Gary Anderson may refer to:

• Gary Anderson (placekicker) (born 1959), American football player from South Africa, NFL kicker
• Gary Anderson (motorsport), semi-retired F1 car designer
• Gary Anderson (sport shooter) (born 1939), American sport shooter and politician
• Gary Anderson (offensive lineman) (born 1955), American football player from the United States, NFL offensive lineman
• Gary Anderson (running back) (born 1961), American football player from the United States, NFL running back
• Gary Allan Anderson (born 1947), better known as Angry Anderson, former lead singer for Rose Tattoo and Australian media personality
• Gary Anderson (swimmer) (born 1969), swimmer from Canada
• Gary Anderson (darts player) (born 1970), Scottish darts player
• Gary Anderson (cyclist) (born 1967), New Zealand cyclist
• Gary Clayton Anderson (born 1948), American historian and specialist on American Indians
• Gary M. Anderson (born 1947), musician, conductor, arranger, music producer
• Gary Anderson (recycling) (born 1947), designer of the Universal Recycling Symbol
• Gary U.S. Bonds (Gary Anderson, born 1939), American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer

See also[link]

• Gary Andersen, head coach of the Utah State University football team

• Gerry Anderson (born 1929), science fiction film maker

This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Jyhan Artut (born October 9, 1976) is a German darts player.

Artut defeated Wayne Mardle 3-0 in the 2010 PDC World Darts Championship in the first round.^[1] He was beaten 4-1 by Robert Thornton in the second round. He won the German Championship in 2009 and 2010. With the latter win he qualified for the PDC World Darts Championship for his second consecutive year.

In the 2011 PDC World Darts Championship, Artut played against Scott MacKenzie of Hong Kong in the preliminary round and defeated him 4-3 before going to lose to Denis Ovens 3-1 in the first round.

He qualified for the 2012 PDC World Darts Championship through the European Order of Merit^[2] and was drawn to play Gary Anderson in the first round. Artut was involved in one the most exciting first round matches ever seen at the World Championships. He won the opening two sets, but was quickly pulled back to 2-2 to require a deciding set. Artut missed four darts to win the match in the 10th leg of the set and Anderson eventually won with a sudden death leg.^[3]

Artut represented Germany with Bernd Roith in the 2012 PDC World Cup of Darts and together they were beaten 1-3 by the United States in the second round.^[4]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Player profile on Jyhan Artut from Dartsdatabase

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Dean Winstanley (born 10 February 1981) is an English darts who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. He previously played in the rival British Darts Organisation and reached the 2011 World Championship final.

He first took up darts as a two-year-old, stopped playing at the age of 12, and then started playing again when he was 22.^[1] He turned professional in 2008 and won his first event at the 2010 German Open.

BDO Career[link]

Winstanley won the German Open, England Open, and Belgium Open in 2010. As a result of his performances on the BDO circuit, he qualified for the 2010 Winmau World Masters as the fourth seed. He defeated Stewart Rattray in the last 16 before losing to Martin McCloskey in the quarter-finals.

Winstanley also qualified for the 2011 BDO World Darts Championship as the third seed. In the first round, he survived two match darts against Martin Atkins before winning 3–2. He then defeated Robbie Green 4–1 in the second, Stephen Bunting 5–1 in the quarter-final and Jan Dekker 6–2 in the semi-finals, thus making him one of a small number of players to have reached the final at his first attempt. He was defeated 7–5 by Martin Adams in the final, having led 4–3 and 5–4. Later that year, Winstanley reached the final of the World Masters, where he was beaten 7–2 in sets by Scott Waites.

Winstanley qualified for the 2011 Grand Slam of Darts. He topped his group with victories over Ted Hankey, Ian White and Raymond van Barneveld. In the second round, he lost 10–9 to Mark Walsh having narrowly missed three match darts at 9–8 in front and a further two in the deciding leg.

Winstanley was seeded 3rd for the 2012 BDO World Darts Championship. He defeated Joey ten Berge 3–1 in the first round, before being defeated 4–3 by Alan Norris in the second round having led 3–1.

PDC Career[link]

It was announced at the end of the 2012 BDO World Championship that Winstanley would be one of many players to compete in the rival PDC's 'Q School' He beat Matt Clark 6–1 on the third day to earn a PDC Pro Tour card after earlier beating Dave Ladley, Kevin Dowling, Mareno Michels and Simon Craven.^[2] In April, he earned a place in the European Tour Event 1 in Vienna by defeating Gary Butcher in the UK qualifier.^[3] He enjoyed wins over Paul Nicholson and Jim Walker in the event, before losing in the third round 3–6 to Richie Burnett.^[4] Winstanley also qualified for the second European Tour event, to be played in Berlin, with a win over Mark Jones in the UK qualifier.^[5]

Personal life[link]

Winstanley is affectionately known as "the oldest 30 year old in darts" due to his physical appearance, and is a father of five.^[6] He is in a relationship with female darts player Lorraine Farlam, who has two children of her own.

World Championship results[link]

BDO[link]

• 2011: Runner-Up (lost to Martin Adams 5–7)
• 2012: Second Round (lost to Alan Norris 3–4)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Player profile on Dean Winstanley from Dartsdatabase
• Website
• Unofficial Website

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John Part
Personal information
Nickname	Darth Maple
Born	(1966-06-29) June 29, 1966 (age 45) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Home town	Oshawa, Ontario Canada
Darts information
Playing darts since	1987
Darts	23g Cosmo Darts
Laterality	Right-handed
Walk-on music	The Imperial March (Darth Vader's theme from Star Wars)
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO	1991 - 1997
PDC	1997 - present
Current world ranking	24
BDO majors - best performances
World Ch'ship	Winner 1994
World Masters	Last 16 1995, 1997
PDC premier events - best performances
World Ch'ship	Winner 2003, 2008
World Matchplay	Runner-up 2002, 2005
World Grand Prix	Runner-up 2002, 2003
Grand Slam	Quarter-final 2007
Premier League	6th 2005, 2009
Desert Classic	Winner 2006
European Ch'ship	First round 2008, 2011
UK Open	Runner-up 2004
US Open/WSoD	Semi-final 2007
Players Ch'ship Finals	Second round 2009
Other tournament wins
Tournament	Years
Blueberry Hill Canada National Championships Canadian Open Cleveland Darts Extraveganza Golden Harvest North American Cup Ireland Open Autumn Classic Ireland Open Spring Classic North American Darts Championship PDC Eastbourne Open PDC Nations Cup Singles PDC Northern Ireland Open Players Ch'ship (AUT) Players Ch'ship (CAN) Players Ch'ship (DER) Players Ch'ship (GIB) Players Ch'ship (HAY) Shanghai International Darts Open Soft Tip Bullshooter World Championship UK Open South West Regional Final Vauxhall Autumn Open Vauxhall Spring Open WDF World Cup Pairs West Tyrone Open Windy City Open	2001, 2002 1995, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007 1995, 2001, 2004 2002 2004 2002 2002 2010 2000 2002 2002 2011 2011 2011 2008 2007 2009 2008 2003 2003 2002, 2003 1993 2002, 2003 2002, 2003
Other achievements
PDC World Number 1 January to June 2003 Member of Oshawa Sports Hall of Fame

John Part (born June 29, 1966 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian professional darts player, who is nicknamed Darth Maple. Part is a three-times World Champion, having triumphed in the BDO World Championship in 1994 and the PDC World Championship in 2003 and 2008. His 2006 Las Vegas Desert Classic title and a host of other tournament wins make him statistically North America's greatest darts player ever.^[1]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Part was given a dartboard by his parents as a Christmas present in 1987^[2] which gave him the bug to take up the game. He became a professional darts player in 1991. He won several championships, principally in Canada from 1991 to 1995. But his greatest success in the BDO was his 1994 World championship win. He won the final by 6 sets to 0 against Bobby George. In 1997, he decided to leave the BDO to play in the PDC.

PDC Success[link]

He entered the PDC in 1997, but didn't make an impact until 2001 when he reached his first World Championship final, where he was whitewashed by Phil Taylor 0-7 who comprehensively averaged 108 to Part's 92. He reached the final of the World Matchplay in 2002 and was again beaten by Taylor in a much closer final, by 16 legs to 18. He also lost to his fierce rival in the 2002 World Grand Prix.

Part exacted his revenge on Taylor in the 2003 World Championship by winning his first PDC World Championship crown. He managed to beat Cliff Lazarenko, Jamie Harvey, Chris Mason and Kevin Painter to play Taylor yet again in the final. Part led 3-0 and 4-1 in sets, but Taylor bounced back to win four sets in-a-row to lead 5-4. Part did not let the shift in momentum affect him as he won the next two sets to lead 6-5, before Taylor leveled to take the game to a deciding set. Part broke Taylor's throw to win the set by 3-1 in legs and to win the title by 7-6. He became world number one from January to June afterwards. The remainder of the season also proved successful for Part as he played Taylor for the second successive year in the World Grand Prix final and lost again, this time 3–7. He also reached the final of the 2003 Las Vegas Desert Classic where he was beaten by Peter Manley, 12–16 (legs).

Part could not defend his World Championship crown in 2004 as he crashed out in the third round to Mark Dudbridge 3–4. The rest of 2004 was not as good as previous years as he only reached the final of the UK Open where he was defeated by Roland Scholten 6–11.

He lost to Dudbridge again in the 2005 World Championship this time in the fourth round and by a 2–4 scoreline. He subsequently dropped down the world rankings somewhat in 2005 and 2006, but still enjoyed a major championship success in August 2005 when he reached the World Matchplay final. He beat Phil Taylor in the semi-finals 16-11 before losing to Colin Lloyd 12-18. In July 2006, he added the Las Vegas Desert Classic trophy to his haul of championship wins, beating Raymond van Barneveld, 6 sets to 3 in the final.^{[citation needed]}

In 2007, he returned to some of his best form. Starting from 19th in the rankings, he managed to reach the semi-finals of the inaugural US Open, the World Grand Prix and the Las Vegas Desert Classic. These consistent performances meant he entered the 2008 World Championship as the 11th seed. He managed to win the tournament by coming through a tight quarter-final match against James Wade 5–4 and then beating Kevin Painter in the semi-final to set up a final with the rank outsider, Kirk Shepherd who was a qualifier for the event. Part's greater experience shone through as he stormed into a 4–0 lead and eventually closed out the match 7–2. Victory ensured he joined Taylor, van Barneveld, Eric Bristow and John Lowe as the only players then to have won a World Championship more than two times.^[3] With this win he also became only one of two players to have won the PDC World Championship more than once, the other player being Taylor. He also became the first player to win the World Championship in three different venues – having won the 1994 BDO at the Lakeside, the 2003 PDC at Circus Tavern and now the 2008 PDC at Alexandra Palace. This has since been equalled by Taylor.

Despite winning the World Championship, Part had an indifferent 2008. He finished bottom of the Premier League and suffered early exits in the US Open, Desert Classic and the inaugural European Championship. He did however reach the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix.

Part was defeated in the first round of the 2009 World Championship, losing 3-0 to American Bill Davis - the second time in which Part has lost his first match in the World Championship, having won the title the previous year (he was knocked out by Mark Dudbridge in 2004 having won the title in 2003). Part was defeated by Kirk Shepherd in the second round of the 2010 World Championship in a repeat of the 2008 final, only recording a 76 average in a 4-1 loss. This result meant Part droped down the rankings and did not appear in the 2010 Premier League.

In June 2010, Part came through a large field of players to win the PDC North American Darts Championship in Las Vegas. However, he was whitewashed 0–3 by Danish qualifier Per Laursen in the 2011 World Championship.

He won his first players championship since 2007 in February 2011 in Derby convincingly beating Mark Walsh 6-0 with 104.86 average. On the previous day he narrowly missed double 12 for a 9 dart finish. Part stated "he had nothing to lose" and that illness had stopped him reaching where he wanted to be at the World Championships. Part's form continued when he won another players championship in May 2011 in Austria by thrashing Denis Ovens 6-0 in the final, having earlier overcoming Phil Taylor 6-2. The win granted him qualification for all the major televised tournaments in 2011, something which he failed to do in 2010 except for the UK Open.

During the first round of the 2011 World Matchplay, John hit a 9 Darter against Mark Webster and came from 7-1 down to within one leg at 9-8. He subsequently lost the match but hit a milestone in his darting career with his first ever televised perfect game.

He qualified for the World Grand Prix, in which he won his first round match against reigning World Champion Adrian Lewis. He lost in the last 16 against eventual finalist Brendan Dolan, 1-3.

At the 2012 World Championship he made it to the quarter-finals for the first time since his 2008 title. He dropped just three sets on his way to the last 8 by defeating John Henderson, Richie Burnett and Kevin Painter.^[4][5] He was involved in one of the greatest matches ever seen at the World Championships against James Wade. Wade opened up a 3-1 set lead, before his form started to dip to coincide with Part scoring heavier and hitting more doubles to win 3 sets in a row. The players broke each others throws twice in the deciding set to require a sudden-death leg, which Wade managed to win. Part said afterwards that it was "the greatest game I've ever lost!".^[6]

Part represented Canada with Ken MacNeil in the 2012 PDC World Cup of Darts and together they were beaten 2-3 by England in the second round, having lost a sudden death leg.^[7]

Television Commentary[link]

In June 1994, BBC commentator Sid Waddell decided to leave the BBC to join Sky Television. This left just Tony Green as the only commentator on the event. Part is considered to be one of the games's best "counters" or "spotters" (the ability to work out scoring shots or where the next dart may be thrown). This knowledge is essential to a darts commentator and contributed to Part being chosen by the BBC to join Green in the commentary box during the latter stages of the 1995 Embassy World Championships.^{[citation needed]}

Tournament finals[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2012)

PDC premier event finals: 10 (3 titles, 7 runner-ups)[link]

Legend World Championship (2–1) World Matchplay (0–2) Premier League (0–0) Other (1–4) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[N 1] Runner-up 1. 2001 World Darts Championship Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor 0–7 (s) Runner-up 2. 2002 World Matchplay Phil Taylor 16–18 (l) Runner-up 3. 2002 World Grand Prix Phil Taylor 3–7 (s) Winner 1. 2003 World Darts Championship Phil Taylor 7–6 (s) Runner-up 4. 2003 Las Vegas Desert Classic Manley, PeterPeter Manley 12–16 (l) Runner-up 5. 2003 World Grand Prix Phil Taylor 2–7 (s) Runner-up 6. 2004 UK Open Scholten, RolandRoland Scholten 6–11 (l)[citation needed] Runner-up 7. 2005 World Matchplay Lloyd, ColinColin Lloyd 12–18 (l)[citation needed] Winner 2. 2006 Las Vegas Desert Classic van Barneveld, RaymondRaymond van Barneveld 6–3 (s)[citation needed] Winner 3. 2008 World Darts Championship (2) Shepherd, KirkKirk Shepherd 7–2 (s)[citation needed] ^ (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets. World Championship Performances[link] 1994 (BDO) - Winner beat Bobby George 6-0 1995 (BDO) - Round 2 lost to Paul Williams 2-3 1996 (BDO) - Round 2 lost to Steve Beaton 0-3 1997 (BDO) - Round 2 lost to Roger Carter 1-3 1998 (PDC) - Round 1 lost to Paul Lim 1-3 1999 (PDC) - Round 1 lost to Alan Warriner-Little 0-3 2000 (PDC) - Round 2 lost to Dennis Smith 0-3 2001 (PDC) - Runner Up lost to Phil Taylor 0-6 2002 (PDC) - Quarter-finals lost to Phil Taylor 0-6 2003 (PDC) - Winner beat Phil Taylor 7-6 2004 (PDC) - Round 3 lost to Mark Dudbridge 3-4 2005 (PDC) - Round 4 lost to Mark Dudbridge 2-4 2006 (PDC) - Round 3 lost to Wayne Mardle 2-4 2007 (PDC) - Round 2 lost to Chris Mason 2-4 2008 (PDC) - Winner beat Kirk Shepherd 7-2 2009 (PDC) - Round 1 lost to Bill Davis 0-3 2010 (PDC) - Round 2 lost to Kirk Shepherd 1-4 2011 (PDC) - Round 1 lost to Per Laursen 0-3 2012 (PDC) - Quarter-finals lost to James Wade 4-5 References[link] ^ "John Part Player Profile". Professional Darts Corporation. http://www.pdc.tv/page/PlayerProfile/0,,10180~1451654,00.html. Retrieved January 20, 2012.  ^ Biography from Part's web site ^ Superb Part storms to PDC title BBC News, 1 January 2008 ^ "2012 PDC World Championship Results". Darts Database. http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/FixtureList.aspx?EventKey=3069. Retrieved December 30, 2011.  ^ "Part puts out Painter". Sky Sports. http://www.skysports.com/darts/pdc/story/0,25061,15623_7400730,00.html. Retrieved December 29, 2011.  ^ "World Championship Quarter-Finals". PDC. December 30, 2011. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2561291,00.html. Retrieved December 30, 2011.  ^ "Cash Converters World Cup Round Two Doubles Round-Up". PDC. 4 February 2012. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2600417,00.html. Retrieved 4 February 2012.  External links[link] John Part's official web site John Part's Profile and Stats on Darts Database John Part's helpful darting series offering advice on how to play and practice the sport Preceded by John Lowe BDO World Champion 1994 Succeeded by Richie Burnett Preceded by Phil Taylor PDC World Champion 2003 Succeeded by Phil Taylor Preceded by Raymond van Barneveld PDC World Champion 2008 Succeeded by Phil Taylor Persondata Name Part, John Alternative names Short description Date of birth 1966-06-29 Place of birth Toronto, Ontario, Canada Date of death Place of death

Simon Whitlock
Personal information
Full name	Simon Whitlock
Nickname	The Wizard[1]
Born	(1969-03-03) 3 March 1969 (age 43) Cessnock, Australia
Home town	Hornsby Australia
Darts information
Playing darts since	1984
Darts	22g Winmau Simon Whitlock
Laterality	Right-handed
Walk-on music	Down Under by Men at Work
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO	2004–2009
PDC	2002–2003 and 2009–Present
Current world ranking	6
BDO majors - best performances
World Ch'ship	Runner-up: 2008
World Masters	Quarter-final: 2007
World Darts Trophy	Round 2: 2005, 2006, 2007
Int. Darts League	Semi-final: 2005, 2006
PDC premier events - best performances
World Ch'ship	Runner-up: 2010
World Matchplay	Semi-final: 2010
World Grand Prix	Last 16: 2010, 2011
Grand Slam	Quarter-final: 2008, 2009
Premier League	Runner-up: 2012
Desert Classic	Round 1: 2009
European Ch'ship	Semi-final: 2011
UK Open	Last 16: 2010
Players Ch'ship Finals	Last 16: 2011
Other tournament wins
Tournament	Years
Australia National Championships Australian Grand Masters Australian Masters Bobby Bourn Memorial Trophy Castle Hill Central Coast Australian Classic Coota Cosham Xmas Open Critereon Hotel Open DPA Australian Singles Gleneagle Irish Masters Goulburn Open Illawarra Yacht Club Classic Japan Open Mildura Workers Club Open Mittagong RSL Open New Zealand Masters Newcastle Classic Oak Flats Soundwaves Open Oceanic Masters Pacific Masters Pine Rivers Open Players Ch'ship (AUT) Players Ch'ship (DER) Players Ch'ship (GER) Players Ch'ship (IRE) Players Ch'ship (WIG) Queensland Open Revesby Workers Club Open Russell Stewart Classic Southern Illawarra Open Unanderra Hotel Darts Open Viva Las Vegas NZ Wagga Classic Wattle Time Memorial Tournament	2008 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007 2010 2005 2008 2004 2004 2009 2010 2010 2007, 2009, 2009 2009, 2009 2006 2009 2007, 2009 2005 2009 2007 2002, 2010 2004, 2006, 2008 2007 2010 2010 2010 2010 2010 2009 2010 2007, 2009 2007, 2009 2010 2009 2007, 2007 2004

Simon Whitlock (born 3 March 1969) is an Australian professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments, although he did have a spell playing in the rival organisation, the British Darts Organisation. He uses the nickname The Wizard for his matches. His walk-on music is Down Under by Men At Work.

His greatest career achievements to date were finishing runner-up at the 2008 BDO World Darts Championship and the 2010 PDC World Darts Championship. He claimed that the prize money gained from the tournament which included money for the highest checkout (joint with Taylor) would allow him to move over to the UK from Australia and compete on the PDC Pro Tour.

His defeat also made him the first, and so far only, player to have never won a World Championship after reaching both the BDO and PDC World Championship Final.

Early darts career[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2010)

He reached the last 16 of the 2003 PDC World Darts Championship and also the semi-finals of the 2005 BDO World Darts Championship but lost heavily 0–5 to Martin Adams. In other events, he has also reached the semi-finals of the International Darts League in 2005 (losing to Mervyn King) and 2006 (losing to Raymond van Barneveld).

In 2007, the PDC set up an Australian Grand Prix – a series of tournaments in Whitlock's native country, and Whitlock won the first two events. The eventual winner of the AGP would have received automatic qualification for the 2008 PDC World Darts Championship; however, Whitlock remained a WDF/BDO player and chose to compete in the BDO World Championship instead.

Whitlock showed great form throughout the tournament, beating Edwin Max and Fabian Roosenbrand before beating former world champion Ted Hankey (who would win the title again the following year) 5–0 in the quarter-finals. He then beat Cumbria's Brian Woods to reach the final of the 2008 BDO World Darts Championship, where he was beaten by number one seed Mark Webster 7–5. He was the first Australian to the reach the final since Tony David won the tournament in 2002.

Whitlock entered the 2009 BDO World Darts Championship as the number 12 seed and reached the second round, beating Mark Barilli in the first round before losing to Darryl Fitton.

Return to PDC[link]

After many weeks of speculation, Whitlock returned to the PDC on 19 March 2009.^[2] He began playing in the AGP circuit where he won eight tournaments. He qualified for the Las Vegas Desert Classic but lost in the first round of the televised stages against Terry Jenkins.

He played in the 2009 Grand Slam of Darts and performed well in the Group stages winning all 3 of his games against Ted Hankey, Wayne Mardle and Scott Waites. In the Last 16 he thrashed 1996 BDO World Champion Steve Beaton 10–1 but lost to eventual runner up Scott Waites in a tight encounter.

At the 2010 PDC World Championship, Whitlock made a great impression, beating Colin Osborne (3–1), Wayne Jones (4–0) and Terry Jenkins (4–2), before going on to beat James Wade 5–3 in an epic encounter, setting up a semi final clash against Raymond van Barneveld which he won 6-5, after falling 4-2 behind. In the final against Phil Taylor, he lost the first set before winning the next two, including his second 170 checkout of the tournament, but Taylor would also make his second 170 checkout later in the match and went on to win 7-3.^[3]

During the championships, Whitlock made a televised post-match appeal for sponsorship during a Sky Sports interview. As a result of his performances, he did earn a sponsorship deal, enabling him to move to the UK and compete on the PDC Pro Tour full-time. After his run to the World Championship final, it was announced that he would be competing in the 2010 Premier League Darts as a wild card. He finished second in the table, therefore qualified for the semi-finals, after having beaten Raymond van Barneveld (twice), Adrian Lewis, Mervyn King (twice), Terry Jenkins and James Wade in the process. His run came to an end in the semis where he was beaten 8-6 by eventual runner-up Wade.

Whitlock's trademark in darts is his big finishing and superb checking out. In the 2010 Premier League, Whitlock had a 50% success rate in checking out, stretching 14 weeks.

On his World Matchplay debut in 2010, Whitlock reached the semi-finals before losing to Phil Taylor. At the 2010 Grand Slam of Darts, he lost all three of his group matches against Dave Chisnall, Colin Osborne and Robert Thornton.

Whitlock represented his native Australia alongside Paul Nicholson during the inaugural PDC World Cup of Darts in December 2010, losing out in the semi-finals to the Welsh pairing of Mark Webster and Barrie Bates.

2011 onwards[link]

At the 2011 PDC World Darts Championship, Whitlock defeated Steve Evans 3–0 in the first round, and Denis Ovens 4–0 in the second round, before losing 2–4 to Vincent van der Voort in the third round. He competed in the 2011 Premier League, again as a wild card, but failed to qualify for the play-offs after finishing sixth.

During the 2011 PDC Pro Tour, he became the first player to hit nine-dart finishes in successive Pro Tour events. His first came in the Bobby Bourn Memorial Players Championship in Barnsley on 12 June, during his win against South African Devon Petersen.^[4] His second came in the Dutch Darts Trophy event in Nuland six days later, against Nigel Heydon.^[5]

At the 2011 World Matchplay, Whitlock defeated Peter Wright 10–7 and Denis Ovens 13–1 to reach the quarter-finals, where he played Andy Hamilton. Whitlock was leading 15–8 and within one leg of victory, when Hamilton fought back, winning nine consecutive legs to take the match 17–15.^[6]

Whitlock broke a bone in his ankle while playing in Benidorm in November 2011 and was forced to withdraw from the 2011 Grand Slam of Darts.^[7] He did not play again until the 2012 World Championship and, with only a weeks practice behind him, produced a stunning performance to beat Dennis Smith 3–0, with an average of 105.^[8] He continued his form to ease past Steve Beaton 4–1 in the second round.^[9] Whitlock let a 3–0 lead slip to 3–3 in the last 16 against Michael van Gerwen but held his nerve to win the deciding set, and then comfortably beat Gary Anderson 5–1 to set up a semi-final clash with Andy Hamilton.^[10][11] He led 5–3, to need just one more set to reach his second PDC World Championship final, but his opponent raised his game and Whitlock would bow out of the tournament. Whitlock said after the match that he had had a fantastic tournament, considering he wasn't supposed to play.^[12]

Whitlock partnered Nicholson again for the 2012 PDC World Cup of Darts to try to improve on the semi-final the pair reached in 2010. Together they enjoyed comfortable victories over Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands to indeed better 2010 and reach their first World Cup final, where they played the English pair of Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis. Whitlock lost both of his singles matches in the final, but Nicholson won his final match and the duo won the doubles to mean the title would be decided on a sudden-death leg. Whitlock and Nicholson both missed two darts each to win the match, with Adrian Lewis hitting the winning double for England.^[13]

He was a Sky Sports pick for the Premier League.^[14] Whitlock won seven of his fourteen league games, including 100-plus averages in victories over Gary Anderson and Kevin Painter, to finish 2nd in the table and therefore qualify for the play-offs.^[15][16] Whitlock played Andy Hamilton in the semi-finals, against whom he drew 7–7 and lost 4–8 during the league campaign.^[15] He hit a nine darter in the second leg of the semi-final, but this was the only leg he could win early on as he trailed 1–4. Whitlock came back into the match and took the lead for the first time at 7–6, before holding throw to reach his first Premier League final. There he played Phil Taylor and looked to heading for a tame defeat as Taylor led 7–2. Whitlock, though, hit back brilliantly to win five successive legs to level the match, but couldn't complete another comeback victory as Taylor reeled off 3 legs to win 10–7.^[17]

He got to the semi-final of the first 2012 UK Open qualifier before losing out to Kim Huybrechts 6–4 after earlier beating Prakash Jiwa, Johnny Haines, Mark Frost, Alex Roy, Colin Osborne and Sean White.^[18] He reached the semi-final of the second 2012 UK Open Qualifier beating Andy Smith, Brian Woods, Shaun Griffiths, Dave Honey, and Mick Todd, before losing to Michael van Gerwen 6-0.^[19]

Whitlock hit a nine darter in his second round match at the European Tour Event 1 against Joe Cullen, but went on to lose 4–6.^[20]

Personal life[link]

Whitlock has two sons, Mason and Locky, from his marriage to Peta, which ended shortly before his run to the 2010 PDC World Championship final.^[21] As of July 2011, Whitlock is in a relationship with German darts player Stefanie Lück.^{[citation needed]}

Outside of darts[link]

In 2012, Whitlock, together with the seven other players who competed in the Premier League recorded a charity single with Chas Hodges and his band called 'Got My Tickets For The Darts' which was written by Chas. It was released on 18 May, the night after the play-offs at the O2 in London, where it was premiered. Proceeds from the single will be donated to the Haven House Children's Hospice.^[22]

Career finals[link]

PDC premier event finals: 1 (2 runner-up)[link]

Legend World Championship (0–1) World Matchplay (0–0) Premier League (0–1) Other (0–0) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[N 1] Runner-up 1. 2010 World Darts Championship Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor 3–7 (s) Runner-up 2. 2012 PDC Premier League Darts Taylor, PhilPhil Taylor 7–10 (l) ^ (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets. World Championship Performances[link] BDO[link] 2005 - Semi-finalist (lost to Martin Adams 0-5) 2006 - Last 16 (lost to Paul Hanvidge 2-4) 2007 - Last 16 (lost to Niels de Ruiter 3-4) 2008 - Runner Up (lost to Mark Webster 5-7) 2009 - Last 16 (lost to Darryl Fitton 2-4) PDC[link] 2003 (PDC) - Last 16 (lost to Richie Burnett 3-5) 2010 (PDC) - Runner-up (lost to Phil Taylor 3-7) 2011 (PDC) - Last 16 (lost to Vincent van der Voort 2-4) 2012 (PDC) - Semi-final (lost to Andy Hamilton 5-6) References[link] ^ The Sun (London). http://www.thesun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/sportdarts/2940863/Phil-Taylor-fears-Simon-Whitlock.html.  ^ "Aussie Star Makes PDC Move". pdc.tv. 19 March 2009. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~1595430,00.html. Retrieved 19 March 2009.  ^ Jacob, Gary (4 January 2010). "Phil Taylor summons all his powers to master Simon Whitlock’s challenge". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/article6974868.ece. Retrieved 2010-01-04.  ^ "Smith's Joy With Barnsley Win". pdc.tv. 12 June 2011. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2375019,00.html. Retrieved 12 June 2011.  ^ "Anderson Takes Holland Win". pdc.tv. 18 June 2011. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2378437,00.html. Retrieved 18 June 2011.  ^ "World Matchplay Quarter-Finals". pdc.tv. 22 July 2011. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2399283,00.html. Retrieved 22 July 2011.  ^ "Ian White replaces Whitlock at Grand Slam of Darts". BBC Sport. 8 November 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/darts/15639680.stm. Retrieved 28 December 2011.  ^ "Magic darts from Wizard". Sky Sports. 22 December 2011. http://www.skysports.com/darts/pdc/story/0,25061,15623_7390947,00.html. Retrieved 28 December 2011.  ^ "World Championship - Day 11". PDC. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2559363,00.html. Retrieved 2 January 2012.  ^ "World Championship - Day 12". PDC. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2560198,00.html. Retrieved 2 January 2012.  ^ "Wizard works his magic". Sky Sports. 30 December 2011. http://www.skysports.com/darts/pdc/story/0,25061,15623_7402660,00.html. Retrieved 2 January 2012.  ^ "Hammer knocks out Wizard". Sky Sports. http://www1.skysports.com/darts/news/12288/7405779/. Retrieved 2 January 2012.  ^ "World Cup Triumph For England". PDC. 6 February 2012. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2601181,00.html. Retrieved 7 February 2012.  ^ "Hamilton & Painter's Premier Delight". PDC. 3 January 2012. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2565358,00.html. Retrieved 16 May 2012.  ^ a b "2012 Premier League Results". Darts Database. http://www.dartsdatabase.co.uk/EventResults.aspx?EventKey=3889. Retrieved 16 May 2012.  ^ "McCoy's PLD Night 14". PDC. 10 May 2012. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2767653,00.html. Retrieved 16 May 2012.  ^ "Taylor's McCoy's Premier League Joy". PDC. 17 May 2012. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2775584,00.html. Retrieved 18 May 2012.  ^ "Speedy Hire UK Open Qualifier One". PDC. 11 February 2012. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2607377,00.html. Retrieved 11 February 2012.  ^ http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2608224,00.html ^ "Austrian Darts Open Day Two". PDC. 28 April 2012. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2752521,00.html. Retrieved 28 April 2012.  ^ Simon Whitlock dumps family for world darts glory Adelaide Now ^ "Chas & Stars Record Charity Single". Planet Darts. 8 March 2012. http://www.pdc.tv/page/NewsdeskDetail/0,,10180~2641173,00.html.  External links[link] Official website Player profile on Simon Whitlock from Dartsdatabase v t e Professional Darts Corporation · Top 20 PDC players in Order of Merit at 7 May, 2012     Phil Taylor Adrian Lewis James Wade Gary Anderson Wes Newton Simon Whitlock Andy Hamilton Raymond van Barneveld Mark Webster Terry Jenkins Kevin Painter Mark Walsh Justin Pipe Vincent van der Voort Wayne Jones Paul Nicholson Colin Lloyd Mervyn King Ronnie Baxter Andy Smith Persondata Name Whitlock, Simon Alternative names Short description Australian darts player Date of birth 3 March 1969 Place of birth Sydney, Australia Date of death Place of death