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Mike Gregory (darts player)

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Mike Gregory
Personal information
Full nameMichael Seward Gregory
Nickname"The Quiet Man of Darts"
Born(1956-12-16)16 December 1956[1]
Bath, Somerset, England
Died19 April 2022(2022-04-19) (aged 65)
Darts information
Playing darts since1976
Darts22g Winmau Signature
LateralityRight handed
Walk-on music"The Combine Harvester" by The Wurzels
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO1983–1992, 1993–2005
PDC1992–1993 (Founding Member)
WDF major events – best performances
World Ch'shipRunner Up: 1992
World MastersRunner Up: 1983, 1992
Other tournament wins
Antwerp Open1993
Australian Grand Masters1986, 1992
BDO Gold Cup1994
Belgium Open1994, 1995
British Open1991
Canadian Open1991
Dry Blackthorn Cider Masters1988
Finnish Open1984, 1987
Norway Open1994
Swedish Open1989, 1992
Swiss Open1995
Unipart European Masters1995
WDC UK Masters1992, 1993
Best Old Major results:
British Matchplay1984
British Professional1984
Bronze Bully Trophy (Bullseye) 1989
Butlins Grand Masters1984
MFI World Matchplay1986
News of the World Darts Championship1987, 1988

Michael Seward Gregory (16 December 1956 – 19 April 2022) 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.

Gregory was also twice runner-up in the Winmau World Masters. Among his tournament wins were the News of the World Championship (1987 and 1988), the Butlins Grand Masters (1984), the MFI World Matchplay (1986), the WDF Europe Cup (1988), the WDC UK Masters (1992 and 1993) and the European Masters (1995). Gregory was also a controversial figure in the 1993 split in darts, first siding with the rebel World Darts Council players in leaving the British Darts Organisation, before rejoining the BDO.

Darts career

Gregory was one of the top ranked players from the mid-1980s through to the early 1990s, having been seeded in the top four at the World Championships on seven occasions – although he never won the World title.

His major breakthrough was beating John Lowe in the semi-finals of the 1983 British Open in which he finished runner-up to Eric Bristow. He lost again to Bristow in the final of that year's World Masters tournament. He made his World Championship debut in 1984 and reached the quarter-final, losing heavily 0–5 to Jocky Wilson.

Gregory lost at the quarter-final stage of the World Championship in 1987, 1989 and 1993. He made his first semi-final in 1990, losing to Eric Bristow and his only final appearance came in 1992 – when he lost an epic match 5–6 in sets to Taylor. Having missed six darts for the title – two each for double 20, double 8 and double 10, which he has since jokingly referred to as the Bermuda Triangle – the match went all the way to a sudden death leg, which comes when the players reach 5–5 in both sets and legs. It was the first time this had happened in the World Championship's 14-year history and the match is often mentioned in discussions about the greatest darts match; Taylor himself listed this as his greatest ever match.[2] Gregory won the bull-off to throw first in the decider, but had a bounce-out on his first turn and Taylor comfortably sealed the win. Gregory would become the only man to have lost a World Championship final having had darts at double to win, and remained so until Mark McGeeney did so in 2018.

Whilst he was never a World Champion, he won many televised titles of the era, including the 1984 Unipart British Professional (beating both Jocky Wilson and John Lowe), the 1986 MFI World Matchplay, as well as becoming one of only seven players to win the News of the World Darts Championship twice (in 1987 and 1988), joining Tom Barrett (1963–64 and 1964–65) and Eric Bristow (1983 and 1984) as the only other players to win it in consecutive years.[3]

Role in the BDO/WDC split

Gregory was a controversial figure in the split in darts, a dispute between the game's governing body, the British Darts Organisation, and the top players. Darts had boomed in the 1980s, with as many as 23 televised events in 1983, but this had steadily diminished to just one by 1989.[4] This reduction in prizemoney and television exposure meant that players were no longer able to make a living from the sport.[5] The top players, their managers and darts equipment manufacturers felt that the BDO were not doing enough to improve the image of darts and attract new sponsors, so they formed the World Darts Council, which eventually became the Professional Darts Corporation. By the end of 1992, the WDC had begun to stage their own tournaments outside the auspices of the BDO. The first of these, the Lada UK Masters, was shown on Anglia Television and was won by Gregory.[6]

At the 1993 Embassy World Championship, the WDC players were ordered to remove their WDC insignia. Later in the tournament, 16 WDC players, including Gregory, issued a statement saying that they would only participate in the 1994 World Championship if it came under the auspices of the WDC, and that they only recognised the WDC as having the authority to sanction their participation in darts tournaments worldwide. The BDO responded by banning the 16 "rebel" WDC players, and any other players or officials who associated with them, from all competitions. This was endorsed at a World Darts Federation meeting in October 1993 and became a worldwide ban. This resulted in four years of litigation, as the WDC sought to overturn the ban.[7]

Gregory won the second WDC Lada UK Masters in November 1993, defeating Bob Anderson in the final. However, Gregory then had a change of heart, and announced in late November 1993 that he would be returning to the BDO. He was the second WDC player to move back to the BDO, after Chris Johns. The other WDC players were particularly aggrieved by Gregory's departure, as they felt he had let them down at a crucial juncture. He had also not informed them in advance. Coming just a month before the inaugural WDC World Darts Championship was set to begin, Gregory's defection threatened their recent broadcast deal with Sky Sports, as the contract stipulated that all WDC players were to participate in the tournament. Ultimately, Sky agreed to honour the deal, on condition that no other players withdrew.[8]

In an interview on Time of our Lives, Gregory admitted that in hindsight he made a mistake in leaving the WDC. Eric Bristow wrote in his autobiography: "Mike's decision to leave hurt us badly because he was a good player and the good players really did need to show solidarity. When he defected back to the BDO we were down to fourteen and panic was setting in."[9] Bristow, who had been good friends with Gregory, insisted that he would never speak to him again.[10] John Lowe felt that Gregory had succumbed to pressure from Olly Croft, who warned that he would lose his house if the WDC lost its case.[8] John Gwynne said: I think even he [Mike] would admit that it's the worst thing he ever did, because he was accepted then by neither side."[7] When Phil Taylor won the inaugural Champions League of Darts in 2016, his first win broadcast on BBC since his 1992 Embassy world final victory over Gregory, he said: "I'm sure he's watching so, to Mike, look at what you could have won, buddy!"[11]

After the split

The last BDO tournament in which the "rebel" players competed was the Finland Open in April 1993. Gregory's return to the BDO was in time for the 1994 British Open, which was staged on New Year's Day, and he reached the semi-finals. He was not able to compete at the Embassy World Darts Championship in 1994, as the tournament draw had been made before he decided to return to the BDO. Later in 1994, he won the Norway Open and Belgian Open.

In 1995, he returned to the Lakeside for the first time since the split as the number five seed. He reached the quarter-finals, losing 3–4 to Martin Adams.

His other WDF titles came in 1995, winning the Swiss Open and the Belgian Open. Gregory then won his last televised title in September 1995, when he won the Unipart European Masters tournament, which was held at Lakeside and broadcast on the BBC. In the semi-final, Gregory defeated the reigning BDO World Champion, Richie Burnett, and beat Peter Manley in the final.

After Gregory's Unipart European Masters triumph, his form quickly faded. He suffered first round defeats in each of his next three appearances in the BDO World Championship at Lakeside – in 1996, 1997 and 1999, and did not qualify for the competition again. Other than a quarter-final appearance at the 2001 Welsh Open and a defeat to Davy Richardson in the final of the 2003 Scottish Open, he did not feature in the latter stages of Open events after 1999. His last appearance at a major WDF event was the 2005 Scottish Open, when he reached the last 16.

Gregory played county darts for Somerset and also played for Radstock in the Somerset Super League, where he appeared with the PDC player Steve Grubb.

Death

Mike Gregory died on 19 April 2022, at the age of 65. He had been battling dementia in the last few years.[12]

World Championship results

BDO

Career finals

BDO major finals: 3 (0 wins, 3 runners-up)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[Note 1]
Runner-up 1. 1983 Winmau World Masters (1) England Eric Bristow 1–2 (s)
Runner-up 2. 1992 World Darts Championship (2) England Phil Taylor 5–6 (s)
Runner-up 3. 1992 Winmau World Masters (2) England Dennis Priestley 2–3 (s)

Independent major finals: 2 (2 titles)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. 1987 News of the World Championship (1) England Peter Evison 2–0 (l)
Winner 2. 1988 News of the World Championship (2) England Kevin Spiolek 2–1 (l)

Performance timeline

Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
BDO World Championship Did not qualify QF 1R 1R QF 1R QF SF 2R F QF DNQ QF 1R 1R DNQ 1R DNQ
Winmau World Masters 2R DNQ F 3R QF 3R QF SF QF QF 4R F DNP 4R QF 3R 2R DNQ 3R 1R
British Professional NH Did not qualify W QF QF 2R 2R Not held
MFI World Matchplay Not held 1R QF W SF QF Not held
European Masters Not held W Not held
News of the World ??? QF QF ??? RR W W ??? Not held ??? Not held
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

Notes

  1. ^ (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets.

References

  1. ^ "Mike Gregory Player Profile". Dartsdatabase.co.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  2. ^ "Biography - Phil Taylor website profile". Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Major darts tournament winners". Superstars of Darts. Archived from the original on 16 December 2009.
  4. ^ "PDC / BDO 'The Split'". PDPA.
  5. ^ "Alan Warriner-Little on Darts split". Theiceman.co.uk. 1 July 2007. Archived from the original on 23 June 2007. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  6. ^ "25 Years On - The WDC's First Event". pdc.tv.
  7. ^ a b "25 Years On - The Split". pdc.tv.
  8. ^ a b Lowe, John (2009). "13". Old Stoneface: My Autobiography. London: John Blake. ISBN 9781782195719.
  9. ^ Bristow, Eric (2010). The Crafty Cockney: the Autobiography. London: Arrow. p. 272. ISBN 9780099532798.
  10. ^ Bristow, Eric (2010). The Crafty Cockney: the Autobiography. London: Arrow. p. 270. ISBN 9780099532798.
  11. ^ "Phil Taylor wins inaugural Champions League of Darts and £250,000 prize pot". Daily Mirror. 25 September 2016.
  12. ^ "Former World Championship finalist Mike Gregory passes away". Dartsnews.com. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.