Career
Payne played in seven BDO World Darts Championships, but only managed to win one match in 1991, where he defeated Chris Johns, eventually losing in the second round to then World Champion Phil Taylor. All his other appearances saw him beaten in the first round where he lost to the likes of Eric Bristow (1987), Cliff Lazarenko (1988) and Bob Taylor (1994). Payne is, along with Davy Richardson and Steve West, one of three players to have lost their first five matches at the World Championship.
Despite his poor record at the world championship, Payne fared better in other BDO majors, reaching the final in the 1985 WDF World Cup Men's singles where he lost to Bristow and also reached the semi-finals of the 1985 Winmau World Masters where he lost to Northern Ireland's Ray Farrell. One of Payne's most notable career landmarks was his defeat of the former English player Steve Brown for the championship title of the 1990 Lucky Lights Challenge of Champions.
In July 1994, Payne crossed the darting divide where he was one of eleven Americans invited to play in the PDC World Matchplay. He lost in the first round to Singapore Paul Lim. After that, Payne retired from darts, preferring to spend more time with his family and newly acquired farm. However in 2003, Payne returned to the game and qualified for the Las Vegas Desert Classic, the first American darts player to qualify on live television, where he lost his opening group game to Steve Beaton but defeated Ronnie Baxter 8–1 which gave him a good chance of qualifying. However, Beaton went on to beat Baxter and win the group. Payne also played in the 2004 PDC World Darts Championship but lost in the first round to Steve Maish.
Steve Beaton is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He won the BDO World Darts Championship in 1996 and is a former World No. 1.
Roland Scholten is a Dutch former professional darts player who played in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and British Darts Organisation (BDO). Nicknamed The Tripod and The Flying Dutchman, Scholten turned full-time professional in 2001 having previously worked as a publican. Despite his Dutch nationality, Scholten speaks with a strong English accent having lived in Peterborough for several years. His considerable height and throwing technique meant his darts hit the board at a considerably narrow angle.
Dennis Priestley is an English former professional darts player. He won two world championships, and was the first player to win both the BDO and WDC world championships, in 1991 and 1994 respectively. He was nicknamed "The Menace", after the Beano character Dennis the Menace, and reflected this by wearing red and black and using red and black flights.
Robert Charles Anderson is an English former professional darts player who won the 1988 BDO World Darts Championship. Nicknamed The Limestone Cowboy, He was the World No. 1 player for over three years in the late 1980s. "In supporting the Limestone hills of Wiltshire Anderson also worked in a quarry for a number of years. Making him the only Limestone Cowboy in the South of the UK"
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 acted as a regular pundit and commentator for televised coverage of BDO events.
Russell "Rusty" Stewart is an Australian former professional darts player. He used the nickname Rusty for his matches.
David Whitcombe is an English former professional darts player who won several major tournaments, he was twice a winner of the Winmau World Masters and lost to Eric Bristow in two World Championship finals in 1984 and 1986.
Cliff Lazarenko is an English former professional darts player. Nicknamed "Big Cliff" due to his height and weight, he is known for being a colourful character on and off the stage.
The 1994 Embassy World Darts Championship was held following two years of controversy within the sport of darts. After the 1993 Championships, several players decided it was time to part company with the British Darts Organisation and form their own organisation, the World Darts Council. By the start of this tournament, the WDC were in the closing days of their own 1994 World Championship, with Dennis Priestley going on to beat Phil Taylor in the final.
The 1994 Skol World Darts Championship was held following 18 months of controversy within the sport of darts. After the 1993 Embassy World Championships, several players decided it was time to part company with the British Darts Organisation and form their own organisation. The new organisation was known as the World Darts Council (WDC). The WDC would later become the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).
The 2004 Budweiser UK Open was the second time the Professional Darts Corporation held the tournament which had quickly earned the nickname the "FA Cup of Darts". It was held at Bolton Wanderers' Reebok Stadium between 4–6 June 2004. Budweiser became the tournament's new sponsor.
Richard Mark Burnett, nicknamed Prince of Wales, is a Welsh professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is a former World No. 1 who won the 1995 Embassy World Darts Championship. Burnett is known for coming on to "Dakota" and dancing on stage. He is also known for his fiery personality, fighting with Adrian Lewis on stage during the 2012 Players Championship Finals.
Dave Askew is a former English professional darts player who competed from 1988 to 2010 in events of the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He is a two-time semi-finalist of the PDC World Championship, losing to eventual winner Phil Taylor on both occasions.
Jacobus Wilhelmus "Co" Stompé is a Dutch former professional darts player. He was nicknamed The Matchstick because of his almost bald head and very thin appearance, making him look like a matchstick. He was also one of very few professionals who played in longsleeved shirts.
Peter Kenneth Evison is an English former professional darts player who competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and British Darts Organisation (BDO) events. Nicknamed The Fen Tiger, his greatest achievements were winning the 1989 Winmau World Masters and the 1996 World Matchplay.
Shayne Burgess is an English former professional darts player who competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tournaments. He is known for his unorthodox throwing action, where he draws the point of the dart up close to his eyeball before releasing.
Steve Brown is an American former professional darts player who had the majority of his success during the 1990s, when he finished third at the inaugural Professional Darts Corporation's version of the World Championship in 1994 – after the majority of top players decided to separate from the British Darts Organisation.
Stephen Maish is an English former professional darts player who competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He used the nickname Mr Magic for his matches.
Jann Hoffmann was a Danish professional darts player who competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.
Sean Downs is an American former professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.
This page is based on this
Wikipedia article Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
