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
