Career
Hofstra reached the quarter-finals of the 2001 Belgium Open and the 2002 Swiss Open before making his major debut in the 2003 International Darts League, where he beat Scotland's Bob Taylor in his opening group game before losing to Raymond van Barneveld. Hofstra then beat Co Stompé to qualify for the second group stage where he lost all three group games to Andy Fordham, Tony David and Jarkko Komula. He then lost in the first round of the 2003 World Darts Trophy, losing to Tony West and then lost in the first round of the 2003 Winmau World Masters to Martin Adams.
Hofstra qualified for the 2004 BDO World Darts Championship, losing 3–1 to Mervyn King in controversial circumstances. With the match tied at one set all, King complained that the oche was not the correct length. With the players off the stage, officials checked the length and the match resumed with King taking the next two sets to win 3–1. After first round exits in the 2004 International Darts League and the World Darts Trophy, Hofstra reached the quarter-finals of the 2004 World Masters, beating Paul Hanvidge and then upsetting van Barneveld before losing to David.
Hofstra returned to the Lakeside for the 2005 BDO World Darts Championship, this time taking one of the automatic places meaning he avoided having to qualify. He was beaten in the first round by 4th seed West 3–2. Since then however, Hofstra has not done well in the circuit with only a semi final place in the unranked Spring Cup in 2005 to his credit. In 2007, Hofstra began playing in PDC events, reaching the last 32 of the second PDPA Players Championship Holland event. He currently plays in the Nederlandse Darts Bond, an affiliation of the BDO and won the Open Zuid Netherland in 2008.
Hofstra qualified for the 2014 World Championship where he played his practice partner Remco van Eijden and whitewashed him 3–0 in sets and 9–0 in legs, averaging over 90 and hitting all but five of his darts at double. He then received a bye to the quarter-finals when his second round opponent, Martin Atkins, withdrew from their match with an elbow injury while Hofstra was leading 2–0 in sets. In the quarter-final, Hofstra led top seed Stephen Bunting 2–0 but missed two darts to lead 3–1, then at 3–2 down on a 64 checkout attempt missed the board when trying to set up a dart at double to level the match. Bunting eventually won 5–2 and went on to win the title.
Hofstra again qualified for the 2015 World Championship, where he lost 3–1 against Jim Widmayer in the first round, who had beaten Rhys Hayden in his preliminary round match.
Raymond van Barneveld is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Nicknamed Barney, although originally known as The Man, he is one of the most successful darts players in history. Van Barneveld is a five-time World Darts Champion, a two-time UK Open Champion and a former winner of the Las Vegas Desert Classic, the Grand Slam of Darts and the Premier League. He is also a twice-winner of the World Masters and the World Darts Trophy, and a three-time winner of the International Darts League, the Dutch Open and the WDF World Cup Singles event.
Mervyn King is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tournaments. Nicknamed The King, he has reached seven PDC major finals and reached a peak of No. 4 in the PDC Order of Merit.
Jelle Klaasen, nicknamed The Cobra, is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and World Darts Federation (WDF) events. In 2006, he became the youngest darts player to win the World Darts Championship, aged 21 at the time. He also is a Dutch Open champion. From November 2022 to April 2023 he was a leader of the World Darts Federation men's ranking.
Vincent van der Voort is a Dutch professional darts player on the PDC circuit. As of the 2012 PDC World Darts Championship, his nickname is the "Dutch Destroyer", although he used to go by "Grease Lightning". He is best known for his quick throwing style, which is how he got his temporary nickname "The Fastest Player in the World". He reached the final of the 2007 UK Open, which helped him become a well known face in the world of darts.
Martin Adams is an English professional darts player who plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) events. Nicknamed "Wolfie", he is a three-time BDO World Champion and three-time World Masters champion. He represents Cambridgeshire at county darts level and was the captain of England from 1993 to 2013, the longest any player has held that role. From his debut in 1994, Adams made a record 25 consecutive World Championship appearances, before failing to qualify for the first time in 2019. Adams was diagnosed with prostate cancer in April 2016, but by the end of the year he was given the all-clear. As well as playing, he also acts as a regular pundit and commentator for televised coverage of BDO events.
John Michael Walton is an English professional darts player currently playing in World Darts Federation (WDF) events. He is best known for winning the 2001 BDO World Darts Championship. He adopted the nickname John Boy and used the song "Cotton Eye Joe" by Rednex as his walk-on theme.
Tony David is an Australian former professional darts player, who played under the nickname The Deadly Boomerang. He is the only Australian player to have been a senior singles world darts champion, having won the 2002 Embassy World Championship.
Tony O'Shea is an English professional darts player. His squat figure has resulted in the nickname "Silverback". O'Shea has reached the finals of seven British Darts Organisation (BDO) major darts tournaments, but to date has never won one. He also acted as a regular commentator for televised BDO coverage.
Darryl Fitton is an English professional darts player. He is nicknamed The Dazzler and comes to the stage dancing to the Madness song "One Step Beyond" wearing sunglasses; one of the most popular walk-ons with the audience. Before embarking on a career in darts, Fitton worked as an undertaker.
Gary "Big Robbo" Robson is an English professional darts player who plays in World Darts Federation events.
Ritchie Davies is a Welsh former professional darts player from Aberdare. He is best known for his run at the 2003 BDO World Darts Championship, where he reached the final.
Tony Eccles is an English former professional darts player and convicted rapist. Nicknamed The Viper, he played in both the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He reached the quarter-finals of the BDO World Darts Championship twice and is a former winner of the Dutch Open, British Open and British Pentathlon.
Scott Waites is an English professional darts player who plays in tournaments of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He is a two-time BDO World Darts Champion having won the 2013 tournament and 2016 tournament. He is also a former Winmau World Masters champion, WDF World Cup singles' champion, Zuiderduin Masters champion. He also won the 2010 Grand Slam of Darts, becoming the only BDO representative to win the event.
Colin Monk is an English former professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and British Darts Organisation (BDO) events.
Stephen Bunting is an English professional darts player who competes in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Nicknamed The Bullet, Bunting won the 2014 BDO World Darts Championship and is a twice former World Masters champion.
Jarkko Komula is a Finnish former professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is nicknamed Smiley because he rarely smiles.
Robbie Green is a former English professional darts player. His nickname was Kong.
Ronnie Baxter is an English former professional darts player who competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He used the nickname "The Rocket" for his matches. Baxter was known for his fast robotic throwing action. He currently resides in his hometown Blackpool. Baxter is widely regarded as one of the best players never to have won a major TV title. He is still active on the exhibition circuit.
Jim Widmayer is an American professional darts player who plays in British Darts Organisation (BDO) events.
James Wilson is an English darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation.
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