Anastasia Dobromyslova
Encyclopedia
Anastasia Dobromyslova-Martin (born 26 September 1984 in Tver
, Russia
) is a professional darts
player. She is a former winner of the Women's World Professional Darts Champion of the British Darts Organisation
, winning it in 2008
. However, she controversially decided to join the rival, male-dominated, Professional Darts Corporation
to play in their World Championship in 2009, and never defended her BDO title as a result. After 2 years, she returned to the BDO in 2011.
She uses the song "Girls" by Sugababes
as her walk-on music. She previously used "Bring Me To Life
by Evanescence
. She carries the name From Russia With Love, although Dobromyslova has stated herself that it isn't an official nickname. She is more commonly known as just Anastasia due to the complex difficulty upon pronouncing her last name.
She made her professional major debut at the 2004 Bavaria World Darts Trophy, where she beat Trina Gulliver
in the quarter final, averaging 90. After beating Mieke de Boer
in the semis, she lost to Francis Hoenselaar
in the final.
In 2007, Dobromyslova made her debut in the BDO World Championship
at Lakeside
, as the number 4 seed, reaching the semi finals. After beating Sweden's Carina Ekberg in the quarter-finals, she fell to eventual winner, Trina Gulliver
. During the year, she won the England Open and the British Open, amongst several other singles titles across Europe. In October, she represented Russia in the 2007 WDF World Cup in the Netherlands
, and won the ladies pairs title with Irina Armstrong
.
In 2008, she returned to Lakeside, again as the number 4 seed, for the World Championship. She defeated Dee Bateman
in the first round and Stephanie Smee in the semi finals, before defeating Trina Gulliver in the final by two sets to nil, ending Gulliver's seven-year unbeaten run as world champion.
Dobromyslova made headlines when she qualified for the 2008 UK Open
, a PDC major tournament, by winning through the Pub Qualifiers event, beating Darren Place 5-2 and Pete Galloway 5-0. In the first round, she was drawn to play Robert Thornton
, who was also a BDO player who won through the Pub Qualifiers, and was the reigning World Masters champion. Thornton narrowly won 6-5.
She was named the number one seed for the 2008 Zuiderduin Masters
, but was excluded from playing by the Dutch authorities after problems with her visa
and was forced to withdraw. She was replaced by Lisa Ashton
.
Dobromyslova received an invitation from the PDC to play in the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts
, as BDO Ladies world champion. It was the first time a female darts player was invited to play at the Grand Slam. In her group, she was drawn with reigning PDC world champion John Part
, Kevin McDine
and, Wayne Mardle
. After losing her opening match 5-1 to Part, she gave Mardle a scare when she came from 4-0 to take four consecutive legs, including a Shanghai 120 checkout and a 116, before Mardle won the deciding leg. A third defeat occurred when she lost 5-2 to McDine.
In December, she went into the 2008 World Masters as the number one ranked ladies darts player, and reached the final, where she lost to Hoenselaar. Just a few hours later, however, it was announced that Dobromyslova had left the WDF/BDO circuit, and had joined the PDC on a full-time basis, after she was awarded a wildcard entry into the 2009 PDC World Darts Championship
following the withdrawal of an unnamed India
n qualifer, a decision that was publicly criticised by five-time world champion Eric Bristow
.
Dobromyslova became the second female player to play in a men's world darts championship, after Canadian
Gayl King played in the 2001 event
. She was drawn in the preliminary round against Remco van Eijden
and lost 5 legs to 3.
She qualified again for the UK Open
in 2009, this time through her UK Open Order of Merit ranking, having won £500 in seven qualifying events. She played amateur qualifier Andy Roberts in the first round and lost 6-2.
Following their failed takeover bid of the BDO, the PDC introduced their own Women's World Championship, and Dobromyslova automatically qualified as the only female member of the PDPA
. She lost in the semi-finals to Stacy Bromberg
, who went on the beat Tricia Wright
in the final.
At the 2009 Grand Slam of Darts
, Dobromyslova was drawn with Phil Taylor, Vincent van der Voort
and Mark Webster
. After suffering a 5-0 whitewash from Taylor in her first group match, Dobromyslova defeated van der Voort 5-4. It was her first ever win against a man on television, and made her only the second woman who beat a male professional darts player in a major televised darts competition, the first being Deta Hedman
's defeats of Aaron Turner and Norman Fletcher in the 2005 UK Open
. She still finished bottom of the group, however, as van der Voort unexpectedly beat Taylor 5-1 two days later, whilst she lost her last group game to Webster 5-2.
Dobromyslova failed to qualify for the PDC World Championship in 2010 and 2011, despite entering the Russian PDC qualifying events. In the 2010 qualifier, she lost in the final to Roman Konchikov
, and she lost again in the final, to Andrei Ratnikov in the 2011 event. Ratnikov later withdrew from the competition after he was unable to travel to England for family reasons. PDC awarded his preliminary round place to the runner-up of the PDPA qualifying event (which later turned out to be Matt Padgett
), rather than Dobromyslova.
Dobromyslova represented Russia in the first ever PDC World Cup of Darts
along with Konchikov. The pair beat Gibraltar, paired by Dylan Duo
and Dyson Parody, in the first round, before losing to Scotland's Gary Anderson
and Robert Thornton.
On 24 December 2010, it was rumoured amongst several darts internet forums that Dobromyslova had resigned from the PDC and returned to play in BDO and WDF events. On 1 January 2011, during the BBC's broadcast of the 2011 BDO World Darts Championship
, commentator David Croft announced that Dobromyslova was indeed returning to play in the BDO circuit. Anastasia herself confirmed over a week later, via her twitter page, that she had left the PDC and was preparing for the Dutch Open. Her reasons for leaving the PDC have not yet been officially disclosed, but it is believed that the confusion surrounding the Russian qualifying controversy may have been a catalyst in her decision.
, who qualified for the 2005 BDO World Darts Championship
and resides in Ellesmere Port
, Cheshire
, England
.
Tver
Tver is a city and the administrative center of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,726 ; 408,903 ;...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) is a professional darts
Darts
Darts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target fixed to a wall. Though various boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules...
player. She is a former winner of the Women's World Professional Darts Champion of the British Darts Organisation
British Darts Organisation
The British Darts Organisation, or the BDO for short, is a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft, OBE. The BDO is a founder member of the World Darts Federation which was formed in 1976....
, winning it in 2008
2008 BDO World Darts Championship
*Michael Rosenauer was originally drawn to face Mark Webster, but chose to withdraw from the event to compete in the 2008 PDC World Championship. Jones had won the standby play-off at Bridlington prior to the World Masters-Statistics:- Women's Championship :...
. However, she controversially decided to join the rival, male-dominated, Professional Darts Corporation
Professional Darts Corporation
The Professional Darts Corporation is a professional darts organization, established in the United Kingdom during 1992, when a group of leading professional players split from the British Darts Organisation to form what was initially called the World Darts Council...
to play in their World Championship in 2009, and never defended her BDO title as a result. After 2 years, she returned to the BDO in 2011.
She uses the song "Girls" by Sugababes
Sugababes
The Sugababes are an English pop girl group based in London, consisting of members Heidi Range, Amelle Berrabah and Jade Ewen. The Sugababes were formed in 1998 with founding members Siobhán Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan. Their debut album, One Touch, was released in 2000 under London...
as her walk-on music. She previously used "Bring Me To Life
Bring Me to Life
"Bring Me to Life" is a song by American rock band Evanescence. It was written by Amy Lee, Ben Moody and David Hodges and produced by Dave Fortman. It also features guest vocals from Paul McCoy of the band 12 Stones. Wind-up released "Bring Me to Life" in 2003 as the lead single from Evanescence's...
by Evanescence
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording private albums, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 17 million copies worldwide...
. She carries the name From Russia With Love, although Dobromyslova has stated herself that it isn't an official nickname. She is more commonly known as just Anastasia due to the complex difficulty upon pronouncing her last name.
Career
Dobromyslova started to play darts at the age of eleven, and has won the Russian National Championship a total of seven times. According to Dobromyslova, it was quite easy because hardly anyone played the game in Russia. She won the Girls World Masters title in 2001 and won the WDF Europe Youth Cup singles title in 2001 and 2002.She made her professional major debut at the 2004 Bavaria World Darts Trophy, where she beat Trina Gulliver
Trina Gulliver
Trina Gulliver is an English professional darts player. She is the nine-time Women's World Professional Darts Champion of the British Darts Organisation. Her nickname is the 'Golden Girl' and has been sponsored by the leading Global Darts Brand Winmau for over 10 years...
in the quarter final, averaging 90. After beating Mieke de Boer
Mieke de Boer
Mieke de Boer is a female darts player from the Netherlands, who is nicknamed Bambie.In 2002 she won the Women's World Darts Trophy, beating Karin Krappen in the quarter finals and then Francis Hoenselaar in the semi finals before beating Crissy Manley in the final. She also won the British Open...
in the semis, she lost to Francis Hoenselaar
Francis Hoenselaar
Francisca Hoenselaar is a professional darts player from the Netherlands. She is nicknamed The Dutch Crown....
in the final.
In 2007, Dobromyslova made her debut in the BDO World Championship
BDO World Darts Championship
The BDO World Darts Championship is a world championship competition in darts, organised by the British Darts Organisation . It began in 1978, and was the only world championship tournament until 1994...
at Lakeside
Lakeside Leisure Complex
The Lakeside Leisure Complex is a hotel, entertainment and leisure complex in Frimley Green near Camberley in Surrey. It is most famous as being the venue of the BDO World Darts Championship.-History:...
, as the number 4 seed, reaching the semi finals. After beating Sweden's Carina Ekberg in the quarter-finals, she fell to eventual winner, Trina Gulliver
Trina Gulliver
Trina Gulliver is an English professional darts player. She is the nine-time Women's World Professional Darts Champion of the British Darts Organisation. Her nickname is the 'Golden Girl' and has been sponsored by the leading Global Darts Brand Winmau for over 10 years...
. During the year, she won the England Open and the British Open, amongst several other singles titles across Europe. In October, she represented Russia in the 2007 WDF World Cup in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and won the ladies pairs title with Irina Armstrong
Irina Armstrong
Irina Armstrong is a Russian darts player, nicknamed Ice Baby. She is currently one of the top ladies' dart players in the BDO circuit.-Career:...
.
In 2008, she returned to Lakeside, again as the number 4 seed, for the World Championship. She defeated Dee Bateman
Dee Bateman
Dee Bateman is an English darts player.Bateman made her World Championship debut in 2008, losing in the quarter-finals to eventual champion Anastasia Dobromyslova...
in the first round and Stephanie Smee in the semi finals, before defeating Trina Gulliver in the final by two sets to nil, ending Gulliver's seven-year unbeaten run as world champion.
Dobromyslova made headlines when she qualified for the 2008 UK Open
2008 UK Open Darts
The 2008 Blue Square UK Open was the sixth year of the PDC darts tournament where, following numerous regional qualifying heats throughout Britain, players competed in a single elimination tournament to be crowned champion...
, a PDC major tournament, by winning through the Pub Qualifiers event, beating Darren Place 5-2 and Pete Galloway 5-0. In the first round, she was drawn to play Robert Thornton
Robert Thornton (darts player)
Robert Thornton is a Scottish darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events after his switch from the BDO in May 2008. He won the prestigious Winmau World Masters in November 2007.-BDO career:...
, who was also a BDO player who won through the Pub Qualifiers, and was the reigning World Masters champion. Thornton narrowly won 6-5.
She was named the number one seed for the 2008 Zuiderduin Masters
2008 Zuiderduin Masters
The 2008 Zuiderduin Darts Masters was a darts competition held from December 12 to December 14, 2008, in Egmond aan Zee, the Netherlands, run by the British Darts Organisation and the World Darts Federation...
, but was excluded from playing by the Dutch authorities after problems with her visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
and was forced to withdraw. She was replaced by Lisa Ashton
Lisa Ashton
Lisa Ashton is an English female darts player.Ashton reached the quarter finals of the 2007 Women's World Masters, beating 1996 finalist Heike Ernst of Germany in the last 16 before losing to Rilana Erades...
.
Dobromyslova received an invitation from the PDC to play in the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts
2008 Grand Slam of Darts
The 2008 Grand Slam of Darts was the second staging of the darts tournament, the Grand Slam of Darts organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The event took place from 15–23 November 2008 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall...
, as BDO Ladies world champion. It was the first time a female darts player was invited to play at the Grand Slam. In her group, she was drawn with reigning PDC world champion John Part
John Part
John Part is a Canadian professional darts player, who is nicknamed Darth Maple.Part is one of only five players in darts history to be a three time World Champion...
, Kevin McDine
Kevin McDine
Kevin McDine is an English darts player, currently residing in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire. He competes in Professional Darts Corporation events and SupaMc is currently ranked 37th on the PDC Order of Merit....
and, Wayne Mardle
Wayne Mardle
Wayne Mardle is a darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation, and former player in the BDO. He now lives in Romford...
. After losing her opening match 5-1 to Part, she gave Mardle a scare when she came from 4-0 to take four consecutive legs, including a Shanghai 120 checkout and a 116, before Mardle won the deciding leg. A third defeat occurred when she lost 5-2 to McDine.
In December, she went into the 2008 World Masters as the number one ranked ladies darts player, and reached the final, where she lost to Hoenselaar. Just a few hours later, however, it was announced that Dobromyslova had left the WDF/BDO circuit, and had joined the PDC on a full-time basis, after she was awarded a wildcard entry into the 2009 PDC World Darts Championship
2009 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2009 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 16th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation....
following the withdrawal of an unnamed India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n qualifer, a decision that was publicly criticised by five-time world champion Eric Bristow
Eric Bristow
Eric Bristow MBE is a British darts player, whose skill at the game in the 1980s helped turn it into a worldwide spectator sport.- Early career :...
.
Dobromyslova became the second female player to play in a men's world darts championship, after Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Gayl King played in the 2001 event
2001 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2001 Skol World Darts Championship was held between December 28, 2000–January 3, 2001 at the Circus Tavern, Purfleet.The tournament saw a notable first as Gayl King of Canada became the first woman to appear in the men's World Championship, having been given a wild card by organisers the...
. She was drawn in the preliminary round against Remco van Eijden
Remco van Eijden
Remco van Eijden is a Dutch darts player who competes in British Darts Organisation events.van Eijden previously played in the British Darts Organisation and he played in the 2008 BDO World Darts Championship, beating fellow Dutchman Mario Robbe in the first round, only to lost in the second round...
and lost 5 legs to 3.
She qualified again for the UK Open
2009 UK Open Darts
The 2009 Blue Square UK Open was the seventh year of the PDC darts tournament where, following numerous regional qualifying heats throughout Britain, players competed in a single elimination tournament to be crowned champion...
in 2009, this time through her UK Open Order of Merit ranking, having won £500 in seven qualifying events. She played amateur qualifier Andy Roberts in the first round and lost 6-2.
Following their failed takeover bid of the BDO, the PDC introduced their own Women's World Championship, and Dobromyslova automatically qualified as the only female member of the PDPA
Professional Dart Players Association
The Professional Dart Players Association is an organisation for professional dart players. Its intention is to look after the interests of professional players through an annually elected Board of six current professionals.-Formation:...
. She lost in the semi-finals to Stacy Bromberg
Stacy Bromberg
Stacy Bromberg is an American darts player who is the current WDF & PDC Women's World Darts Champion. She has dominated the American darts circuit in the last decade through winning the US women's championship on 11 occasions.Bromberg reached the final of the 1995 Women's World Masters but lost to...
, who went on the beat Tricia Wright
Tricia Wright
Tricia Wright is an English darts player from Mitcham in Kent. Her nickname is The Wright Stuff.She competed in the first PDC Women's World Championship final in 2010, losing 6-5 to Stacy Bromberg despite having four darts to win it...
in the final.
At the 2009 Grand Slam of Darts
2009 Grand Slam of Darts
The 2009 Grand Slam of Darts was the third staging of the darts tournament, the Grand Slam of Darts organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The event took place from 14–22 November 2009 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall. Television coverage of the tournament was covered by ITV Sport, with...
, Dobromyslova was drawn with Phil Taylor, Vincent van der Voort
Vincent van der Voort
Vincent van der Voort is a professional darts player.-Playing style:Vincent is well known for his spasmodic style and machine-gun speed of play which has gained him a reputation in both the BDO and the PDC for being one of the more erratic throwers in the darting world...
and Mark Webster
Mark Webster (darts player)
Mark Webster is a left-handed Welsh darts player who lives in Denbigh. Known as Webby, he plays in Professional Darts Corporation events, having previously won the 2008 BDO World Championship. Mark became a full time professional in 2009, having previously been a fully qualified Gas registered...
. After suffering a 5-0 whitewash from Taylor in her first group match, Dobromyslova defeated van der Voort 5-4. It was her first ever win against a man on television, and made her only the second woman who beat a male professional darts player in a major televised darts competition, the first being Deta Hedman
Deta Hedman
Deta Hedman is a Jamaican-born English darts player currently playing in British Darts Organisation events.Hedman reached the Women's World Masters final for the first time in 1990, losing to Rhian Speed. She won the Women's World Masters in 1994...
's defeats of Aaron Turner and Norman Fletcher in the 2005 UK Open
2005 UK Open Darts
The 2005 Budweiser UK Open was the third year of the darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. A massive field of 170 players were whittled down to just one in 48 hours of hectic competition at the Reebok Stadium, Bolton. Phil Taylor eventually took the trophy with a 13-7...
. She still finished bottom of the group, however, as van der Voort unexpectedly beat Taylor 5-1 two days later, whilst she lost her last group game to Webster 5-2.
Dobromyslova failed to qualify for the PDC World Championship in 2010 and 2011, despite entering the Russian PDC qualifying events. In the 2010 qualifier, she lost in the final to Roman Konchikov
Roman Konchikov
Roman Konchikov is a Russian darts player.Konchikov qualified for the 2010 PDC World Darts Championship, and lost 4-3 in the preliminary round to Finland's Jarkko Komula....
, and she lost again in the final, to Andrei Ratnikov in the 2011 event. Ratnikov later withdrew from the competition after he was unable to travel to England for family reasons. PDC awarded his preliminary round place to the runner-up of the PDPA qualifying event (which later turned out to be Matt Padgett
Matt Padgett
Matt Padgett is an English darts player.A bowling alley technician by trade, Padgett joined the PDC in 2010. In June 2010, he qualified for the UK Open...
), rather than Dobromyslova.
Dobromyslova represented Russia in the first ever PDC World Cup of Darts
PDC World Cup of Darts
The PDC World Cup of Darts is a darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation and is one of the three new tournaments being introduced into the PDC calendar. It is broadcast live by Sky Sports....
along with Konchikov. The pair beat Gibraltar, paired by Dylan Duo
Dylan Duo
Dylan Duo is a Gibraltarian darts player.Duo qualified for the 2010 PDC World Darts Championship via the European Order of Merit. He became the first darts player from Gibraltar to qualify for either version of the World Darts Championship...
and Dyson Parody, in the first round, before losing to Scotland's Gary Anderson
Gary Anderson (darts player)
Gary Anderson is a Scottish professional darts player from Eyemouth, Scottish Borders, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation, and a former BDO and WDF world number one. His nickname is The Flying Scotsman...
and Robert Thornton.
On 24 December 2010, it was rumoured amongst several darts internet forums that Dobromyslova had resigned from the PDC and returned to play in BDO and WDF events. On 1 January 2011, during the BBC's broadcast of the 2011 BDO World Darts Championship
2011 BDO World Darts Championship
The 2011 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was the 34th World Championship organised by the British Darts Organisation, and the 26th staging at the Lakeside Country Club at Frimley Green...
, commentator David Croft announced that Dobromyslova was indeed returning to play in the BDO circuit. Anastasia herself confirmed over a week later, via her twitter page, that she had left the PDC and was preparing for the Dutch Open. Her reasons for leaving the PDC have not yet been officially disclosed, but it is believed that the confusion surrounding the Russian qualifying controversy may have been a catalyst in her decision.
Personal life
Dobromyslova is married to Tony MartinTony Martin (darts player)
Tony Martin is a darts player with the British Darts Organisation .Martin started his darts career playing in British Darts Organisation tournaments and was a runner-up in the British Classic to Mervyn King in 2002...
, who qualified for the 2005 BDO World Darts Championship
2005 BDO World Darts Championship
-Women:Women's bracket:-External links:* *...
and resides in Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port is a large industrial town and port in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated on the south border of the Wirral Peninsula on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal, which in turn gives access to the River...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.