Rod Harrington
Encyclopedia
Rod Harrington is a former English
darts
player. He used the nickname The Prince of Style for his matches, often wearing a suit and waistcoast for his games. Harrington enjoyed some major success during his professional career including the prestigious Winmau World Masters
in 1991 and two successive World Matchplays in 1998 and 1999.http://archive.billericayweeklynews.co.uk/1999/6/11/219570.html
in January 1991.
Harrington made his World Championship debut in 1992, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to eventual runner-up Mike Gregory. At the 1993 World Championship, Harrington was seeded fourth but lost 2-3 to Wayne Weening
in the first round. After those championships, the majority of the top players left the governing body, the British Darts Organisation
, to form the WDC (now PDC
) in an acrimonious split in the game
.
He reached the World semi-finals on two further occasions, 1998 (where he was beaten by that year's eventual winner, Taylor) and 2001 (where he lost to that year's runner-up, John Part
) and the quarter-finals in 1997. However, after the 2002 World Championship (where he was seeded third), his form slumped dramatically to the point where he was outside the top 16 by 2003 - and a first round defeat by Alan Warriner
would turn out to be his last appearance in the World Championship.
He did have some success at the other major PDC tournaments. In 1998 he beat Ronnie Baxter
in the final of the World Matchplay, helped along the way by his now famous 125 checkout (Treble 15, Double 20, Double 20); he then successfully defended the title in 1999 with a victory over Peter Manley
. He and Phil Taylor remained the only players to retain a major PDC title until Raymond van Barneveld
retained his UK Open title in 2007. Harrington also reached the final of the first World Grand Prix event in 1998 losing to Taylor. Along with Richie Burnett
he also reached the final of the PDC World Pairs tournament in 1997, losing in the final to the pairing of van Barneveld and Roland Scholten
.
Harrington became a director of the PDC and now also regularly acts in the capacity of a commentator and analyst on Sky Sports
' live darts coverage. At one time, he was also the manager of former PDC world number 1 Colin Lloyd
.
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. He used the nickname The Prince of Style for his matches, often wearing a suit and waistcoast for his games. Harrington enjoyed some major success during his professional career including 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 1991 and two successive World Matchplays in 1998 and 1999.http://archive.billericayweeklynews.co.uk/1999/6/11/219570.html
Early career
He started his career before the game split into two separate organisations during the early 1990s. He accumulated many Open tournament titles including the Belgian Open (1991, 1992), Denmark Open (1991, 1992), French Open (1991, 1993) and the Swedish Open (1991). Harrington's 1991 Winmau World Masters victory over Phil Taylor remains one of Taylor's rare major final defeats - although Taylor was only a one-time World Champion at the time and had lost his world crown to Dennis PriestleyDennis 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...
in January 1991.
Harrington made his World Championship debut in 1992, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to eventual runner-up Mike Gregory. At the 1993 World Championship, Harrington was seeded fourth but lost 2-3 to Wayne Weening
Wayne Weening
Wayne Dirk Weening is an Australian darts player.Weening made seven BDO World Darts Championship appearances with his best performance coming in 1993, reaching the quarter-finals by beating Rod Harrington and Albert Anstey before losing to Alan Warriner...
in the first round. After those championships, the majority of the top players left the governing body, 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....
, to form the WDC (now PDC
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...
) in an acrimonious split in the game
Split in darts
The split in darts refers to an acrimonious dispute between top professional darts players and the game's governing body which began in 1992 and resulted in the formation of a new organisation to arrange tournaments - including a second version of the World Professional Darts Championship...
.
PDC career
After the WDC/PDC started their own World Championship in 1994, Harrington would be ever-present in the event for the first ten years. He reached the quarter-finals in the inaugural tournament, but his best ever achievement came in the 1995 World Championship - by reaching the final. He lost the final 2-6 to Taylor, who was winning the third of his world championship titles at the time.He reached the World semi-finals on two further occasions, 1998 (where he was beaten by that year's eventual winner, Taylor) and 2001 (where he lost to that year's runner-up, 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...
) and the quarter-finals in 1997. However, after the 2002 World Championship (where he was seeded third), his form slumped dramatically to the point where he was outside the top 16 by 2003 - and a first round defeat by Alan Warriner
Alan Warriner-Little
Alan Warriner-Little is an English professional darts player. He currently lives in Crosby, Cumbria and plays with the nickname The Iceman...
would turn out to be his last appearance in the World Championship.
He did have some success at the other major PDC tournaments. In 1998 he beat Ronnie Baxter
Ronnie Baxter
Ronnie Baxter is an English darts player. He uses the nickname The Rocket for his matches. Baxter is known for his fast, robotic throwing action...
in the final of the World Matchplay, helped along the way by his now famous 125 checkout (Treble 15, Double 20, Double 20); he then successfully defended the title in 1999 with a victory over Peter Manley
Peter Manley
Peter David Manley is an English professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He is nicknamed One Dart as he is known for hitting doubles with his first dart...
. He and Phil Taylor remained the only players to retain a major PDC title until Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld , nickname Barney is a professional darts player. He is a five time World Darts Champion, and two time UK Open Champion. From January to June 2008, he was the PDC world number one ranked player...
retained his UK Open title in 2007. Harrington also reached the final of the first World Grand Prix event in 1998 losing to Taylor. Along with Richie Burnett
Richie Burnett
Richie Burnett is a Welsh darts player who was the 1995 Embassy World Darts Champion and currently plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. His nickname is The Prince of Wales.-BDO career:...
he also reached the final of the PDC World Pairs tournament in 1997, losing in the final to the pairing of van Barneveld and Roland Scholten
Roland Scholten
Roland Scholten is a Dutch professional darts player who plays for the Professional Darts Corporation and formerly for the British Darts Organisation. He is nicknamed Tripod or The Flying Dutchman and uses Hey Ya by Outkast as his walk-on. He is currently ranked 45th in the PDC...
.
Recent years
After his loss of form, Harrington never officially announced a retirement from the game. He still attempted to qualify for the major UK tournaments until the 2007 World Championship - where he lost in the first qualifying round. He is unranked in the official Order of Merit.Harrington became a director of the PDC and now also regularly acts in the capacity of a commentator and analyst on Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
' live darts coverage. At one time, he was also the manager of former PDC world number 1 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...
.