180: with 19g Winmau brass Mark Webster's

Hi guys

180 with these £5 (for 2 sets) Winmau Mark Websters

Bdo World Championship 2019: My pick!

Hi guys

It's that time of year again, the BDO World Championship 2019.

For the last 2 years Glen Durrant has taken home the prize however I think 2019 is going to be even tighter

This year you've got Andy Hamilton and Wez Newton taking part, Mark McGeeney will be looking to go one better than last year's final.

Add in past winner Scott Mitchell and Scott Waites, perennial veteran Tony Oshea and Masters winner Adam Smith-Neale and its a helluva competitive field.

Im going to go with Duzza landing his 3rd title with Smith-Neale my outside bet.

Luke

PDC World Championship 2019: my pick!

Hi guys

It's that time of year again.

I actually fancied Rob Cross to do well last year however this year I can't see it. I fear we may have an 84 Deller situation here.

Logic would obviously point to either Anderson or MVG.

MVG despite collecting trophies like pokemon this year has looked vulnerable in the Majors and will be feeling pressure to bag it this year. Anderson likewise has been in good form in 2018 but has looked prone to losing concentration.

I think Gurney may be the dark horse here as he's been showing elite scoring power and finishing of late.

I'll go with MVG as the favourite with my outside bet of Gurney.

Well done to Glen Durrant, winner of the 2018 Finder Masters

Hi guys

Just wanted to say a BIG well down to Glen Durrant who came form 3-1 down to beat Richard Veenstra 5-3 to claim his 3rd Finder Masters in 4 years and place himself second behind Raymond Van Barneveld in the all-time winners record.

In doing so Duzza recorded his 3rd major of the year (Worlds, World Trophy and now Finders ) as well as reaching the Winmau Masters Final.

Duzza looks to be a firm favourite ahead of the 2019 World Championship..

Luke

16/11/18: 2 more 180s

 2 more 180s despite a horrendous practice session

A mad scenario! Brought back by brass

Hi guys

This was mad.

 I was practicing and hitting great scores at 100@20. Hitting 111, 105, 109, etc.

Form was great and I felt that I was on my way to eclipse my personal best.

Then I hit a wicked 180!!! and....... My right bicepgoes!!!! Could barely hit the board..

Didn't feel like a tear more a tendon pull.

Iced it for a few days and felt OK.

Went back to practice and  It was literally like Id never played before, darts felt alien in my hand.

Stopped,

left it and tried a few days later. Still the same!

Thinking I may have a bicep issue (spent best part of 2 decades working out so know my body) I had an upper body centric workout.... No bicep issue whatsoever, no loss of strength or stamina etc.

So I give it a few days and then try again..... Still won't work.

At this point I've had enough, and sell my 21g Durro darts. To be honest despite some of the scores I've put up they've never felt comfortable.

At this point I'd had enough and decided to pack it in.

I was literally just about to take my board off the wall when i find my old 12g brass conversion Faithfulls.

Pick them up and decide to have 1 last throw for nostalgia purpose.

And they fly... 

Beautiful!!!!!!!

Its insane but these horrible 12g brass 99p softip conversions always bring me back into the game!

Could it be that these 12g darts, that I've won more matches and hit more 180 with have and will always be the one??

Last 180 with the Durros

Hi guys

Last 180 with these bad boys as have sold on

500 darts at 20, +180!!

Hi guys

Put a good 90 minutes on the board yesterday 

Threw 500 at 20.

Hit:

180 x 1
140 x 2
120 x 6
100 x 19
80s x 28
60s x 47

Hits in a row =19
Accuracy % = 70%

My maximum 100 darts at 20 was 111 pts which was just shy of my best of 115.

Hit a cracker of a 180 though!

Gotta put the practice in guys, it does payoff

Luke

Bdo Lives: Well Done EuroSport

Hi guys

Was thrilled to hear that the EuroSport channel has picked up televising the BDO majors for the next 3 years.

We'll now get the World Championship, World Trophy and World Masters with hopefully more to come.

This is great news and hopefully ensures the World Championship stays at Lakeside and convinces Winmau to retain sponsorship of BDO events.

Those who made this happen need to be applauded. Less than a week ago the BDO looked in real danger of potentially going under with no TV, losing Winmau and even Lakeside and now its potentially in a healthier TV position than it even was as the BBC lost interest.

This is such

It's a good day to be a BDO and darts fan!

Luke

Just nailed a personal best at 100 at 20 + 2 x 180

Hi guys

Nailed a personal best at 100 at 20 with 115 (previous best was 107 in June 2018)

Also pleased to have hit 2 x 180

Interview with the Last News Of The World Darts Championship Winner: Paul Cook

Hi Guys

I have always been fascinated by the News Of The World Championship.  For me it was actually the ‘unofficial’ World Championship and it was the longest serving darts championship having ran for over 40 years since the 1940’s.

It was the Championship that every player wanted to win and was the first and for a period the only darts championship on television.

The rules were it was a best of 3 legs only from 8ft, so you can Imagine how hard it was to win. In-fact there were so many games to play  before you reached  the final starting at Pub level that you could have 60+ matches over the course of the year.

Some of the pioneers of darts and legends won the trophy include:

Barry Twomlow

Bobby George x2

John Lowe

Eric Bristow x2

Mike Gregory x2

Stefan Lord x 2

Phil Taylor x 1

Dave Whitcombe x2

Thanks to www.dartsnutz.net forum member Richard, I have tracked down the last winner of the original News Of The World Championship Paul Cook,, who won the trophy in 1990.

The championship was resurrected in 1997 however many felt it was brought back to allow Phil Taylor the opportunity to win it, and it was abandoned in 1998 after Taylor won it.

I can’t stress enough how hard it was to win this Championship, and many Legends never managed it including

Alan Evans – who lost the final in 1972

Leighton Rees  - who lost the final in 1976

Alan Glazier – who lost the final in 1979

Dennis Priestley – who lost the final in 1989

Paul Cook, now in his 60’s and still I hear a helluva player took the time to answer some questions and it is my great pleasure to bring you it below.

Q1: You won what was considered at the time to be the last ever News Of The World champion in 1990. Memories of that incredible achievement?

PC: my memories of that day I won News Of The World was the support i got from Eric Bristow and is info on how to win News Of The World.

Q2: You seemed to disappear from darts after that, did you try to qualify for the Bdo or Pdc majors on this time? 

PC: I played in all the WDC ranking comps from 1994 to 1996 my best ranking was 27 . i played in 2 world matchplay’s at Blackpool and played in world pairs with Dennis Smith reaching quarter finals 

Q3. What darts do you, did you used to use?

PC: I have only played with 1 set of darts which i still play with now 22gm 

Q4:  You have popped up at alot of various tournaments over the years, was it ever an ambition to go pro? 

PC: no ambition to turn pro but if i could of got sponsership i may had a go

Q5: Do you still play regularly these days and if so how much do you practice? 

PC: still play 3 nights a week but i never have been a big practicer 

Q6: Did you ever get to play the likes of Jocky Wilson and Bristow and memories of those matches? 

PC: Great memories of both these great players I played Eric the week before I won News Of The World Championship in Weston supermare .  The Yorkshire board comp beating him 3-0 then a challenge math after comp for a year’s supply of beer I won that 3-0.  It was mentioned on the day of News Of The World final between us. . I played jockey a few times and was always well beaten . Still got some medals he gave me

I would just like to take the time to thank Paul for answering these questions

Luke

Well done to Adam Smith-Neale winning the 2018 Winmau World Masters

Hi guys

I just wanted to give a BIG Well Done to Adam Smith-Neale who won the oldest active tournament in darts, the Winmau World Masters.

Smith-Neale, 24 saw off the current Bdo World Champion and former Masters Champion Glen Durrant 6-4 in a great final Averaging 96.82

Smith-Neale will now enter the PDC Grandslam of darts a massively lucrative opportunity for the young man to showcase his talent to a bigger audience.

4/10/18: 180

Hi guys

180!

Abit of fun, 1000 darts at 20 plus 2 180s

Hi guys

Abit of fun, had 1000 darts at 20

I hit:

527 singles
131 triples
11 doubles
341 misses

Overall accuracy was 65.90%

Of note hit:

180 x 2
140 x 3
120 x 7
100 x 43
80 x 50
60 x 67

Not bad going, please to hit 2 x 180 with my first goes on the harrows 22g Torpedos.

Anyway abit of fun with a few cans of Fosters in hand.

Give it a go, though your arm wont thank you the next day

Luke

Random musings on dart weight

Hi guys

Some random musings with a beer in hand whilst my wife smokes my mastercard on her 40th bday girlie holiday purchase (and my darts purchases at around £20 get moaned at) 

Now I totally get the rationale behind it. Slimmer = more space in the segment/treble. Hell I've been there with the 14g Hankeys, 10g featherlights, 22g Adams, 25h MVG etc. I lived. For the sub or low 6mm dart.

The reality is that I threw a chunkier number ala 25g Ton Machine far better though it Conflicted with the logic in my head. 

Couple that with that so few pros use a chunk dart (can you name 5 current pros?)  and i felt I was cheating myself. 

Now go back 30 years and though it was likely due to the tech far more players used chunky darts:

Rees
Lazarenko
Glazier
Whitcome
Early Lowes


And whilst they ave were lower than nowadays the boards were far worse and the segments 14% smaller, so there scoring would obviously be superior now

We all have different sized hands and styles so maybe a 31g chunky would be better than a 22g skinny for some players. 

Maybe it's best to forget the aesthetics,and weight and just throw what works best after all how many players have won the WC with sub 20 darts? 

Priestley 12g
Deller 18g
Anderson 18g
Hankey 14g
Walton 18g
Bunting 12g 

Hell maybe some pros should consider it as well!

Luke 

Honesty is the best policy: Do the right thing!

Hi Guys

I was invited to an open on Friday 31st August which was on the Sunday the 2nd September.

I am and was thoroughly under practiced and so I deliberated for ages and decide to go literally at 19:00 for a 19:30 start.

I arrived not expecting alot as it was the first time the venue had run a darts event however they had done themselves proud.  It was a great setup, multiple boards, ring lights and a finals stage with raised oche and everything.

This setup wouldn't have looked out of place at a Pro event.

I had been fooling around with my setup when i have practiced and after a few throws realised the darts weren't flying great for me but only had kites and not standards.

Anyway i practiced for abit and got my eye in and in the draw i was entered into a Prelim for round 1.

The format was 1 leg of 501 until quarter, them it went to best of 3 and then 5 with a winners prize of £100.

I drew a guy Ron, and no disrespect he wasn't very good. I stormed away hitting 60's a 95 and a 100 and checked out 14 on D7 whilst leaving him on 283 - job done!

In the first round i drew a lad called Jack.

we were pretty even until he hit a low score and i left 109.

I go t17, t18, d2

Celebrate and shake opponents hand.

Then............ .............................. I go to collect my darts and I realise that i'd only hit s17 and not t17.

No one had noticed. it looked in given the angle and light.

I had a choice. Cheat and progress or admit fault.

I chose to admit as winning by cheating isn't winning and not my style.

I asked for a re-start and i admit i was 'gone'. Elation at nailing a 109 was replaced by internal anger.

We re-started , he missed a 100 out and i was left with 32.

I Missed d16 by the narrowest of margins hit 7, ended up on d1 and missed 9 match darts at D1 to snatch a loss from the jaws of victory.

I shook the lads hand and though i was furious and had lost i knew i had done the right thing.

Looking at the draw and what transpired I could have made the final as Jack reached the Semi's however it would have been a hollow progression.

So many nowadays cheat in sports to succeed and that's their choice (and i have been on the receiving end)  however integrity and sportsmanship to me is what darts was all about and needs to remain so

Luke

1/9/18: 180!

180 with 25g Jocky Wilson copies

2/8/18:180 with datadart orion 22g

Hi guys

180 with 22g datadart Orions.

These are very similar to the Unicorn Terry Jenkins

This was throw 7-8-9 of having these

Luke

Finally hit a 180 with the 30 year old 16g Unicorn Satin Slims

Finally

• 

16/08/2018: My current setup

Hi guys

This is my current setup as I try and fix my throw.

12g brass
Nylon short
Co Stompe kites

15/6/18: more 180s with 12g brass

Hi guys

Just can't stop scoring 180s with these things

Seriously  I have used every setup with these over the last 3 years and everytime they deliver!

Congratulations To Paul Nicholson on his semi-Final appearance at the PDC Gibraltar Darts Trophy 2018

Hi Guys

I just wanted to give a shout out to 'The Asset' Paul Nicholson for his run in the 2018 PDC Gibraltar Trophy which lead to the the Semi-Final. His first semi-final appearance in a PDC event since the 2014 PDC World Cup of Darts

Paul who re-won his tour card this year often gets maligned for his early PDC days when his 'bad guy' persona backfired,  however having met Paul at exhibitions he is a great bloke and when he is 'on' he has a cracking game to him.

Its a shame that Paul wasn't able to capitalize on his early PDC success of reaching the PDC World Championship Quarter final in 2009 and winning the PDC Players Championship Final in 2010.

Still on 39, i hope 'The Asset' can build on this and climb the rankings as he has a tremendous amount to offer the game!

check out his website at:

http://paulnicholson.tv/

Luke

10/6/2018: another 180 with the 12g brass

Hi guys

Another 180 with the old 12g darts

100 darts at 20, give it a go!

Hi Guys

I've been playing  a little practice game called 100 darts at 20.

Points are allocated for each part of the 20:

S20 = 1
D20 = 2
T20 = 3

the aim being to score the highest possible which is 300 (that would be 100 20s)

My current best is 103:

S20 = 59
D20 = 1
T20 = 14
Misses = 26

I've also hit 15 consecutive 20's

Give it a go its great for making you push your training!

Glen 'Duzza' Durrant: Seals his legendary status with BDO World Trophy

Hi Guys

I had to write to congratulate Glen ‘Duzza’ Durrant on his BDO World trophy win this Sunday the 3^rd of June 2018.

In doing so Duzza has done the amazing clean sweep of all the BDO Majors:

·         World Championship x2

·         Winmau Masters x2

·         Finders Masters (Zuiderduin) x2

·         World Trophy x1

Duzza has now competed in an amazing 7 finals and won all of them at Major level.

In doing so Duzza has now achieved what no BDO player has ever done, won all 5 of the modern tournaments (BDO Legend Martin Adams has yet to add the World Trophy)

What I find even more incredible is that Duzza didn’t qualify for the Worlds until 2014 and since then has won all 4 majors (7 in total) and 23 Open tournaments in 4 years!

I think it’s fair to say that Duzza has now cemented himself a modern day BDO legend , and has show that age is no barrier to success!

Well done Duzza!

25/5/18: 180!!

Guys these £10 Argos jobs are really hitting the spot!

My Interview with BDO Legend The Silverback Tony O'Shea

Hi Guys

I am proud to be be able to bring you my interview with BDO Legend and 7x Major finalist, 'The Silverback' Tony O'Shea:

Q1. A nice easy one. How did you get started in darts and how old were you? 

TO. I was 18 years old, playing for a football team and to raise funds, we use to play killer for squares on the football card and more often than not I would win the card.

Q2. What were your first set of darts, rumour has it you used a set of original Bristows for years? 

TO. My first ever set of darts were brass and Barry Twomlow 20g.  After a while, I played with various tungsten, I decided to use a set that you just got of the shelf and Eric Bristow was the most popular, I played with these for more than 20 years.

Q3. You seemed to burst onto the scene in the mid 90s, with I think the Welsh Open being your first listed one. what were you doing in darts before that? 

TO. I started playing county darts around 1980 for Lancashire, playing mostly in the B team and worked for Alan Evans who was a neighbour of mine in Stockport.  In the mid 90's I won various open championship, but did not play on the World ranking tour until the late 90's.

Q4. As a more mature darts player have you found age has affected your play and practice and how does your current practice routine differ now (if any) from what it was? 

TO. Age has definitely affected my tournament play, if you get the later stages of an open event, you are looking at 10 hours at the venue, when I was younger this was not a problem, but  definitely starting to feel the pace as I get older.  I have never been one to practice a lot and 2017 after having knee replacement surgery, did not throw a dart for almost 3 months.

Q5. You are one of the most popular darts players out there and a real crowd favourite. Do you still have the same drive to compete and how long do you think we'll be seeing the 'Silverback' entertaining the crowd? 

TO. Obviously, I love the game and want to play for as long as I can or for as long as people pay me to play!!!!  I still do have the drive for tournament play, but I really enjoy the exhibition circuit, where there is more interaction with the audience.

Q6. You have featured in 7 major finals, something most players can only hope to dream of. Is there one that particularly sticks in your mind or bothers you (your match with Hankey must rate as one of the best world finals of the 00s in the BDO) ? 

TO. Yes, I have featured in 7 major finals, the Ted Hankey 2009 was the best atmosphere I have ever played in, when the match became 6 sets each, the noise the crowd made singing my name, still gives me goosebumps today. 

Q7. You have won many Opens and tournaments, most recently the 2017 Turkish Open. What is your favourite tournament win & is there any non televised events that stick out in your mind for your performance? 

TO. My favorite tournament win, would have to be the 2009 WDF World Cup Single Championship, the 4 best players from over 40 countries competed for this title and for me this is probably the hardest title to win in the BDO system, this win also helped England to win the World Cup that year.

Q8. You recently went for the PDC tour card. What prompted this decision and do you regret or have considered moving earlier? 

TO. My decision to try Q School this year, was prompted by the fact that I missed the last Lakeside, a break in the middle of the season for my  knee operation meant that I dropped for 14 in the rankings to 55 when I resumed playing meaning I missed the Lakeside, it made sense to try Q School and I really enjoyed doing it.  Since 2009, I have received 6 wild card invites for the pro tour, due to the fact that my ambition was to always win the Embassy I have never taken them up, but with hindsite maybe I should have excepted the first one in 2009.

Q9. Memories of your televised 9 darter in 2007 against Adrian Lewis in the International Darts League (this was when  9 darters were still television rarities)?

TO. 9 darters were rare around 2007, but in that years International Darts League myself and Phil Taylor both hit one in that tournament.  This was a really special day for me, as it was my 46th birthday, my grandson was born on that day and to top it off I won against the legendary Adrian Lewis. ( If Carlsberg did birthdays!!)

Q10. Any advice for the aspiring player?

TO. Practice, practice, practice, this would be my advice to any up and coming young players.

Q11. How is your health these days?

TO. With 60 fast approaching, obviously age is a factor in modern darts, the schedule that a player has to go through these days, with tournaments, exhibitions and county darts etc. is very grueling, then when you add knee replacement surgery and diabetes it is not hard to see that the end of my careers may not be too far away

I would just like to take this opportunity to thank Tony for taking the time out of his busy schedule to do this

Luke

18/5/18:180!!!!

180!!!

How I Got Into darts: Chapter 13: My Own Worst Enemy!

Now for some darts is a ‘night out’ with competition thrown in, to others it’s deadly serious, and then there are those in the middle, those who care about how they play but don’t sacrifice their life to it.

I am someone who is intense to put it lightly, and will continually push themselves. It was the same in boxing, wrestling and weightlifting.

Unfortunately this can often be counter-productive and the urge to see the ‘negative’ in everything can start a vicious cycle which is all consuming.

In short I take losses badly, however I got to the point whereby I was taking playing badly even worse (even in victory).

Now unless you are gifted, darts is not the kind of sport whereby you can pick it up and within days be averaging 100+ and hitting 9 darters. Darts is about time and practice however I wanted it ‘quickly’, and this led to over-practicing and tinkering that would make Peter Wright proud. Often I would be the architect of my own downfall (turning up to match day with an ‘untried’ setup) as I constantly pushed. The pressure I put on myself was immense and the amount of nights I lay awake brutally analysing every aspect of my performance was unhealthy and I’ll be honest, completely stupid.

 In short, I wanted to be tournament ready in a stupid timescale and when 5 hours of practice didn’t see me sweep aside my opponent in an 11 darter, I’d practice harder, and longer. This led to me aggravating, long-standing back, hip and shoulder issues, which further added to my frustration.

It all came to a head on the 2/8/2015.

We were replaying the ‘Bird in Hand’ whom we had a good record against as a team and I was 3-0 up against them in singles competition.  Now we were bottom of the league having lost 11 straight, with the majority of the legs we’d won being down to myself.

I was growing frustrated with the team (unfairly) as they looked upon it as a ‘night out’ not the grave seriousness I approached every Monday fixture.

I was up 4th and against Shannon and had beaten Shannon before, however my nagging injuries, the atmosphere, and the fact that I’d changed to a set of 25g MVG before the match saw me lose 2-0. I did get to a double on the first leg however my scores were all 50's and Shannon decided to play a blinder. In truth I was beaten before the start. The team went on to lose 5-4 in a close one.

After that I tendered my resignation as Captain and from the team a few days later (the following week the team lost 9-0 and at end of season despite me missing about half of it I still made up something like 50% of overall legs won.

I was completely at fault and had pushed myself far too hard to quickly, and taken it way to seriously.

After that I barely played, save for retaining the second annual Sutherland trophy on 1st January 2016, until 2017.

Again though I was my own worst enemy, rather than start slow, I’d practice for a few days in a  concise way, start playing well and then I’d start hitting 2-3 hour sessions whereby I could barely lift my arm and my arm would be painful the next day.

After about 18 months I re-joined my old team (Al’s Bar) who were gracious to take me back however it was far, far too soon. I’d had a few good sessions, felt great and jumped straight back in.

Ironically my first singles match back was against the ‘Bird in hand’ (who I was 3-1 at), the last team I’d played.

I was up against Ron Nobes, a very older player who is a nightmare to play against. Ron was a very slow player with a very erratic style. Ron would throw seemingly random at the board yet hit trebles so to you'll go up and aim for the t20 and get maybe a 60/or 45. He’d throw everywhere and hit t19, t16 and t10, it does your brain in.

Anywhere I was on second to last at gone 23:00 having been there since 19:30 so 3/1/2 hours.

I won the bull comfortably but then put in a stinker of a leg. I was flat as a pancake, and Ron's style put me off. I hit 22 with my first 3 darts and was just dreadful. Seriously I’d played far better in losing than I did here. I won a staggeringly poor leg hitting d1 in what was probably the epitomy of a poor pub darts leg. Still 1-0 up!

The second leg I was warmed up and Ron was never in it. I hit 80 to start and 3 more scores of 80+ and a couple of 60s to leave myself on d18 with Ron still on over 200. I wired d18, hit the single and then took out d9 to win the leg and the match 2-0.

I had probably left my best darts on the practice board as I was there for so long.  I put in a good hour before the match and hit several 100+ and a few 140s but then had a long break of doing nothing son in effect cooled down and went flat.

I watched one of our players do the same thing. Eric hit absolutely everything in practice, 100+ scores a plenty and 70+ finishes and yet come his match he couldn't buy a double and lost 1-2 in a match he dominated.

Despite winning my match I dissected my performance like a surgeon that night and re-hit the practice board, hard!

It was a BIG mistake. I put in a 5 hour session and my the 4th hour it was like I’d never thrown a dart before! 

Now we've all had sessions like that so rather than get frustrated I put the darts away and gave myself off, knowing I had a few weeks until the new season. This is usually the best thing to do as spending another 2 hours winding yourself up and achieving nothing.

Anyway, I picked them up again a week later and it was even worse. It took about 6 hours to go around the board on singles, doubles and trebles! Something was clearly wrong!

There was no fluidity, no consistency nothing. They were literally going all over the place. Not just a small veer from T20 into the 1, were talking off board or into 12!

I took another few days off and over the next week I tried:

Stretching

Warm bath

Warming the area

Avoiding caffeine

and changing:

Position

Throwing speed

Grip

Wearing glasses again

Stance

Rather than just chill and ride it out, i was getting frustrated and this wasn't helping at all!

At best some would work for 6-9 darts and then back to the same. Nothing would kick-start my play!

After 3-4 weeks of this I was forced to drop out of the team (my decision).

I should have just take a few weeks off but i'd got to the point that every missed darts was eating me up inside.

Looking back i wasn't actually playing that bad, it was my expectation that was out of check.

I was ‘shot’ I’d practiced myself to death before re-joining the team and once I had I was hitting the board like I was going for a PDC major.

I’d clearly ‘overdone’ it and had pressurise myself into some sort of dysfunction.

It was only then that I took heed and realised that I’d become my own worst enemy, and that I was and had put far too much pressure on myself for a skill-set I hadn’t yet developed, and that it was actually a far bigger hindrance than any opponent I’d face.

My hardest opponent to beat…………………….myself!

118 outshot

Hi guys

118 (t20, 18, d20)

In the wake of Bristows passing i am trying to get it together so I can enjoy the sport i love.

I havent hit a 100+ out in a long time.

Felt good:

RIP Eric Bristow

Hi Guys

This actually hurts!

I have been off the seen for a while and only caught the final game of the PDC Premier League match between Gurney and Peter Wright when i heard the news.

Gutted is an understatement and i wish his family and all his clsoe friends my condolences

Eric Bristow was the first true superstar of darts and the godfather of the modern game and its popularity.  I could list all his achievements but it is unnecessary! The man was an icon in not just darts but British sports! The man retired from pro play nearly 20 years ago however would probably be the first name to come to mind when someone ask "name a darts player"

One can only wonder how many titles he would have had further if not for dartitis. It could easily be 10 or 15 and its likely we wouldn't have seen Taylor as Bristow would have had no need to create a 'project'

The man dominated darts in the 1980's, created Phil Taylor (who would go on to dominate darts for the next 2 decades), changed the way players look at out-shots, made a type of dart popular like no other (that barrel will forever be known as a Bristow dart) and brought an interest to it that can still be felt today.

60 is no age at all however Eric would be the first to tell you what an incredible life he had and with little regret.

He may not have been everyone's cup of tea, but he was human like the rest of us, he just at times had the misfortune to say things we may do but in a different forum and one that will punish you publicly for it.

I was lucky to meet Eric a few times and play him once (wiring 9 darts at d13 to win) and now if anything this privilege now seems even more something to cherish and appreciate.

I was hoping to see and play him again, unfortunately that will never happen, but i will always at least have the memory of having darts to win against possibly the best ever, albeit at a different stage in his life (and lets be honest at any other point he'd have thrashed me stupid - i am not delusional)

RIP Eric your legacy will never be forgotten

Luke

12/3/2018: 180!!!!

Hi guys

180!!!!

John Lowe: The Darts interviews (Youtube collection)

Hi Guys

I have pooled the Youtube video links for the great John Lowe's darts interviews:

2014 Unicorn interview: https://youtu.be/KqZok6Y0gQs

2014 Unicorn 30th anniversary of 9 darter career interview: https://youtu.be/jglT_26_1Fg

2014: Unicorn darts tips: https://youtu.be/yI1nt-ptKhg

2014: Unicorn: John discusses his classic dart and its design: https://youtu.be/ijEjOyVlVaA

1980's John Lowe instructional: https://youtu.be/XdnIEDQFDhI

enjoy

Luke

Darts: the John Lowe Way: This is a must see instructional video

Hi Guys

Please see this John Lowe instructional from the 80's.

This is a must see video from the Legend with what is considered the perfect throw

https://youtu.be/XdnIEDQFDhI

Enjoy


Luke

Ted Hankey incredible back to back 11 darters video

Hi Guys

check out these incredible back to back 11 darters from Ted Hankey in 1999, whilst averaging 136.64

https://youtu.be/FJhihs1knj0

Ted was and is a special talent.

check out Ted vs Simon Whitlock  in the 2013 PDC GrandSlam of Darts, once of my favourite matches of all time:

https://youtu.be/a810CCZNmAo

Luke

09/02/2018: 180!!!

Hi Guys

180!!

Remembering Jocky Wilson! One of a Kind!

Hi Guys

I thought i would take the opportunity to pay tribute and provide a few links to one of the greatest and most popular darts player's of all time. The legend that is the 2x World Champion John Thomas 'Jocky' Wilson!

Irrefutable proof that you don't need a Ted Hankey smooth throw Wilson's style defied physics and yet he was a big scorer and hit the big out shots, proving yet again that with enough determination you can make anything work for you.

Wilson was part of the holy trinity of 1980-1990 darts with Eric Bristow and John Lowe and beat Lowe for his first World title in 1982 and Bristow in 1989.

82 vs Lowe:
https://youtu.be/2YRIP60cusg

89 vs Bristow

https://youtu.be/eMI5Zqi5hHU

It wasnt just the World titles that Jocky won though. He also won:

British Professional x 4 (a record)
British Matchplay x 2
Scottish Masters x 3

among many others.

One of the most popular darts players ever Wilson even had a computer game baring his name on the most popular game systems of the time:

Unfortunately Wilson despite only being late thirties he was unable to carry his magic into the 1990's. The change in darts (no drinking or smoking on stage) altered the dynamic of the game and this noticeably impacted Wilson's effectiveness on the oche although he did reach the PDC Matchplay quarter final's in 1994.

His last appearance in the World Championship was in 1995 here against John Lowe:

https://youtu.be/XPBeWmZb6VA

Jocky never formally retired, he just stopped playing in 1996  (and no footage seems to exist after then) aged 45 (a diagnosis of diabetes thought to be a contributing factor as it curtailed his alcohol consumption) and disapeared into a reclusive state back in Scotland.

There are many rumours that he still played darts in Scotland after his retirement but there has never been any evidence. A sole interview in 2001:

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/more-in-sport/jocky-wilson-the-final-interview-1-2196429

is his last known public interview and all the darts world were left with.

Sadly 'Jocky' passed away in 2012 due to ill health aged just 2 days after his 62nd birthday.

check out these 2 excellent videos on his career and life:

documentary of his life:

https://youtu.be/rF3T0OEQP2Q

PDC profile:

https://youtu.be/xEU7NkWi1EU

He truly was an enigma, and was and is still missed now

Luke