Robert Thornton (darts player)
Encyclopedia
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.
for the first time in 2005. He beat Martin Atkins
and Tony West
before losing to Darryl Fitton
in the quarter finals. He then failed to qualify for the 2006 and 2007 events.
His first title came in the Central Scotland Open in April 2007, beating Mike Veitch
in the final. He failed to make it through the qualifying event for 2008 BDO World Championship, but managed to make it to the televised stages of the 2007 Winmau World Masters
in the same weekend. He then beat Co Stompé
, BDO world champion Martin Adams
, and Atkins to reach the final. He managed to avenge his defeat by Fitton at the 2005 Lakeside World Championship to claim his first major title by 7 sets to 5 (having trailed 5-2) and win the £25,000 first prize and also a place in the 2008 World Championship - despite having lost earlier in the qualifiers.
His appearance at the 2008 BDO World Championship
was only his second visit to Lakeside
, and he matched his previous appearance by reaching the quarter-finals. Having beaten John Walton
and Tony O'Shea
, he lost to defending champion Adams - who gained revenge for his loss at the World Masters.
Thornton's good form continued into 2008 when he won the Dutch Open in February and reached the last eight of the Scottish Open a week later to achieve a career high of fourth in the WDF world rankings
and was top of the BDO rankings.
Thornton qualified for the 2009 PDC World Championship
due to his performances on the PDC Pro Tour
, and after winning his opening round match 3-1 against Wayne Jones
, Thornton went out in the second round in a 4-3 defeat to world number 8 Wayne Mardle
. However, this performance guaranteed Thornton a spot in the top 32 of the PDC Order of Merit
- just eight months after his defection from the BDO. He reached his first PDC final at the 2009 Players Championship Finals
.
Seeded 14 in the tournament based on the previous year's floor events, Thornton edged Mark Dudbridge
in the first round on a final-leg decider, having earlier trailed Flash. This gave him a second round tie with world number 10 and third seed Alan Tabern
, in which Thornton dominated 6-2 after Tabern had missed a dart for a 3-1 lead. He then played a resurgent Dennis Priestley
– who had earlier been on the brink of defeat, losing 5-0 to John Part
before rattling off six consecutive legs to win the match – in the quarter-finals. Those heroics seemed to fatigue Priestley as he slumped to a 9-5 defeat to Thornton, which earned him a semi-final place against world number 2 James Wade
. In a very tight semi-final, Thornton won 4 of the last 5 legs to earn a 13-10 victory and a spot in the final against Phil Taylor, whom had only dropped eight legs in the tournament to that point. Taylor came out on top in the final 16-9, however Thornton earned £25,000 for making the final, propelling him up the rankings.
Thornton became only the third player to win both events of a PDC Pro Tour
weekend in Irvine, North Ayrshire
, when he beat Dennis Priestley
to win both the Scottish Players Championship and the Scottish Regional qualifier for the UK Open.
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 who competes 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 after his switch from the BDO in May 2008. He won the prestigious Winmau World Masters
Winmau World Masters
The Winmau World Masters is one of the longest running and most prestigious professional darts tournaments, which began in 1974 - even before the current World Professional Championship...
in November 2007.
BDO career
Thornton returned to playing darts in 2002, having given up the game to raise his children. He qualified for the BDO World ChampionshipBDO 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...
for the first time in 2005. He beat Martin Atkins
Martin Atkins (darts player)
Martin Atkins is an English darts player. His nickname is "The Assassin". His most notable achievement is beating former BDO World Champion Jelle Klaasen to win the Finnish Open on 11 March 2006...
and Tony West
Tony West
Anthony Shaun West is an English professional darts player who competes in British Darts Organisation tournaments.-Wins:...
before losing to Darryl Fitton
Darryl Fitton
Darryl Fitton is an English professional darts player currently playing in BDO events. He is nicknamed The Dazzler and comes to the stage dancing to the Madness song "One Step Beyond" wearing sunglasses. It is one of the most popular walk-ons with the audience...
in the quarter finals. He then failed to qualify for the 2006 and 2007 events.
His first title came in the Central Scotland Open in April 2007, beating Mike Veitch
Mike Veitch
Michael "Mike" Veitch is a Scottish darts player who competes in events staged by the British Darts Organisation.-Playing career:...
in the final. He failed to make it through the qualifying event for 2008 BDO World Championship, but managed to make it to the televised stages of the 2007 Winmau World Masters
2007 Winmau World Masters
The 2007 Winmau World Masters was a darts tournament being staged by the British Darts Organisation at Leisure World in Bridlington between November 16 and November 18, 2007. It also featured a qualifying event for the 2008 Lakeside World Professional Championship.History was made by John Walton...
in the same weekend. He then beat Co Stompé
Co Stompé
Jacobus Wilhelm "Co" Stompé , is a Dutch professional darts player who currently plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. Stompé is nicknamed The Matchstick because of his almost bald head and very thin appearance making him look like a matchstick...
, BDO world champion Martin Adams
Martin Adams
Martin Adams is an English international darts player. Nicknamed Wolfie or Mr BDO, he is BDO world ranked number one, three-time and reigning BDO World Champion and three-time World Masters champion...
, and Atkins to reach the final. He managed to avenge his defeat by Fitton at the 2005 Lakeside World Championship to claim his first major title by 7 sets to 5 (having trailed 5-2) and win the £25,000 first prize and also a place in the 2008 World Championship - despite having lost earlier in the qualifiers.
His appearance at the 2008 BDO World Championship
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 :...
was only his second visit to 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:...
, and he matched his previous appearance by reaching the quarter-finals. Having beaten John Walton
John Walton (darts player)
John Michael Walton is an English darts player who is a former World Champion. He has adopted the nickname The Boy and uses the song Cotton Eye Joe by Rednex as his walk-on theme.-Darts career:...
and Tony O'Shea
Tony O'Shea
Tony O'Shea is an English darts player who competes in British Darts Organisation events. He was born in Stockport. His squat figure has resulted in the nickname Silverback. His walk-on music is "Hey Baby" by DJ Ötzi...
, he lost to defending champion Adams - who gained revenge for his loss at the World Masters.
Thornton's good form continued into 2008 when he won the Dutch Open in February and reached the last eight of the Scottish Open a week later to achieve a career high of fourth in the WDF world rankings
Darts world rankings
Darts world rankings are a system which should determine a list of the best dart players in the world based on their performances in tournaments...
and was top of the BDO rankings.
PDC career
Thornton qualified for the 2008 PDC UK Open via the Pub qualifiers and then went on to switch to the PDC after withdrawing from the Scottish team for the Europe Cup.Thornton qualified for the 2009 PDC World 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....
due to his performances on the 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:...
, and after winning his opening round match 3-1 against 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....
, Thornton went out in the second round in a 4-3 defeat to world number 8 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...
. However, this performance guaranteed Thornton a spot in the top 32 of the PDC Order of Merit
PDC order of merit
The PDC Order of Merit is a world ranking system used by one of the darts organisations, the Professional Darts Corporation . Following the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship it superseded a world ranking system based on points being awarded for performances in ranking tournaments.-Previous world...
- just eight months after his defection from the BDO. He reached his first PDC final at the 2009 Players Championship Finals
2009 Players Championship Finals
The 2009 Players Championship Finals was the inaugural edition of the PDC tournament, the Players Championship Finals, which saw the top 32 players from the 2008 PDC Players Championship Order of Merit taking part...
.
Seeded 14 in the tournament based on the previous year's floor events, Thornton edged Mark Dudbridge
Mark Dudbridge
Mark Daniel Dudbridge is an English professional darts player.-Darts career:He started playing in his very early teens, citing Dennis Priestley as one of his heroes...
in the first round on a final-leg decider, having earlier trailed Flash. This gave him a second round tie with world number 10 and third seed Alan Tabern
Alan Tabern
Alan Tabern is an English darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation, where he is also known as "The Saint" and "Tabby"...
, in which Thornton dominated 6-2 after Tabern had missed a dart for a 3-1 lead. He then played a resurgent 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...
– who had earlier been on the brink of defeat, losing 5-0 to 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...
before rattling off six consecutive legs to win the match – in the quarter-finals. Those heroics seemed to fatigue Priestley as he slumped to a 9-5 defeat to Thornton, which earned him a semi-final place against world number 2 James Wade
James Wade
James Wade is an English professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation . He became the youngest player ever to win a major PDC title at the World Matchplay in July 2007...
. In a very tight semi-final, Thornton won 4 of the last 5 legs to earn a 13-10 victory and a spot in the final against Phil Taylor, whom had only dropped eight legs in the tournament to that point. Taylor came out on top in the final 16-9, however Thornton earned £25,000 for making the final, propelling him up the rankings.
Thornton became only the third player to win both events 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:...
weekend in Irvine, North Ayrshire
Irvine, North Ayrshire
Irvine is a new town on the coast of the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland. According to 2007 population estimates, the town is home to 39,527 inhabitants, making it the biggest settlement in North Ayrshire....
, when he beat 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...
to win both the Scottish Players Championship and the Scottish Regional qualifier for the UK Open.