott Waites	7-6
2009	Winmau World Masters ||	Robbie Green	7-6
2010	Winmau World Masters ||	Stuart Kellett	7-3

References

External links

Wolfie Darts Official Web Site

Profile on Darts Database

Category:English darts players Category:World darts champions Category:1956 births Category:Living people Category:People from the Deepings Category:British Darts Organisation players

de:Martin Adams nl:Martin Adams simple:Martin Adams

Coordinates	45°30′″N73°40′″N
name	Anthony Fleet
fullname	Anthony Fleet
nickname	The 1st
birth date	September 06, 1965
birth place	Australia
hometown	Canberra
homecountry	Australia
since	-
darts	-
laterality	Right-handed
music	Down Under by Men at Work
bdo	2001 to present
pdc	2007
currentrank	39 (WDF)56 (BDO)
bdo world	First Round 2010
world masters	Last 136 2009
pdc world	First Round 2007
tournament	Central Coast Australian ClassicOak Flats Soundwaves OpenGoulburn OpenPacific MastersAustralian Grand Masters
resultyears	2003, 20092005200820092009, 2010
achievement	}}

Anthony "Tony" Fleet (born September 6, 1965) is an Australian darts player who competes in the BDO/WDF system.

Darts career

Fleet qualified for the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship, but was defeated 3-0 by Adrian Lewis in the first round.

In 2009, Fleet won the Pacific Masters, and the WDF World Cup pairs with Geoff Kime.

2010 World Championship

Fleet qualified to play in the 2010 BDO World Championships at the Lakeside Country Club where he was drawn against the reigning World Champion Martin Adams. In the first leg of the match, Fleet appeared to be very nervous - dropping his darts twice, struggling to maintain grip and also losing his balance a few times. In 27 darts, Fleet scored 26, 41, 60, 60, 5, 41 (with his first dart hitting double 1), 22, 80 and 11, and it is largely considered to be "the worst leg in darts history". Adams also struggled to get going in the leg, missing 4 darts at a double before finally finishing on double 3. It has also been suggested that Fleet was drunk, having spent much time in the bar prior to the match, possibly trying to settle his pre-match nerves. Fleet achieved a 3-dart average of 65.34 (one of the lowest recorded averages in the history of a major competition), and lost 3-0 in sets without winning a leg. Adams later spoke of his sympathy for Fleet and recalled his nerves the first time he played at the Lakeside saying that "no one knows what its like up there until you get up there." Following the game, Fleet said "I have waited 20 years to get here and I have embarrassed myself." He apologised to Adams for not being able to play to his best and give him a better game.

External links

Profile and stats on Darts Database

References

Category:Australian darts players Category:1965 births Category:Living people

Coordinates	45°30′″N73°40′″N
name	Ted Hankey
fullname	Edward Hankey
nickname	The Count
birth date	February 20, 1968
birth place	Stoke-On-Trent, England
hometown	Telford
homecountry	England
darts	14g
laterality	Right-handed
music	Be On Your Way by DJ Zany
bdo	1994 to present
pdc	n/a
currentrank	5 (BDO)3 (WDF)
bdo world	Winner 2000, 2009
world masters	SF 1997, 2003, 2004
world darts trophy	QF 2004
international darts league	QF 2004, 2005, 2006
grand slam	Second round 2010
tournament	Dutch Open England Open German Open Belgium Open Norway Open Denmark Open Malta Open Embassy Gold Cup Primus Gold Cup IDPA Lakeside Classic Isle of Man Open
resultyears	1999,2003 2003, 2007 2009 2002, 2003 2002 2004 2003 1995, 1996 1999 2002 2008 2011
updated	11 October 2007 }}

Edward "Ted" Hankey (born 20 February 1968 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire) is an English darts player who is a two-time BDO World Professional Darts Champion. His nickname is The Count and his walk on music is ''Be On Your Way'' by DJ Zany. Hankey built up a large following due to his obsession with and resemblance to Dracula. His entrance is typically marked by him wearing a black cape and throwing rubber bats into the crowd, while he plays his darts with a trademark scowl.

Darts career

In the 2000 BDO World Darts Championship, he whitewashed Ronnie Baxter 6-0 in the final, winning the match with a spectacular 170 checkout – the highest three-dart finish achievable. The final lasted only 46 minutes, the shortest in the tournament's history. In the semi-final v Chris Mason, he scored a championship record 22 x 180s in a match. (The next highest are 15 and 14, which he also holds, in matches v Tony O'Shea in the final and Martin Adams in the semi-finals respectively, both in 2009.) He also scored a record 48 x 180s during the 2000 tournament. Ted reached the final again in 2001, but lost to John Walton 6-2. After this Hankey went through a fairly barren spell at the Lakeside and did not reach another major final or World Championship semi-final until his victory in the 2009 BDO World Championships.

In 2002, he was knocked out in the second round by Wayne Jones and suffered a first round exit in 2003 to 'Silverback' Tony O'Shea. Ranked number two for the 2004 tournament, he was defeated in the quarter-finals, again losing to O'Shea 5-1. This was a huge disappointment for a man who had won four Open events that year. Hankey again reached the quarter finals in 2005, this time falling to England captain Martin Adams 5-3, despite at one stage in the contest having led by 3-1 in sets. In the 2006 tournament, Hankey had an uncharacteristic "bad day at the office", crashing out at the first hurdle to Dutchman Albertino Essers.

Seeded eighth for the 2007 championship, he defeated Mario Robbe of the Netherlands by 3-0 in the opening round. He then hit another 170 checkout in his tight 4-3 victory over qualifier Davy Richardson, before losing to Adams, again by 5-3, although he had several darts to remain in the match. Despite this setback, Ted remained positive and upbeat about his darts future after the game. He achieved the 9-Darter in the Scottish open 2011.

"Oche rage" problems

Hankey won his first round match of the 2008 BDO World Championship over Steve West 3-2. He twice found himself behind in the match, recovering from 1-0 and 2-1 down to win the final two sets in succession. Afterwards, Ted attributed his erratic form to a minority of the crowd which had jeered him throughout the match. Despite this, his campaign for a second BDO world crown remained on course as he defeated Andy Boulton in the second round. Ted then lost in the quarter finals to Australian Simon Whitlock 0-5. Again, he expressed his disaffection with elements of the crowd for displaying poor order during the game. Midway through the contest, however, Hankey himself had received a warning from match referee Barry Gilbey, for punching the dartboard as this was deemed unsporting and contrary to the tournament promoter's code of conduct. After the match, an emotional Hankey informed the BBC's Ray Stubbs that he was considering quitting the game and needed to assess his future.

The following day, however, he clarified his future plans in a frank BBC interview with Stubbs and Bobby George. Although hugely disappointed with his performance against Whitlock, he indicated that his future still lay in darts and vowed to return after a month-long sabbatical, during which time he was to work on and refine a number of fundaments to his game.

However, controversy continued to follow Ted during the BDO International Open (formerly the England Open) on 15 June 2008. During a quarter-final match with former PDC player Robbie Green, Ted complained about the air conditioning being turned off. However, Green requested the air conditioning be turned off, as his much lighter darts were affected mid-flight, causing them to drift. This caused yet another erratic reaction from Hankey who threw his darts onto the board without much thought. Commentator David Croft labelled Hankey's latest antics as 'disgraceful'. Hankey went on to lose the match 2-1 in sets in the deciding leg.

Conquering his demons

In the 2009 BDO World Championship, Hankey revealed close friends and fellow dart players, including O'Shea and Gary Anderson, had told him he needed to "get his act together" if he ever wanted to play top-class darts again. He revealed he had been consuming a large amount of alcohol before commencing play and generally not taking himself seriously as a darts player.

Hankey began the 2009 Lakeside Championships with a first round victory over close friend Brian Woods. The scoreline of 3-0 in sets was telling, as Woods had suggested before the match that Hankey would be "lucky to get nil!". He then went on to win the Championship, beating his problems with "oche rage" as well as opponents such as former World Champion Walton and England darts team captain Adams, winning the final 7-6 in sets against O'Shea. Hankey led 4-2 at the interval, but missed several darts to win the match at 6-5, but he finally closed out the match 3-1 in the final set.

As a result of his world title win, Hankey was invited to the 2009 Grand Slam of Darts, which is organised by the PDC. He accepted the invitation and was drawn in group E with Scott Waites, Wayne Mardle and Simon Whitlock. He lost his opening group game 3-5 to Waites, but once more the crowd got under Hankey's skin, calling out and booing while he was throwing which visibly upset Hankey. Hankey later stated in an interview on ITV4 that he wasn't very happy and said that "if that's the darts you want to play, then keep it" and also called for more crowd order in the PDC, However he beat Wayne Mardle and should have beaten Simon Whitlock but lost 5-4. Hankey did state afterwards that he would like to play at the Grand Slam of Darts in 2010.

After his outburst at the Grand Slam of Darts Ted was fined £250 for his actions.

In the 2010 BDO World Darts Championship Hankey beat Gary Robson 3-0 and Willy van de Wiel 1-4 before being knocked out of the competition in the quarter final by Dave Chisnall with a scoreline of 5-4 on sets, despite at one point leading 4-1.

In the 2010 Grand Slam of Darts he defeated Phil Taylor 5-4 in the group stages giving him 2 wins out of 2 he went on to defeat Michael van Gerwen also 5-4 to proceed to the knockout stage of the competition. As the competition progressed the crowd began to get under the skin of Hankey once more, again booing as he threw his darts and ignoring requests from the referee to quieten down during the throws. Hankey was knocked out of the competition by Steve Beaton in the first knockout stage. During the match he won a potentially crucial leg and after pumping his fist and shouting "Get in there" he proceeded to a prolonged ourburst at the crowd. In the post-match interview he was particularly scathing of the crowd and the organisers for not controlling their behaviour, describing the crowd as "a bunch of muppets". Despite getting an initial warm response from the crowd (and Hankey was seen smiling and taking the pantomime booing in good spirit) Hankey indicated after last year's defeat, that he would not return for the 2011, event should he indeed qualify for it.

Hankey has qualified for the 2011 Grand Slam of Darts, and it remains to be seen as to whether or not he accepts the invitation to play.

BDO World Championship Results

1998: Quarter Final (lost to Colin Monk 2-5)

1999: 2nd round (lost to Chris Mason 1-3)

2000: Won (beat Ronnie Baxter 6-0)

2001: Runner-up (lost to John Walton 2-6)

2002: 2nd round (lost to Wayne Jones 2-3)

2003: 1st round (lost to Tony O'Shea 2-3)

2004: Quarter Final (lost to Tony O'Shea 1-5)

2005: Quarter Final (lost to Martin Adams 3-5)

2006: 1st round (lost to Albertino Essers 1-3)

2007: Quarter Final (lost to Martin Adams 3-5)

2008: Quarter Final (lost to Simon Whitlock 0-5)

2009: Won (beat Tony O'Shea 7-6)

2010: Quarter Final (lost to Dave Chisnall 4-5)

2011: 1st round (lost to Scott Waites 0-3)

Personal life

Ted and his wife Sarah reside in Telford, Shropshire. They have a daughter (born 2003) and a son born on 1 June 2006. Sarah's son (born 1999) from a previous relationship also lives with them. Ted has a further four children from an earlier marriage to ex-wife, Donna.

Notes

External links

Ted Hankey's profile and stats on Darts Database

Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:English darts players Category:World darts champions Category:People from Stoke-on-Trent Category:People from Telford Category:British Darts Organisation players

de:Ted Hankey nl:Ted Hankey vls:Ted Hankey

Coordinates	45°30′″N73°40′″N
name	Kevin Painter
nickname	The Artist
birth date	July 12, 1967
birth place	Billericay, Essex, England
hometown	Daventry, Northamptonshire
homecountry	England
since	1982
darts	19g Unicorn Kevin Painter
laterality	Right-handed
music	I Predict a Riot (2005) by Kaiser Chiefs
bdo	1994 - 2001
pdc	2001 - present
currentrank	22
bdo world	Quarter Finalist (2) 2000, 2001
world masters	Quarter Finalist 2001
world darts trophy	Round 1 2007
pdc world	Runner Up 2004
matchplay	Quarter Finalist 2010
grand prix	Quarter Finalist (4) 2001, 2003, 2004, 2009
grand slam	Quarter Finalist (2) 2007, 2009
championship league	Initial groups, Runner-up 2008
vegas	Semi Finalist 2004
european	Round 1 (2) 2008, 2009
uk open	Semi Finalist 2009
us open	Last 16 2006, 2007
pc finals	Round 1 (3) 2009, 2010, 2011
tournament	England OpenBritish OpenBritish MatchplaySwedish OpenBob Anderson ClassicSouth West UK OpenSheppy Darts ClassicNorth East UK OpenJohn Smith's 128 Classic
resultyears	199519961997200020022004200420062007
achievement	}}

Kevin Painter (born 12 July 1967 in Billericay, Essex) is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments, where he is known as "The Artist". He is most famous for finishing runner up to Phil Taylor in the monumental 2004 World Championship final, now widely credited as one of the greatest televised matches in the history of darts, and the greatest final in televised darts. Commentator Sid Waddell has also referred to it as the most dramatic darts match he has ever seen.

Darts career

BDO

Painter started playing darts around the age of 17. Once an Essex county player, his first appearance on television was in the 1994 BDO World Championship, which was notable as the first BDO World Championship to follow the split in darts, where 16 players formed the World Darts Council (later Professional Darts Corporation) and their own world championship. Painter was defeated in the first round 3-2 by Kevin Kenny. He reached the second round of the 1995 championship before falling 3-0 to Martin Adams, but success followed later in 1995 with a win in the inaugural England Open and in 1997 he won the prestigious British Open. Two more appearances in the second round of the BDO World Championship followed and in the 2000 championship he reached his first televised quarter-final, but lost 5-2 to the eventual champion Ted Hankey.

The new millennium marked more success for Painter with victory in the Swedish Open. Only a month earlier he had made his debut in a PDC event - the 2000 World Grand Prix where he reached the second round, but was defeated 3-2 by Taylor. Painter however did not become a member of the Professional Dart Players Association, the organisation that allows players to play in all PDC events, and therefore remained a BDO player. In what would be his final appearance in the event, Painter once again reached the quarter-finals in the 2001 BDO World Championship before losing 5-2 to Andy Fordham. Painter entered another PDC event, the 2001 World Matchplay, but lost in the first round before returning again in the 2001 World Grand Prix, where in a major shock he defeated Taylor in the first round. Taylor had never before been defeated in this event and had not lost on television for two years prior to this loss. This was also the first time that Taylor had been defeated in the first round of a televised PDC event. Painter reached the quarter-finals before losing 6-1 to Dennis Smith. Back in the BDO he made his best performance in the 2001 Winmau World Masters, reaching the quarter-finals and repeated that placing in the 2001 Zuiderduin Masters, in what was his last BDO event.

PDC

2001-2004: Early success

Painter made his debut in the PDC World Championship in the 2002 event but lost in the first round to Ronnie Baxter. Despite a victory in the 2002 Bob Anderson Classic he failed to make any real headway in the televised PDC events until he reached his first world championship semi-final in the 2003 PDC World Championship, where he lost 6-4 to eventual champion, John Part.

Painter's finest hour came in the 2004 World Championship. As the 10th seed, he defeated 7th seed Baxter in the fourth round, and a whitewash of former world champion Bob Anderson followed later on in the semi-finals. Painter then met top seed Taylor in the final. What followed was the longest televised darts match ever and for a time the most watched PDC darts match (820,000 viewers) until the 2007 final. Despite Painter leading 4-1 at one point, the match went to 6-6 in sets and 5-5 in legs in the final set, so a sudden death leg was needed to decide a winner. Taylor won it and became the champion, but Painter gained fame for his participation in such an epic final.

The following year was a strong one for Painter where he reached the quarter-finals in the UK Open and the semi-finals in the Las Vegas Desert Classic, his best performance in these tournaments to date. He reached the quarter-finals of the 2005 Las Vegas Desert Classic and the 2005 World Championship despite falling victim to a leg injury which damaged his form and kept him out of many tournaments.

2006-2007: Decline

Painter's form dropped substantially in 2006. Despite opening strongly with a victory in the North West UK Open final and a second successive appearance in the quarter finals of the 2006 World Championship his form began to stagnate around the middle of the year. Painter suffered first or early round defeats in most of the major tournaments and his ranking had dropped to 18 by the beginning of 2007. This was exacerbated by a defeat in the first round of that year's World Championship, to once practice partner Colin Osborne.

The first half of 2007 saw the early round defeats in televised majors continue, though many of them were to Taylor and then-World Champion Raymond van Barneveld. In the autumn darts season, Painter suffered another first round loss in the 2007 World Grand Prix, but this would prove to be the turning point. Sky Sports pundit and friend Rod Harrington warned that Painter could 'slip into anonymity' if he did not recover his form. Painter attributed the 'perception that he was finished' to a renewed determination and subsequent rise in form.

2007-Present: Resurgence

The next month saw a strong return to form for Painter, where he reached the quarter-finals of the first Grand Slam of Darts despite being entered as a wild card. The 2008 World Championship proved to be a monumental success for Painter, where he was responsible for knocking out defending champion Raymond van Barneveld in the last 16. Painter was knocked out in the semi finals by, again, the eventual champion Part, his best performance since when he was the runner-up in 2004. Painter considers the win over van Barneveld as the greatest of his career.

Painter's results in the televised majors in 2008 were not as might have been expected from the World Championship - he was once again defeated by Osborne in the third round of the 2008 UK Open and lost in the first round of the 2008 Las Vegas Desert Classic despite a spirited performance against the eventual champion Taylor. Painter averaged 104 (the third highest average of the tournament) and didn't miss a double in the match, but was still defeated 6-4. His poor record at the World Matchplay continued as he suffered a first round loss in the 2008 event to Tony Eccles. He lost in a deciding leg to Colin Lloyd in the second round of the 2008 World Grand Prix (having missed three darts for the match) and finished bottom of his group in the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts. However, his success in non-televised events was considerably better including an appearance in the Bristol Players Championship final - losing 3-2 to Dennis Priestley - this was his first PDC final since September 2006.

Painter entered the 2009 PDC World Championship as the number 17 seed. He defeated Matt Clark in the first round, winning in a sudden death leg to become the first seeded player to progress to the second round. However in the third round he lost 4-1 to top seed and eventual champion Phil Taylor. In the inaugural Players Championship Finals at the end of January, Painter looked to be heading for another first round exit as he went 5-2 down to Alex Roy, but he won four consecutive legs to progress to the second round, where he met second seed James Wade. This match also went to a deciding leg; Painter missed one dart at the bull and Wade took his chance to go through at Painter's expense. However, this performance saw Painter re-establish his place in the top 16, and his good form in floor events from 2008 has continued - he has reached two semi-finals on the PDC Pro Tour so far, notably in Gladbeck, Germany, where on March 1 he led Taylor 5-4 before losing 6-5.

In June 2009, Painter made a good start to the summer darts season with a run to the semi-finals of the 2009 UK Open, his best ever performance in the tournament. After dispatching Dennis Priestley 9-3 and Alan Tabern 10-8, Painter eventually lost to Colin Osborne 10-7. His World Matchplay woes continued with a 13-3 defeat to Taylor in the second round of the 2009 event, though he reached the quarter-finals of the 2009 World Grand Prix and the 2009 Grand Slam of Darts, in the latter topping the 'group of death' that included Raymond van Barneveld and John Part. Another third round exit followed in the 2010 World Championship, 4-1 to van Barneveld this time.

Painter's first televised appearance in 2010 was an unfortunate one; in the third round of the 2010 UK Open he was on the end of a 9-0 whitewash by Taylor, who recorded the current world record average at 118.66. But success was to follow in the 2010 World Matchplay; after making 'one of the finest comebacks ever seen' to come from 8-2 down in defeating Essex rival Colin Lloyd 11-9 in the first round, he overcame Mark Walsh 14-12 to reach the quarter-finals of the World Matchplay at the tenth time of asking. Once again however, eternal rival Taylor brought his run to an end.

In the 2011 World Matchplay Darts Painter revealed that he had received laser eye surgery before the tournament to improve his game, he also stated that he had hit a nine dart finish after 10 minutes of practise with his improved vision. In the opening night of the tournament he proved that he had upped his game by seriously challenging the world champ Adrian Lewis. He lead Lewis for most of the match but missed 6 doubles that would have won him the match. He subsequently lost a resounding 14 legs to 12.

World Championship results

While the quarter-finals was the furthest stage that Painter reached in the BDO World Darts Championship, his record in the PDC World Darts Championship is far more impressive, having reached the quarter-finals twice (2005, 2006), the semi-finals twice (2003, 2008), and he was the runner-up in 2004. This record is reflected in him being the player with the sixth highest amount of money won in the PDC World Championship, behind the four champions and three-time runner up Manley. Remarkably, in nine attempts at the PDC World Championship, he has been defeated by the eventual champion six times (Taylor four times and Part twice).

BDO

1994 - First Round (lost to Kevin Kenny 2-3)

1995 - Second Round (lost to Martin Adams 0-4)

1996 - First Round (lost to Ronnie Baxter 2-3)

1998 - Second Round (lost to Richie Burnett 1-3)

1999 - Second Round (lost to Ronnie Baxter 0-3)

2000 - Quarter-finals (lost to Ted Hankey 2-5)

2001 - Quarter-finals (lost to Andy Fordham 2-5)

PDC

2002 - First Round (lost to Ronnie Baxter 2-4)

2003 - Semi-finals (lost to John Part 4-6)

2004 - Runner-up (lost to Phil Taylor 6-7)

2005 - Quarter-finals (lost to Phil Taylor 1-5)

2006 - Quarter-finals (lost to Phil Taylor 1-5)

2007 - First Round (lost to Colin Osborne 1-3)

2008 - Semi-finals (lost to John Part 2-6)

2009 - Third Round (lost to Phil Taylor 1-4)

2010 - Third Round (lost to Raymond van Barneveld 4-1)

2011 - First Round (lost to Brendan Dolan 3-0)

Outside of darts

Painter lives in Daventry, Northamptonshire with Janine Gough, originally from Swansea, who also used to play darts, and they have a daughter, Madison Elise. He plays darts professionally now, but used to be a builder.. He spends his training sessions with Matthew 'The Edgar' Edgar, a young up and coming UK darts player. . He is also a season ticket and share holder of Ipswich Town. He often plays wearing a blue shirt in reference to his favourite team.

Painter has also been featured in two darts videogames; ''PDC World Championship Darts 2008'' and ''2009''.

Controversy

Kevin is probably also famous for a notorious rivalry with Taylor. Perhaps stemming from his shock victory over Taylor in the 2001 World Grand Prix, and the epic 2004 World Championship final, he has had many run-ins with 'The Power' including a memorable match, the quarter finals of the 2005 World Championship, where he often tried to check out by hitting the Bullseye, but failed many times. Taylor won the last leg of the match by deliberately leaving 50, then checking out on the bull, which Painter took as a taunt and argued viciously with Taylor for a few minutes after the match. Since then the two have had numerous matches and the incident appears to have been put behind them.

In April 2008, Painter was involved in another incident at the Holland Masters, a non-televised tournament. In a quarter-final match with Taylor's protégé, Adrian Lewis, an argument between the two took place in the deciding set. They were both disqualified from the tournament. In July, the Darts Regulation Authority decided upon an appropriate punishment; Painter was fined £200 and banned for three months with two months suspended while Lewis was fined £400 with a six month ban, four months suspended.

References

External links

Kevin Painter's Official Site

Painter on the Darts Database

Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:English darts players Category:Professional Darts Corporation players Category:People from Billericay Category:People from Daventry Category:British Darts Organisation players

de:Kevin Painter nl:Kevin Painter