Deta Hedman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Hedman in 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname | "The Heart of Darts" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | 14 November 1959 Kingston, West Indies Federation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Home town | Witham, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Darts information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing darts since | 1973 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Darts | 28g One80 Deta Hedman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Laterality | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Walk-on music | "Hot Hot Hot" by Arrow | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Organisation (see split in darts) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BDO | 1987–1996, 2010–2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PDC | 2002–2007, 2022 Q School | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WDF | 2010– | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current world ranking | (WDF W) 2 ![]() | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WDF major events – best performances | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Ch'ship | Runner Up: 2012, 2014, 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Masters | Winner (2) 1994, 2013 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Trophy | Runner Up: 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finder Masters | Winner (2) 1996, [2] 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch Open | Winner (3) 2010, 2017, 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PDC premier events – best performances | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Ch'ship | (Women's) Quarter final: 2010 [3] (Mixed gender) Last 96: 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UK Open | Last 64: 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Desert Classic | (Women's) Winner 2002 [4] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WSDT major events – best performances | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Ch'ship | Last 24: 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Matchplay | Last 16: 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
World Masters | Last 16: 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other tournament wins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Deta Hedman (born 14 November 1959) is an English darts player who plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) events.
Hedman was born in Jamaica in 1959. Her parents emigrated to the United Kingdom in the early 1960s, leaving Hedman and her siblings in the care of relatives in Jamaica. [5] She spent her childhood with her aunt in Castleton in a shack without running water or electricity, going to school from Monday to Thursday and working on the farm on Fridays. [5] Her parents eventually settled in Witham, Essex and over time, brought their children to the UK, with Hedman joining them in January 1973. [5] She started playing darts with her older brother after babysitting for him and then at the local pub in Witham and further afield in Essex. [5] When she was 25, she joined a super league. She was selected for the county, and in 1987 she began playing in British Darts Organisation events. [5]
Hedman reached the Women's World Masters final for the first time in 1990, losing to Rhian Speed. She beat defending champion Mandy Solomons to win the Women's World Masters in 1994. [6] When she retired from darts in 1997 due to work commitments, she had been Women's World Number 1 since 1994. [7]
Hedman returned to darts in 2002 with the Professional Darts Corporation. She qualified for the UK Open in 2004, and more famously in 2005, when she defeated Aaron Turner and Norman Fletcher before losing to Wayne Atwood in the last 64. Her win over Turner was the first time that a female darts player had beaten a male player in a televised major. [6]
Due to work commitments, Hedman retired again in 2007 but returned to the BDO in 2009. [6] After winning numerous open titles in 2009, she qualified for the BDO Women's World Championship for the first time in 2010. She defeated Irina Armstrong 2–0 in the quarter-finals, but was beaten 2–0 by eventual champion Trina Gulliver in the semi-finals. Hedman won the 2010 BDO Classic tournament beating Karen Lawman 3-2 in the final. [8]
Hedman also competed in the first PDC Women's World Darts Championship in 2010, but lost to Fiona Carmichael in the quarter-finals. [9]
At the 2011 BDO World Darts Championship, Hedman defeated Belgium's Patricia De Peuter 2–1 in the quarter-finals before being whitewashed 2–0 by Rhian Edwards in the semi-finals.
Hedman's best run at the BDO World Darts Championship came in 2012, where she beat Rhian Edwards and Lorraine Farlam to reach the final. In the final, she led Anastasia Dobromyslova by a set and threw for the championship, but was broken and ultimately lost 2–1. [10] This was equalled by her 2016 run where she lost in the final to Trina Gulliver.
Despite being ranked No.1 for the 2013 BDO World Darts Championship Hedman was knocked out in the first round 0–2 by Lisa Ashton. The following season, Hedman won 14 titles and once again reached the world final, but lost once again this time from 2–0 in sets and 2–1 in legs having yet again thrown for the title. Hedman eventually lost the final 3–2 to Lisa Ashton despite having a checkout percentage over 75%. [11]
Hedman reached the final of the 2016 BDO World Darts Championship but was beaten by Trina Gulliver who won her 10th title. [12]
She competed for a tour card at the 2020 Q-School however she failed to gain a tour card. In October 2020 the PDC held the inaugural Women's Series, a set of 4 events with 2 qualifying spots for the 2021 PDC World Darts Championship. She tied with Fallon Sherrock on the Order of Merit, however Hedman won beating Sherrock 85–83 on legs won, meaning Hedman would make her debut in the 2021 PDC World Darts Championship. She would go onto lose 3–1 to Andy Boulton.
Hedman was on the list of the BBC's 100 Women announced on 23 November 2020. [13]
Hedman's brother Rudi was a professional footballer playing for Colchester United and Crystal Palace. Her other brother, Al, was a professional darts player and former 1995 BDO British Open Champion. [14] Her nephew Graham is a 400-metre runner.
In December 2023, Hedman posted a post on Facebook about her frustrations with allowing transgender players to play in women's ranking events and labelled it as unfair. [15] During the WDF Denmark Women's Open in May 2024, she withdrew in the quarter-finals against Noa-Lynn van Lueven. [16] Many fans speculated that she withdrew from the tournament as a sign of protest, saying transgender players should not be allowed to play. [17] According to Phill Barrs, Hedman told event organisers she was feeling ill and was in pain before withdrawing, allowing her to pick up her ranking points. [18] As reported by the New York Post, Hedman pushed back on reports she pulled out of the match due to an illness and also declined compensation she may have lost due to her decision. “No fake illness I said I wouldn’t play a man in a ladies event,” Hedman wrote on X. [19]
Catrina Elizabeth Gulliver is an English professional darts player. She is the 10-time Women's World Professional Darts Champion of the British Darts Organisation (BDO). Her nickname is Golden Girl and in 2003, she was named as the BBC Midlands Sports Personality of the Year.
Anastasia Petrovna Dobromyslova-Martin is a professional darts player. She is a three-time Women's World Professional Darts Champion of the British Darts Organisation (BDO).
Francisca Hoenselaar is a Dutch former professional darts player. She was nicknamed "The Dutch Crown". A leading player in the women's game, Hoenselaar was the 2009 British Darts Organisation Women's World Darts Champion, having defeated Trina Gulliver in the final. Prior to this, she had been runner-up no fewer than five times – each time losing to Gulliver.
Irina Armstrong née Loginova is a Russian-born German professional darts player who currently plays in the World Darts Federation (WDF) events. Her biggest achievement to date was advanced to semi-finals in the 2011 BDO World Darts Championship. She is a gold medalist in pairs competitions during the WDF World Cup and WDF Europe Cup.
Julie Robin Gore is a former Welsh professional female darts player.
Lisa Ashton is an English professional darts player who currently plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. She is a four-time BDO World Darts Women's Champion and has won over 100 titles in women's darts. In 2020, she became the first woman to win a PDC Tour Card at the PDC Q-School.
Stacy Bromberg was an American darts player who was a PDC Women's World Darts Champion. Bromberg was born in Los Angeles, and dominated the American darts circuit in the last decade through winning the US women's championship on 11 occasions.
Rhian O'Sullivan is a Welsh female professional darts player who plays in both Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and World Darts Federation (WDF) events.
Lorraine Winstanley is an English darts player who plays in both World Darts Federation (WDF) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.
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The 2014 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was the 37th World Championship organised by the British Darts Organisation, and the 29th staging at the Lakeside Country Club at Frimley Green.
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Rhian Griffiths is a professional Welsh female darts player who currently plays in World Darts Federation events.
Corrine Hammond is an Australian darts player who plays in events of the World Darts Federation (WDF).
The 2017 Winmau World Masters was a major tournament on the BDO/WDF calendar for 2017. It took place from 25 to 27 September at the Bridlington Spa Hall, which hosted the stage element of the event for the first time since 2009.
The 2018 BDO World Trophy was a major darts tournament run by the British Darts Organisation. It was host between 30 May and 3 June 2018 at Preston Guild Hall, Preston, England.
Mikuru Suzuki is a Japanese darts player. She was a two-time back-to-back British Darts Organisation (BDO) women's world champion. She plays in both World Darts Federation (WDF) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.
The 2019 BDO World Trophy was a major darts tournament run by the British Darts Organisation. It was held between 30 August and 1 September 2019 at King George's Hall, Blackburn, England.
The 2019 One80 L-style World Masters was a major tournament on the BDO/WDF calendar for 2019. It took place from 23 to 28 October at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, Essex, which hosted the PDC World Darts Championship from 1994 to 2007.
Tori Kewish is an Australian professional darts player who plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) events.