Shayne Burgess

Shayne Burgess (born 1 June 1964 in Hastings) is an English darts player who plays for the British Darts Organisation.

Career

Early career

Burgess reached the quarter finals of the British Open in 1992 and the quarter-finals of the Winmau World Masters in 1993. Burgess switched to the PDC (then known as the WDC), and reached the semi finals of the 1994 World Matchplay in his first televised event in the WDC.

Peak years

He reached the semi finals of the 1999 PDC World Championship, when he lost a 4-5 in to Peter Manley, and the quarter finals of the 2000 PDC World Championship. Burgess also finished as runner-up in both the 1999 and 2000 World Grand Prixs, losing to Phil Taylor in both finals.

Aside from achieving a 9-dart finish at the Eastbourne Pro event in February 2001, Burgess' form declined for a couple of years after his 1998-2000 peak. However, Burgess then suddenly reached the final of the inaugural UK Open in 2003, again losing to Taylor.

Return to BDO

In 2008, after years of a big decline in his form, Burgess left the PDC circuit. In 2011, Burgess was playing on the BDO circuit, and he hit the second 9-dart finish of his career in September 2012, during a Sussex Super League game. Burgess continues to play for the Hastings team of the Sussex Superleague's East Division, along with fellow former PDC player Adrian Gray.

Phil Taylor

Phil Taylor may refer to:

World Professional Darts Championship

The World Professional Darts Championship is one of the most important tournaments in the darts calendar. Originally held as an annual event between 1978 and 1993, players then broke off into two separate organisations after a controversial split in the game. Each organisation, the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) now organise their own World Championship in January. As a result, there is no longer a unified World Champion in the game. Phil Taylor has won 16 world titles, 2 in the BDO and 14 in the PDC version, and is widely considered the greatest player ever.

The BDO have organised their version dating back to 1978, when it was held at the Heart of the Midlands nightclub, Nottingham. The following year it moved to the Jollees Cabaret Club, Stoke, where it stayed until 1985. Since then it has been held at the Lakeside Leisure Complex at Frimley Green, Surrey.

The PDC version started in 1994 after "the split", with a field of players containing all active previous World Champions from the BDO. It was originally staged at Purfleet's Circus Tavern, Essex before moving to Alexandra Palace for the 2008 World Championship.

FA Cup

The FA Cup is an annual knockout cup competition in English football; first held in 1871–72, it is the oldest association football competition in the world. It is organised by and named after the Football Association, its official name being The Football Association Challenge Cup. For sponsorship reasons, from 2015 through to 2018 it is also known as The Emirates FA Cup. A concurrent women's tournament is also held, known as the FA Women's Cup.

The competition is open to any eligible club down to Level 10 of the English football league system, i.e. all 92 professional clubs (the Premier League and the three levels of the The Football League), as well as several hundred "non-league" teams in Steps 1 to 6 of the National League System. A record 763 clubs competed in 2011–12. The tournament is unseeded, although a system of byes based on league level ensures most competitors enter at progressively later stages. Played over 12 randomly drawn rounds followed by the semi-finals and final, the first six rounds are the Qualifying Competition, followed by six rounds of the Competition Proper, where 32 qualifiers meet professional sides for the first time.

Dennis Priestley

Dennis Priestley (born 16 July 1950) is an English former professional darts player. He has won two world championships, and was the first player to win both the BDO and WDC (now PDC) world championships, in 1991 and 1994 respectively. He is nicknamed "The Menace", after the cartoon character Dennis the Menace, and reflects this by wearing red and black, and using red and black flights.

Early career

Born in Mexborough, South Yorkshire, Priestley was originally a coal merchant by trade, and did not enter professional darts until he was almost 40 years old. He first caught the eye in 1989 when he reached the final of the News of the World Darts Championship where he was beaten by the experienced Dave Whitcombe. He then reached the semi-finals of the 1990 Winmau World Masters, losing to eventual champion Phil Taylor.

Rising to the top

Shortly after becoming a newsagent, Priestley won the 1991 Embassy World Championship, after beating Eric Bristow 6-0 in the final. He had defeated defending champion Taylor in his quarter-finals and 1988 champion Bob Anderson in his semi-final. He won the 1992 Winmau World Masters and also picked up many BDO Open events between 1991 and 1993.