Dave Whitcombe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dave Whitcombe (born June 27, 1954) is an English professional darts player who won several major tournaments and reached two World Championship Finals. He had a long professional career between 1980 and 1992.
Whitcombe was twice a winner of the Winmau World Masters (1982 and 1985) and lost to Eric Bristow in the World Championship finals of 1984 and 1986. He also won the News of the World Darts Championship in 1989.
His overall World Championship record also included three quarter-final appearances in 1983, 1989, 1981 and the semi-finals in 1985. Bristow must be considered at Whitcombe's nemesis at the World Championship. In his 13 appearances at the championships, Whitcombe met Bristow 6 times and lost every time.
Whitcombe helped form the player's association PDPA (Professional Dart Players Association) with John Lowe, Cliff Lazarenko and Tony Brown.The association was set up with the intention of promoting more televised tournaments. Eventually this led to the formation of the World Darts Council and would split the game into two organisations.
Whitcombe never actually joined the PDC darts circuit at its outset - choosing instead to virtually retire from the sport. He made a comeback in 2004 - rejoining the PDPA and the PDC circuit. He managed to qualify for the 2006 PDC World Championship, losing to Roland Scholten in the first round. Whitcombe still competes on the Professional Darts Corporation circuit although a low world ranking means he has to attempt to qualify for each major event.
