I-League

200px
Countries	India
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Founded	2007
Number of teams	14
Levels on pyramid	1
Relegation to	I-League 2nd Division
Domestic cup(s)	Federation Cup
International cup(s)	AFC Cup
Current champions	Dempo (2011–12)
Most championships	Dempo (3)
TV partners	TEN Action+ (National) News Time Bangla (Bengal Area Only) News Time Assam (North-East India Only)
Website	the-aiff.com
2012–13 I-League

The I-League is an Indian football league for association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 14 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation of two teams each year with the I-League 2nd Division. Seasons run from October to May, with teams playing 26 matches each, totalling 182 matches in the season. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played during weekday evenings. The competition formed as the ONGC I-League in 2006 following the disbanding of the National Football League.

Since 2007, a total of three clubs have been crowned champions. Of the sixteen to have played in the league since the inception of the I-League in 2006, three have won the title: Dempo (3 titles), Churchill Brothers (1), and Salgaocar (1). The current champions are Dempo, who won the title during the 2011-12 season.

History[link]

Formation[link]

Following the decline of the National Football League (NFL), the All India Football Federation relaunched the national league for the 2007-08 season. The league was renamed the I-League and consisted of eight teams from the NFL plus two promoted teams from the former Division Two. The first ever I-league was sponsored by ONGC, who were also the previous sponsors of the now defunct NFL. For the first time, clubs in the I-league were allowed to register four foreigners, though teams will only be allowed to field three during a match. All matches would be also telecasted live and exclusive on Zee Sports.^[1]

The following additional incentives have also been provided for clubs participating in the I-League:^[1]

1. A subsidy of 250,000 for fielding a team in the U19 I-League and a subsidy of 250,000 for appointing administrative staff.

2. To promote greater attendances and improve the revenues of the clubs, after deducting the stadium hire charges, 90% of the gate collection will go to the host club. The club will be responsible for the selling of tickets.

3. The club will be given two perimeter boards, six fence level boards and six boards at the first tier level at their home games.

4. Prize money for winners has been increased from 4 million to 5 million, while the runners-up would get 2.8 million, 600,000 more than earlier.

5. The winners of each match will get 35,000, an increase of 5,000.

The early years (2007-2011)[link]

The first game was played on November 24, 2007 between Dempo Sports Club and Salgaocar Sports Club.^[2] The introduction of the I-League was an attempt to seek to change the way Indian clubs approach football. All clubs were required to have at least 14 professionals on their books and the introduction of an U19 development team.

After an exciting 18 rounds, Dempo Sports Club won the championship on goal difference with Churchill finishing runners-up. Viva Kerala (now Chirag United Club Kerala) and Salgaocar Sports Club were both relegated and played the next season in the second division.

Following a Asian Football Confederation review of the I-League's progress, the champions of the I-League had been awarded a spot in the prestigious AFC Champions League in 2009.

Then the next season, after a successful first season for the I-League, featured 12 teams from four different cities. And for the first time, the champions of the league would qualify for the AFC Champions League while the runners-up qualify for the AFC Cup club championships in 2010. The bottom two teams will be relegated to the I-League 2nd Division in the next season.

The I-League 2008-09 season ran from September 26, 2008 to April 15, 2009 with a break in December for the Federation Cup and Durand Cup. Most games that season were played on Saturday's and Sunday's to attract a larger crowd.

The league expanded to 14 clubs for the 2009-10 season. Salgaocar, Viva Kerala (now Chirag United Club Kerala), Pune and Shillong Lajong were promoted for that season. Dempo later won the I-League to earn a spot into the AFC Champions League 2011.

Only 14 clubs played in 2010-11 season,^[3] with AFC criteria being taken into consideration expansion has been halted.

For the first time in the league the India U-21 team (called the AIFF XI) was part of the league, it was based in New Delhi and AIFF ran the club.^[3] Its main agenda was to provide first team opportunities to youngsters and groom them for FIFA World Cup 2018.^[4] After a long gap, Indian capital of New Delhi and major city Bangalore were back to the top flight. After 26 matches played by all 14 sides Salgaocar came out as the winners while ONGC and JCT FC were relegated to I-League 2nd Division.

A rocky new beginning and a hopeful future (2011-present)[link]

After the 2010-11 season closed the All India Football Federation announced that there was going to be major changes happening to the I-League starting from the 2011-12 I-League. To start the league and federation decided to cut ONGC as the title sponsors of the league and would just have the name of the league as I-League. To continue with the loss of ONGC sponsorship, the federation decided to design a new logo for the league. The new logo was unveiled on October 13, 2011. The league also announced that extra measures would be taken towards the clubs as the I-League would now be the ones in charge of organizing there home games unlike the state associations like it was in the past. Also new measures in AFC Club Criteria would be taken as all 14 I-League clubs would have to have passed the AFC Criteria by the end of the 2011-12 season in order to participate in the 2012-13 I-League and onwards. In October 2011, the AIFF announced that they had reached a one year deal with TEN Action+ to broadcast 70 full matches for the 2011-12 season. This would be the first time the league would be shown on TV since the 2009-10 season. The new TV deal was expected to bring new marketing opportunities and popularity for the league and federation.

The beginning of the 2010-11 season started off brightly as the promises the federation promised were in action. On October 28, 2011, the league gained a boost when 11,000 people showed up for Shillong Lajongs match against HAL. The league gained an even bigger boost when 90,000 people showed up for the Kolkata derby between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. These two matches gave hope that finally the league was gaining popularity among the normal football fans in India. The league suffered a setback though when it became known that the league had lost its spot in the AFC Champions League, the biggest club competition in Asia due to the league not fulfilling the AFC Criteria set for 2012.^[5]

The AIFF then set a date at the 20 April 2012 for when they will meet with the clubs and discuss the format of the league for the next season.^[6]

Competition format[link]

Competition[link]

There are 14 teams in the I-League. During the course of a season (from October to May) each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 26 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion.

AFC Qualification[link]

The I-League champions gain one spot into the AFC Cup group stage round, while the Federation Cup winners will play in the AFC Cup group stage as well.

Sponsorship[link]

The I-League has been sponsored since 2007. There has been one sponsor since the league's formation.

• 2007–2011: ONGC (ONGC I-League)
• 2011 onwards: To Be Announced

Official logo[link]

• I-League logo.png

  2007-10
  ONGC I-League

• I-League.jpg

  2011-
  I-League

Media coverage[link]

India[link]

Television will play a major role in the history of the I-League. The money from television rights will be vital in helping to create excellence both on and off the field. The League's decision to assign broadcasting rights to Zee Sports in 2007 was at the time a radical decision. After going three years into a 10 year deal Zee Sports terminated its deal with the All India Football Federation which meant that the 2010-11 I-League season went on with no televised channel except for the Kolkata teams which managed to get a one-year TV contract with a Calcutta TV corporation to televise all home games for East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and United Sports Club. On September 30, 2011, it was announced that the AIFF broadcast partners IMG Reliance have struck a deal for the I-League to be shown regionally in Bengal and North-Eastern India on News Time Bengla and News Time Assam for the 2011-12 season. This new deal will mean that up to 75 matches will be shown live on TV for the season.^[7] On October 4, 2011, it was announced that TEN Sports will broadcast the 2011-12 season nationally across India along with the regional broadcasters and would also show at least 75 matches this season.^[8]

Criticisms[link]

Financial situation[link]

The I-League continues to experience financial problems for a variety of reasons including lack of merchandising, TV revenue or tournament income.^[9] It has been reported that most I-League clubs fail to have any marketing plan when it comes to supporters which explains average crowds of 3913 in the I-League 2010-11, making it difficult for Indian clubs to make money. Since to formation of the I-League, two clubs, Mahindra United (2010) and JCT FC (2011), have disbanded due to financial troubles. Fans have argued that attendances at I-League matches are so low because of the timing of matches during the mid-afternoon around 4:00pm Indian Standard Time. It has been suggested that matches could be moved to later in the evening when temperatures are lower and more people will be free to see the matches.^[10]

Foreign impact[link]

Many football experts have suggested that the reason India does not do well nationally is because of the amount of foreign players playing in the I-League, mainly in attacking areas.^[11] Since the I-League began in 2007 the league has not seen an Indian take the golden boot while two Nigerians have.

Clubs, stadiums and locations[link]

The following 14 clubs are competing in the I-League during the 2011-12 season.

Sporting Goa
Dempo
Salgaocar
Churchill Brothers

Mohun Bagan
East Bengal

Mumbai
Air India

Pune

Pailan
Prayag

Chirag Kerala

HAL

Shillong Lajong

Locations of teams in the 2010-11 I-League

Youth League[link]

Before the I-League 2010-11 season, a national youth league was set up with the I-League in order to bring young Indian talent into the league. The league's inaugural season was made up of 15 teams, each linked to the corresponding Indian club in the I-League (excluding Pailan Arrows).

Managers[link]

Managers in the I-League are involved in the day to day running of the team, including the training, team selection, and player acquisition. Their influence varies from club-to-club and is related to the ownership of the club and the relationship of the manager with fans. Managers are required to have a Asian Pro License which is the final coaching qualification available, and follows the completion of the AFC 'B' and 'A' Licences. The AFC Pro Licence is required by every person who wishes to manage a club in the I-League on a permanent basis. Caretaker appointments are managers that fill the gap between a managerial departure and a new appointment. Several caretaker managers have gone on to secure a permanent managerial post after performing well as a caretaker.

Only one manager, Armando Colaco, has remained in his position since the formation of the I-League in 2007. The most recent appointment was Biswajit Bhattacharya as manager of Chirag United Club Kerala. Currently 9 of the managers are from India.

	Name	Club	Appointed
IND !	Colaco, ArmandoArmando Colaco	Dempo	2000
IND !	Pereira, DerrickDerrick Pereira	Pune	2009
SCO !	Reddy, PradyumPradyum Reddy	Shillong Lajong	2010
IND !	Kashyap, SantoshSantosh Kashyap	Air India	2010
ENG !	Morgan, TrevorTrevor Morgan	East Bengal	2010
IND !	Jamil, KhalidKhalid Jamil	Mumbai	2010
MAR !	Bencherifa, KarimKarim Bencherifa	Salgaocar	2010
IND !	Singh, EkendraEkendra Singh	Sporting Clube de Goa	2010
IND !	Sen, SanjoySanjoy Sen	Prayag United	2010
IND !	Thyagraj, RamalingamRamalingam Thyagraj	HAL	13 September 2011
IND !	Banerjee, PrasantaPrasanta Banerjee	Mohun Bagan	20 October 2011
IND !	Chakravarty, SujitSujit Chakravarty	Pailan Arrows	8 February 2012
BRA !	Carlos Roberto Pereira	Churchill Brothers	15 February 2012
IND !	Biswajit Bhattacharya	Chirag United Club Kerala	25 February 2012

Stats and players[link]

All-time top scorers in the I-League
(I-League goals only)

Rank	Player	Goals
1	Odafe Onyeka Okolie	95
2	Ranty Martins Soleye	69
3	Roberto Mendes Silva	54
4	Chidi Edeh	45
	Yusif Yakubu	45
6	Felix Chimaokwu	36
7	Sunil Chhetri	35
	Junior Obagbemiro	35
9	Jose Ramirez Barreto	30
10	Edmar Figueira	28
(Italics denotes players still playing professional football, Bold denotes players still playing in the I-League).

Seasonal statistics[link]

^[12]

Top goal scorers[link]

Players in the I-League compete for Golden Boot award every season which is awarded to the player with the most I-League goals. Currently former Churchill Brothers and current Mohun Bagan player Odafe Onyeka Okolie holds the record for most golden boots with three. Odafe and Dempo player Ranty Martins Soleye are the only players to win the award. Odafe is also the top goal scorer in I-League history with a total of 89 goals.

Nigerian Ranty Martins has scored the most goals in a single season by scoring 30 goals during the 2010-11 season. Currently Ranty Martins holds the record for scoring the most goals in a match. He scored 6 goals when his team, Dempo beat Air India 14-0 on May 30, 2011. Incidentally, this was also the highest scoring match in the I-League.

Institutional football[link]

Most football clubs in India are what are termed 'institutional' teams. That mean that they represent a company and the football club is merely a social aspect of the company for the benefit of workers. This is much the same model which was found in Japan before the introduction of the J. League. The positives are that the teams are usually well resourced with players earning decent money and the prospect of employment after their footballing days finish. On the negative side, teams only represent a few thousand workers rather than whole cities and thus do not gain broad support.

This is slowly changing with new teams such as Pune, Sporting Clube de Goa, United Sikkim, Royal Wahingdoh and Mumbai building broad based clubs while retaining corporate ownership and support.

Champions[link]

In Asia[link]

For more information on Indian clubs in Asia go to Indian clubs in the Asian Football

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website of the All India Football Federation

This biographical 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 2011)

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