Simon Whitlock
| Simon Whitlock | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Simon Whitlock |
| Nickname | The Wizard of Oz |
| Born | |
| Home town | Cessnock / Isle Of Wight |
| Darts information | |
| Playing darts since | – |
| Darts | 22g Red Dragon Simon Whitlock |
| Laterality | right-handed |
| Walk-on music | Down Under by Men at Work |
| Organisation (see split in darts) | |
| BDO | 2004 to 2009 |
| PDC | 2002 to 2003, 2009 to present |
| Current world ranking | 17 |
| WDF major events – best performances | |
| World Ch'ship | Runner-Up 2008 |
| World Masters | Quarter-Finals 2007 |
| World Trophy | Last 16 2005, 2006, 2007 |
| Int. Darts League | Semi-Finals 2005, 2006 |
| PDC premier events – best performances | |
| World Ch'ship | Runner-Up 2010 |
| Grand Slam | Quarter-Finals 2008, 2009 |
| Desert Classic | 1st Round 2009 |
| Other tournament wins | |
| Tournament | Years |
| Oceanic Masters Australian Masters Australian Grand Masters Coota Pacific Masters Wattle Time Memorial Tournament Castle Hill New Zealand Masters Japan Open Goulburn Open 1 Mittagong RSL Open Oak Flats Soundwaves Open Pine Rivers Open Russell Stewart Classic Southern Illawarra Wagga Classic Newcastle Classic Goulburn Open 2 Viva Las Vegas NZ Queensland Open Critereon Hotel Open | 2002 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 2004 2004, 2006, 2008 2004 2005 2005 2006 2007, 2009 2007, 2009 2007 2007 2007, 2009 2007, 2009 2007 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 |
Simon Whitlock (born 3 March 1969 in Sydney, Australia) is an Australian darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments, although he did have a spell playing in the rival organisation, the British Darts Organisation. He uses the nickname The Wizard for his matches. His walk-on music is Down Under by Men At Work.
His greatest career achievement to date was finishing runner-up to Phil Taylor at the 2010 PDC World Darts Championship having successfully made the switch from the BDO. He claimed that the prize money gained from the tournament which included money for the highest checkout (joint with Taylor) will allow him to move over to the UK from Australia and compete on the PDC tour.
His defeat also made him the first, and so far only, player to have never won a World Championship after reaching both the BDO and PDC World Championship Final.
Early darts career
He reached the last 16 of the 2003 PDC World Darts Championship and also the semi-finals of the 2005 BDO World Darts Championship but lost heavily 0–5 to Martin Adams. In other events, he has also reached the semi-finals of the International Darts League in 2005 (losing to Mervyn King) and 2006 (losing to Raymond van Barneveld).
In 2007, the PDC set up an Australian Grand Prix – a series of tournaments in Whitlock's native country and the Wizard won the first two events. The eventual winner of the AGP would have received automatic qualification for the 2008 PDC World Darts Championship; however, Whitlock remained a WDF/BDO player and chose to compete in the BDO World Championship instead.
Whitlock showed great form throughout the tournament, beating Edwin Max and Fabian Roosenbrand before beating former world champion Ted Hankey (who would win the title again the following year) 5–0 in the quarter-finals. He then beat Cumbria's Brian Woods to reach the final of the 2008 BDO World Darts Championship, where he was beaten by number one seed Mark Webster 7–5. He was the first Australian to the reach the final since Tony David won the tournament in 2002.
Whitlock entered the 2009 BDO World Darts Championship as the number 12 seed and reached the second round, beating Mark Barilli in the first round before losing to Darryl Fitton.
Return to PDC
After many weeks of speculation, Whitlock returned to the PDC on 19 March 2009.[1] He began playing in the AGP circuit where he has won eight tournaments. He qualified for the Las Vegas Desert Classic but lost in the first round of the televised stages against Terry Jenkins.
He played in the 2009 Grand Slam of Darts and performed well in the Group stages winning all 3 of his games against Ted Hankey, Wayne Mardle and Scott Waites. In the Last 16 he thrashed 1996 BDO World Champion Steve Beaton 9–1 but lost to eventual runner up Scott Waites in a tight encounter.
At the 2010 PDC World Championship, Whitlock made a great impression, beating Colin Osborne (3–1), Wayne Jones (4–0) and Terry Jenkins (4–2), before going on to beat James Wade 5–3 in an epic encounter, setting up a semi final clash against Raymond van Barneveld which he won 6-5, after falling 4-2 behind. In the final against Phil Taylor, he lost the first set before winning the next two, including his second 170 checkout of the tournament, but Taylor would also make his second 170 checkout later in the match and went on to win 7-3.[2] Thanks to his performances, Whitlock is now sponsored. Whitlock made a televised post-match appeal for sponsorship during a Sky Sports interview. He will now be participating in more events next season after securing sponsorship.
On the 4th of January it was announced that Simon Whitock would be competing in the 2010 Whyte and Mackay 2010 Premier League Darts after his performance at the 2010 PDC World Championship. After thirteen matches of the Premier League, he stands in second place, having beaten Raymond Van Barneveld (twice), Adrian Lewis, Mervyn King, Terry Jenkins and James Wade in the process.
Whitlock credits his new found form to his new diet of raisins and banana's, normally washed down with a tall glass of mango juice.
References
- ^ "Aussie Star Makes PDC Move". pdc.tv. 19 March 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2009.
- ^ "Phil Taylor summons all his powers to master Simon Whitlock's challenge". The Times. 2010-01-04. Retrieved 2010-01-04.