John Walton (darts player)
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| John Walton | ||
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| Personal information | ||
| Full name | John Michael Walton | |
| Nickname | John Boy | |
| Date of birth | November 10, 1961 | |
| Place of birth | Bradford,  |
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| Home town | Sheffield, |
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| Darts information | ||
| Playing darts since | From the age of 9. | |
| Darts | 18g (handmade). | |
| Walk-on music | Cotton Eyed Joe by Rednex | |
| Organisation (see split in darts) | ||
| BDO | since 1993 | |
| Current World Ranking | 19 (BDO) 22 (WDF) |
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| BDO Grand Slam Events - Best Performances | ||
| World Ch'ship | Winner 2001 | |
| World Masters | Winner 2000 | |
| World Darts Trophy | QF 2005 | |
| Int. Darts League | 2nd Rd 2005 | |
| Other Tournament Wins | ||
| Tournament | Years | |
| World Cup Champions Team British Open |
2001, 2007 2001 |
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| Other Achievements | ||
| 2001 BDO Sports Personality of the year Only third player in history to win the World Masters and the World Championship in the same season |
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Infobox last updated on: November 17, 2007. |
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John Walton (born November 10, 1961 in Bradford, Yorkshire) is a English darts player who is a former World Champion. He has adopted the nickname John Boy and uses the tune Cotton Eye Joe by Rednex as his walk-on theme.
Walton picked up some small tournament victories in the early stages of his career, including the Websters 150 Championship in 1993 and the Highlands Open Championship in 1996 but didn't manage to qualify for the World Championship until 1999 when he lost 0-3 to Roland Scholten on his first round debut.
He failed to qualify for the World Championship in 2000, but in the autumn of that year he won the prestigious Winmau World Masters. Despite that success, he was 50/1 with the bookmakers to win the World title in the New Year, and his Masters form possibly led to him being tipped by darts pundit Bobby George at the start of the BBC televised coverage as a possible winner.
He opened his 2001 campaign with a 3-1 first round win over Richie Davies and averaged an excellent 100.62 during the match. He then beat Mervyn King 3-0 with another high average of 99.00. His quarter-final victory over Marko Pusa saw Walton achieve an incredible 14 consecutive legs, which still stands as a record in either version of the World Championship. Not surprisingly, the result was a 5-0 whitewash.
Walton then beat Wayne Mardle 5-3 in the semi-final and Ted Hankey 6-2 in the final to become World Champion and also one of only a few players to have held both the Winmau World Masters and World Championship simultaneously. He joined Eric Bristow and Richie Burnett as the third player to win them in the same season.
He has enjoyed only moderate success since his 2001 World Championship victory - the defence of his title ended with a second round loss to Colin Monk and he went out in the second round to Richie Davies in 2003. He did manage to reach the 2004 quarter-finals, but lost 1-5 to Raymond van Barneveld. In 2005 he lost to Darryl Fitton in the second round and he was knocked out by Stephen Roberts in 2006. Another second round defeat, this time to Gary Robson followed in 2007. He lost in the first round of the 2008 event, but this was unsurprising as his opponent was reigning Winmau World Masters champion Robert Thornton.
He hasn't won any of the major open events since his successful year in 2001 when he took the British Open, British Classic, Belgium Open, Scottish Open and Portland Open. Overall his tournament success has dried up since winning the world title, but he continues to maintain a high world ranking by progressing to the quarter-final and semi-final stages of several Open darts events.
Walton made history at the 2007 Winmau World Masters in Bridlington by hitting a televised nine dart finish. It was the first time a player had hit a nine-darter in the 34 year history of the event and was the first on BBC television since Paul Lim's historic World Championship feat in 1990.
[edit] BDO World Championship Results
- 1999: First Round (lost to Roland Scholten 0-3)
- 2000: Did not qualify
- 2001: Winner (beat Ted Hankey 6-2)
- 2002: Second Round (lost to Colin Monk 0-3)
- 2003: Second Round (lost to Ritchie Davies 0-3)
- 2004: Quarter-Finals (lost to Raymond van Barneveld 1-5)
- 2005: Second Round (lost to Darryl Fitton 0-3)
- 2006: First Round (lost to Stephen Roberts 0-3
- 2007: Second Round (lost to Gary Robson 3-4
- 2008: First Round (lost to Robert Thornton 0-3
[edit] Trivia
Walton was the first player to have won either version of the World Professional Darts Championship wearing spectacles. Martin Adams became the second in 2007 and Mark Webster became the third in 2008.
Has played 140 times for Yorkshire and 35 times for England.
