Kevin Spiolek

Last updated

Kevin Spiolek
Personal information
Nickname"Speedo"
Born (1962-05-05) 5 May 1962 (age 61)
Cambridge, England
Home townCambridge, England
Darts information
Playing darts since1986
Darts23 Gram
Laterality Left-handed
Walk-on music"Song 2" by Blur
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO 1987–1993
PDC 1993–2007 (Founding Member)
WDF major events – best performances
World Ch'ship Quarter Final: 1993
World Masters Semi Final: 1987
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'ship Quarter Final: 1995
World Matchplay Quarter Final: 1997
UK Open Last 128: 2005
Other tournament wins
Isle of Man Open 1993
North American Open 1994
Other achievements
1993 – Last player to beat Phil Taylor at World Championship outside the final until 2008

Kevin Spiolek (born 5 May 1962) is an English former professional darts player who played during the 1980s and 1990s. He made a brief return to form in 2006 when qualifying to play in the PDC World Darts Championship.

Contents

Career

Spiolek's best form came in the late 1980s, when he reached the semi-finals of the 1987 Winmau World Masters, losing to Bob Anderson. In 1988, Spiolek reached the final of the prestigious News of the World Darts Championship, losing to Mike Gregory.

Spiolek is one of eleven players to have beaten Phil Taylor at the World Championship – having knocked him out in the second round at Lakeside in the 1993 World Championship – the last time that there was a unified World Championship. Spiolek was eliminated in the next round – to date, two quarter-finals are the best results he has achieved in World Championships.

Spiolek was one of the 16 players in 1992–1993 who created their own organisation (the World Darts Council which later became the Professional Darts Corporation). In 1994, he reached the final of the Greene King UK Masters – losing to Taylor. Spiolek played in the first seven PDC World Championships after the split in the game with his best performance being another quarter-final in 1995.

He reached the final of the North American Cup in 1996, and the quarter-finals of the World Matchplay in 1997, but then gradually faded from the scene. His performance in qualifying for the 2006 PDC World Championship (where he lost in the first round to Peter Manley) kept him in the top 100 of the PDC world rankings until January 2008.

He had continued to play in the domestic Pro Tour events on the PDC circuit during 2005 and 2006 – playing in more than 10 events on the PDC Pro Tour, but he has remained inactive on the circuit since the Players Championship in Gibraltar in January 2007.

World Championship results

BDO

PDC

Career finals

Independent major finals: 1 (1 runner-up)

OutcomeNo.YearChampionshipOpponent in the finalScore
Runner-up1.1988 News of the World Championship Flag of England.svg Mike Gregory 1–2 (l)

    Related Research Articles

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Manley</span> English darts player

    Peter David Manley is an English former professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events from 1996 until 2017. He won one major title, the Las Vegas Desert Classic, in 2003, and twice held the number one ranking. He also reached the World Championship final in 1999, 2002 and 2006, losing to Phil Taylor on each occasion. Declining form led to him losing his place on the PDC tour in 2011.

    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.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Adrian Lewis</span> English darts player

    Adrian Lewis is an English professional darts player who plays in the PDC. He is a two-time PDC World Darts Champion, winning in 2011 and 2012, also winning the 2013 European Championship and the 2014 UK Open.

    Rodney Harrington is an English former professional darts player and commentator. He used the nickname "The Prince of Style" for his matches, often wearing a suit and waistcoat for his games. Harrington enjoyed some major success during his professional career including the prestigious Winmau World Masters in 1991 and two successive World Matchplays in 1998 and 1999. At the PDC Awards Dinner held in January 2019, Harrington was inducted into the PDC Hall of Fame.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Keith Deller</span> English darts player

    Keith Deller is an English former professional darts player best known for winning the 1983 BDO World Darts Championship. He also won the Unipart British Professional Championship in 1987.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Cliff Lazarenko</span> English darts player

    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 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 2001 PDC World Darts Championship was a professional darts tournament held from 28 December 2000 and 3 January 2001 at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, Essex, England. It was the eighth staging of the competition since the 1994 competition. The competition was the first of 34 Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tournaments in the 2001 season. The tournament was broadcast on Sky Sports and was sponsored by Skol.

    Michael Seward Gregory was an English professional darts player, best remembered as the runner-up to Phil Taylor in the 1992 Embassy World Darts Championship final, which went to a tiebreak final leg and is regarded as one of the greatest matches in darts history.

    Colin Osborne is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. In 2009, he won the Championship League and reached the final of the UK Open.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Co Stompé</span> Dutch darts player

    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.

    Dennis Smith is a former English professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He was a stalwart on the PDC circuit, having played there since 1994, but has yet to capture a major title to add to his collection of Open wins. Smith has a very unusual throwing action, turning the dart into a 'flight first' position before returning it to a 'point first' position, rolling his eyes and then throwing. He has a unique, measured action learning his trade under the tutelage of Bob Anderson.

    Gary Mawson is a Canadian-born American professional darts player. He currently resides in Fort Myers, Florida. Mawson played darts for the US in 2004 and the years immediately following, having previously played darts for Canada up to 2001. Mawson used the nickname The Mauler for his matches.

    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.

    Matthew Clark is an English darts player who competes for the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and formerly played for the British Darts Organisation (BDO). He uses the nickname "Superman" for his matches.

    Toon Greebe was a Dutch professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and World Darts Federation (WDF) tournaments.

    Graeme Stoddart is an English former professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. His nickname was Shark.

    Sean Downs is an American former professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.