Mark Hylton (darts player)
Encyclopedia
Mark Hylton is an English
darts
player currently playing in Professional Darts Corporation
events.
Hylton has played darts for over 30 years. He has played super league for many years and earned over 80 caps for Staffordshire.
In 1997, he reached the last 16 of the inaugural British Classic (losing to Phil Taylor). In 2005, he was the Staffordshire qualifier for the World Championship play-offs as well as the Winmau World Masters and the English national singles, where he reached the last 16 again.
Hylton's first televised appearance came as an amateur qualifier at the 2007 UK Open
. He defeated Ray Carver
on the stage in the preliminary round before losing to Mark Robinson
in the first round.
He joined the PDC circuit full-time in 2010. Despite failing to qualify for that year's UK Open, he reached the final of a PDC Pro Tour
event in Australia
, losing to Dennis Priestley
, and has regularly featured in the last 16 places. Along side his PDC efforts, Hylton has won 13 open competitions in 2010, including the Border Classic.
Hylton qualified for the 2010 Grand Slam of Darts
, winning through a strong field of over 250 darters, as one of four ITV Wildcard qualifiers. He lost all three of his group games to Gary Anderson
, Mark Webster
, and Wayne Jones
.
Hylton also qualified for his first PDC World Championship in 2011
as one of the top 16 non-seeded players from the Players Championship Order of Merit. In the first round, Hylton defeated Steve Beaton
by 3 sets to 2. In the second round, he knocked out number 9 seed Colin Lloyd
by 4 sets to 2. He was eliminated by Mark Webster
in the third round. These strong TV performances along with Hylton's strong second half of the season also earned him the 2010 PDC Best Newcomer award.
2011 has seen a strong start with Hylton taking several open titles including The Double16.com Cotgrave & Newark Opens during the 2nd of which he produced a perfect 9 dart leg, only 6 days later he produced another 9 dart finish during an Open event at The Red Lion in Erdington. A first professional appearance in The UK Open in June will be a 3rd TV Major in 8 months. He is climbing the Orders of Merit strongly looking to be well placed for the 2011/12 season.
During May & June 2011 Hylton produced another fine spell of form, he reached Pro tour Quarter and Semi finals on consecutive days in Austria and a run of five wins (over Brian Woods, Geoff Whitworth, Andy Jenkins,Andrew Gilding & Peter Wright) at The UK Open saw `Mile High' reach his first televised Quarter final at a major event, eventually losing out in a tough match again Denis Ovens.
This form continued with a semi-final Pro Tour place in Barnsley, defeating Beaton, Ovens, Baxter, Van Gerwen & Duo before losing out to lakeside runner up Dave Chisnal. This ensured his place in the 2011 World Matchplay where he faced Phil Taylor in the first round, narrowly losing by 10 legs to 8.
His rapid rise through the ranking continued with qualification for The 2011 World Grand Prix where despite suffering from the flu he again reached the Qtr final. A two sets to one win over Mark Walsh in round one followed by a second round 3-1 win over world number 5 Simon Whitlock, set up a clash with the resurgent Richie Burnett. Hylton bowed out 1-4 with Burnett going on to a 5-2 defat to Phil Taylor.
In a break from previous pattern Hylton took his form straight back to PDC Pro Tour events where he reached reached semi and qtr finals over the next two events. His wins over Wayne Jones and a 6-0 whitewash of Paul Nicholson offer signs of a new confidence.
With a place in the 2011 Players Championship Finals and 2012 Ladbrokes World Professional Championship assured only the end of season ranking remains unclear, however it it certain to be a vast improvement on the 91st place Hytlon was ranked prior to the 2011 event.
Hylton is also becoming a regular sight in exhibitions, his cabin crew walk on and unique throwing style have seen him in several 'Play The Professional' events as well as charitable and promotional appearances.
Hylton worked as an airline cabin manager for 14 years before taking redundancy and becoming a professional darts player in 2010. He graduated in 1987 as a BA in English Literature.
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...
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 currently playing in 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...
events.
Hylton has played darts for over 30 years. He has played super league for many years and earned over 80 caps for Staffordshire.
In 1997, he reached the last 16 of the inaugural British Classic (losing to Phil Taylor). In 2005, he was the Staffordshire qualifier for the World Championship play-offs as well as the Winmau World Masters and the English national singles, where he reached the last 16 again.
Hylton's first televised appearance came as an amateur qualifier at the 2007 UK Open
2007 UK Open Darts
The 2007 Blue Square UK Open was the fifth 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...
. He defeated Ray Carver
Ray Carver (darts player)
Ray Carver is an American darts player who competes in the Professional Darts Corporation and is generally regarded as one of the top American darts players...
on the stage in the preliminary round before losing to Mark Robinson
Mark Robinson (darts player)
Mark Robinson is an English professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation.-Career:Robinson played in his first professional tournament in 1997 which was the News of the World Championship, he was beat in his first match by Colin Fowler 2-1. The next time he played in a...
in the first round.
He joined the PDC circuit full-time in 2010. Despite failing to qualify for that year's UK Open, he reached the final of a PDC Pro Tour
PDC Pro Tour
The PDC Pro Tour is a series of non-televised darts tournaments organised by the Professional Darts Corporation . They comprise Professional Dart Players Association Players Championships and UK Open Regional Finals.-Players Championships:...
event in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, losing to Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley
Dennis Priestley is an English professional darts player. He has won two world championships, and was the first player to win both the BDO and WDC world championships, in 1991 and 1994 respectively...
, and has regularly featured in the last 16 places. Along side his PDC efforts, Hylton has won 13 open competitions in 2010, including the Border Classic.
Hylton qualified for the 2010 Grand Slam of Darts
2010 Grand Slam of Darts
The 2010 Grand Slam of Darts was the fourth staging of the darts tournament, the Grand Slam of Darts organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The event took place from 13–21 November 2010 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall. Television coverage of the tournament was covered by ITV Sport, with...
, winning through a strong field of over 250 darters, as one of four ITV Wildcard qualifiers. He lost all three of his group games to 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...
, 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...
, and Wayne Jones
Wayne Jones (darts player)
Wayne Alan Jones is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments. He uses the nickname The Wanderer for his matches....
.
Hylton also qualified for his first PDC World Championship in 2011
2011 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2011 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 18th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation.Phil Taylor was the defending champion, having won the 2010 tournament...
as one of the top 16 non-seeded players from the Players Championship Order of Merit. In the first round, Hylton defeated Steve Beaton
Steve Beaton
Steve Beaton is an English professional darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation...
by 3 sets to 2. In the second round, he knocked out number 9 seed Colin Lloyd
Colin Lloyd
Colin Lloyd , nicknamed Jaws, is an English professional darts player on the Professional Darts Corporation circuit. He is a former world number one ranked player and he has won two major television titles in the PDC - the 2004 World Grand Prix and 2005 World Matchplay...
by 4 sets to 2. He was eliminated by 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...
in the third round. These strong TV performances along with Hylton's strong second half of the season also earned him the 2010 PDC Best Newcomer award.
2011 has seen a strong start with Hylton taking several open titles including The Double16.com Cotgrave & Newark Opens during the 2nd of which he produced a perfect 9 dart leg, only 6 days later he produced another 9 dart finish during an Open event at The Red Lion in Erdington. A first professional appearance in The UK Open in June will be a 3rd TV Major in 8 months. He is climbing the Orders of Merit strongly looking to be well placed for the 2011/12 season.
During May & June 2011 Hylton produced another fine spell of form, he reached Pro tour Quarter and Semi finals on consecutive days in Austria and a run of five wins (over Brian Woods, Geoff Whitworth, Andy Jenkins,Andrew Gilding & Peter Wright) at The UK Open saw `Mile High' reach his first televised Quarter final at a major event, eventually losing out in a tough match again Denis Ovens.
This form continued with a semi-final Pro Tour place in Barnsley, defeating Beaton, Ovens, Baxter, Van Gerwen & Duo before losing out to lakeside runner up Dave Chisnal. This ensured his place in the 2011 World Matchplay where he faced Phil Taylor in the first round, narrowly losing by 10 legs to 8.
His rapid rise through the ranking continued with qualification for The 2011 World Grand Prix where despite suffering from the flu he again reached the Qtr final. A two sets to one win over Mark Walsh in round one followed by a second round 3-1 win over world number 5 Simon Whitlock, set up a clash with the resurgent Richie Burnett. Hylton bowed out 1-4 with Burnett going on to a 5-2 defat to Phil Taylor.
In a break from previous pattern Hylton took his form straight back to PDC Pro Tour events where he reached reached semi and qtr finals over the next two events. His wins over Wayne Jones and a 6-0 whitewash of Paul Nicholson offer signs of a new confidence.
With a place in the 2011 Players Championship Finals and 2012 Ladbrokes World Professional Championship assured only the end of season ranking remains unclear, however it it certain to be a vast improvement on the 91st place Hytlon was ranked prior to the 2011 event.
Hylton is also becoming a regular sight in exhibitions, his cabin crew walk on and unique throwing style have seen him in several 'Play The Professional' events as well as charitable and promotional appearances.
Hylton worked as an airline cabin manager for 14 years before taking redundancy and becoming a professional darts player in 2010. He graduated in 1987 as a BA in English Literature.