Darren Webster

Darren Webster
Personal information
Full name	Darren Michael Webster
Nickname	"Demolition Man"
Born	(1968-06-10) 10 June 1968 (age 56) Norwich, England
Home town	Norwich, England
Darts information
Playing darts since	2002
Darts	18g Gram Cosmo's
Laterality	Right-handed
Walk-on music	"Dancing in the Dark" by Bruce Springsteen
Organisation (see split in darts)
PDC	2002–2024
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'ship	Quarter Final: 2007, 2018
World Matchplay	Quarter Final: 2017, 2018
World Grand Prix	Last 16: 2018
UK Open	Last 16: 2007, 2016
Grand Slam	Last 16: 2017, 2019
European Ch'ship	Quarter Final: 2018
Desert Classic	Last 32: 2004, 2005
PC Finals	Semi Final: 2016
Masters	Last 16: 2019
Other tournament wins
Eastbourne Open 2011 England Classic Early Bird 2011 Gleneagle Irish Masters 2013 Open Oust Nederland 2005 Southend Open 2012 PDC UK Q-School Final Stage – Event 02 2022 Players Championships Players Championship (BAR) 2017
Other achievements
2017 Breaks into the top 32 on the PDC Order of Merit for the first time 2018 Breaks into the top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit for the first time

Darren Michael Webster (born 10 June 1968) is an English darts player who is nicknamed Demolition Man.

Career

Webster won the 2005 Open Oust Nederland, beating Co Stompé in the final. ^[1]

Originally nicknamed The Sniper, Webster reached the quarter-finals of the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship, where he beat former champion Bob Anderson, Adrian Gray and South African Wynand Havenga, before being beaten 5–1 by Phil Taylor. ^[2]

Webster reached the last 16 at the 2007 UK Open. He beat Andy Hamilton and James Wade, before losing to Alan Green. ^[3]

In December 2013, Webster lost to James Wade in the first round of the 2014 World Championship, despite leading 2 sets to 1 (first to 3). He missed six darts to win the match, to which Wade responded in three straight legs, thus winning the match. ^[4] He played in the World Matchplay for the first time since 2005 and was beaten 10–4 by Taylor in the first round. ^[5] Webster's resurgence of form also saw him play in his first World Grand Prix and Grand Slam of Darts, but he lost in the opening round of the former and was defeated in all three of his group games in the latter. ^{[6] [7]} A final appearance in a major event of the year came at the Players Championship Finals where he missed two match darts in the deciding leg of the first round against Robert Thornton to lose 6–5. ^[8]

Webster atoned for his misses against Wade a year earlier when he faced Simon Whitlock in the 2015 edition of the World Championship. From 1–1 in sets he only allowed the world number seven one more leg as he beat him 3–1. ^[9] He won a trio of sets in deciding legs to lead Dean Winstanley 3–2 in the second round. However, Webster lost two sets in a row to be beaten 4–3. ^[10] Webster twice reached the quarter-final stage of Players Championship events in 2015. ^[11]

Webster saw off John Henderson 3–1 in the opening round of the 2016 World Championship, but Michael van Gerwen averaged 109.23 in their second round clash as Webster could only win one leg in a 4–0 defeat. ^{[12] [13]} A 9–8 win over Ricky Evans saw him reach the fifth round of the UK Open for the second time in his career and he lost 9–5 to Peter Wright. ^[14] Webster's first semi-final in over two and a half years came at the ninth Players Championship and he was beaten 6–1 by Benito van de Pas. ^[15] Another came at the 17th event, but he was whitewashed 6–0 by Van Gerwen. ^[16] Webster was already eliminated from the Grand Slam of Darts before his third group game with Phil Taylor after losing his opening two matches, but nevertheless thrashed the 16-time world champion 5–0. Webster stated that the result would give him a confidence boost for the remainder of the year. ^[17] He was right, because at the Players Championship Finals he saw off Jonny Clayton and Simon Whitlock both 6–3, Alan Norris 10–5 and Christian Kist 10–6 to reach the semi-finals of a PDC major for the first time. Webster stormed in to a 6–0 lead over Van Gerwen, but missed a dart to be 7–2 ahead as Van Gerwen closed to 6–6. Webster did take a one leg lead on two further occasions, but would ultimately be defeated 11–8. ^[18]

Webster survived seven match darts from Stephen Bunting in the first round of the 2017 World Championship to progress with a 3–2 win. Webster had finishes of 157, 147 and 140 during the match. ^[19] He described his second round 4–0 victory over Simon Whitlock as the moment of his career as Webster averaged 104.64 and closed the match with a 140 finish. ^[20] He missed two darts to take the opening set in the third round against Van Gerwen and went 3–0 behind. He pulled a set back, but would be ousted 4–1. ^[21]

Webster hit his first career nine-dart finish on 11 February 2017 in the 5th UK Open qualifier during a 6–5 win over Benito van de Pas. In July, he won his first players Championship title, defeating Daryl Gurney 6–1 in the final in Barnsley.

In the 2019 World Championship he suffered a surprise defeat and whitewash to Vincent van der Voort losing 3–0 in the Second Round.

Webster lost his Tour card following the 2022 PDC World Darts Championship but regained it on the second day of the 2022 Q-School Final stage.

Unable to find his previous form, Webster struggled throughout seasons 2022 and 2023. However, he won PDC Tour card holders qualification for 2024 PDC World Darts Championship, returning to the World Championship for the first time since 2020 and stating it will be his last tournament in career. He played Niels Zonneveld in the First round, had several chances to take the clash to a final set but missed every single time and lost 1–3, which meant he also lost his Tour card. ^[22]

World Championship results

PDC

• 2006: First round (lost to Erwin Extercatte 2–3)
• 2007: Quarter-finals (lost to Phil Taylor 1–5)
• 2013: First round (lost to Mark Walsh 1–3)
• 2014: First round (lost to James Wade 2–3)
• 2015: Second round (lost to Dean Winstanley 3–4)
• 2016: Second round (lost to Michael van Gerwen 0–4)
• 2017: Third round (lost to Michael van Gerwen 1–4)
• 2018: Quarter-finals (lost to Jamie Lewis 0–5)
• 2019: Second round (lost to Vincent van der Voort 0–3)
• 2020: Third round (lost to Adrian Lewis 3–4)
• 2024: First round (lost to Niels Zonneveld 1–3)

Performance timeline

Tournament	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Ranked televised events
PDC World Championship	DNP			1R	QF	DNQ					1R	1R	2R	2R	3R	QF	2R	3R	DNQ			1R
UK Open	2R	3R	5R	2R	6R	2R	DNQ	2R	DNQ	4R	DNQ	3R	2R	5R	3R	3R	4R	4R	4R	1R	3R	DNP
World Matchplay	DNP		1R	DNQ								1R	DNQ		QF	QF	1R	DNQ
World Grand Prix	DNQ											1R	DNQ		1R	2R	DNQ
European Championship	Not held					DNQ									1R	QF	1R	DNQ
Grand Slam of Darts	Not held				DNQ							RR	DNQ	RR	2R	DNQ	2R	DNQ
Players Championship Finals	Not held						DNQ					1R	DNQ	SF	3R	2R	DNQ	1R	DNQ
Non-ranked televised events
The Masters	Not held										DNQ						1R	DNQ
Past major events
Las Vegas Desert Classic	DNP	1R	1R	DNQ			Not held
Career statistics
Year-end ranking	56	28	31	41	44	88	-	134	-	57	38	35	36	32	21	13	20	46	94	156	105

PDC European Tour

Season	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
2012	ADO 1R	GDC 1R	EDO DNQ	GDM 1R	DDM DNQ
2013	UKM 1R	EDT 2R	EDO DNQ	ADO 1R	GDT DNQ	GDC 2R	GDM DNQ	DDM DNQ
2014	GDC DNQ	DDM 3R	GDM DNQ	ADO DNQ	GDT DNQ	EDO 2R	EDG 3R	EDT DNQ
2015	GDC DNQ	GDT DNQ	GDM 2R	DDM 1R	IDO 1R	EDO DNQ	EDT DNQ	EDM 2R	EDG DNQ
2016	DDM DNQ	GDM DNQ	GDT DNQ	EDM 2R	ADO DNQ	EDO DNQ	IDO 2R	EDT 1R	EDG 2R	GDC DNQ
2017	GDC DNQ	GDM DNQ	GDO 2R	EDG DNQ	GDT 2R	EDM 1R	ADO DNQ	EDO DNQ	DDM 1R	GDG 3R	IDO 2R	EDT DNQ
2018	EDO DNQ	GDG 3R	GDO 3R	ADO 3R	EDG 3R	DDM 3R	GDT 2R	DDO 3R	EDM 3R	GDC 3R	DDC 2R	IDO QF	EDT 3R
2019	EDO 3R	GDC QF	GDG 3R	GDO 3R	ADO 2R	EDG QF	DDM 2R	DDO 2R	CDO 2R	ADC 2R	EDM DNQ	IDO DNQ	GDT 1R
2020	BDC DNQ	GDC DNQ	EDG DNQ	IDO DNQ
2021	HDT 1R	GDT DNQ
2022	IDO DNQ	GDC DNQ	GDG DNQ	ADO DNQ	EDO DNQ	CDO DNQ	EDG DNP	DDC DNQ	EDM DNQ	HDT DNQ	GDO WD	BDO DNQ	GDT DNQ
2023	BSD DNQ	EDO DNQ	IDO DNQ	GDG DNQ	ADO DNQ	DDC DNQ	BDO DNQ	CDO DNQ	EDG DNQ	EDM DNQ	GDO DNQ	HDT DNQ	GDC DNQ

Performance Table Legend
DNP	Did not play at the event	DNQ	Did not qualify for the event	NYF	Not yet founded	#R	lost in the early rounds of the tournament (WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)
QF	lost in the quarter-finals	SF	lost in the semi-finals	F	lost in the final	W	won the tournament

References

1. "2005 Open Oust Nederland Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
2. "2007 PDC World Championship Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
3. "2007 UK Open Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
4. "Ladbrokes World Championship Day Seven". PDC. 19 December 2013.
5. "2014 World Matchplay Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
6. "2014 World Grand Prix Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
7. "2014 Grand Slam Of Darts Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
8. "Cash Converters PCF Day One". PDC . Retrieved 7 December 2014.
9. "William Hill World Championship Day Three". PDC . Retrieved 20 December 2014.
10. "William Hill World Championship Day Eight". PDC. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
11. "Darren Webster 2015". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
12. "William Hill World Championship Day Two". PDC. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
13. "William Hill World Championship Day Nine". PDC. Archived from the original on 28 December 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
14. "2016 Coral UK Open Fifth Round". PDC. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
15. "Brilliant Benito Claims Second Triumph". PDC . Retrieved 9 December 2016.
16. "Invincible Run Continues For MvG". PDC . Retrieved 9 December 2016.
17. "SINGHA Beer Grand Slam Day Three". PDC. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
18. "Norwich's Darren Webster gives world number one Michael van Gerwen an almighty scare". Eastern Daily Press . Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
19. "William Hill World Championship Day Three". PDC . Retrieved 17 December 2016.
20. "William Hill World Championship Day Nine". PDC . Retrieved 23 December 2016.
21. "William Hill World Championship Day 12". PDC. Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
22. Conrad, Alex. "'Really painful': Awkward world champ scenes as stars explode over stunning dual choke-job". Fox Sports. Retrieved 26 December 2023.

External links

• Darren Webster's Official Website
• Darren Webster player profile at Darts Orakel