Martin Atkins (darts player)
| Martin Atkins | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Nickname | The Assassin |
| Born |
24 December 1965 England |
| Home town |
Rawdon England |
| Darts information | |
| Playing darts since | 1983 |
| Darts | 24g Red Dragon Martin Atkins 95% Tungsten |
| Laterality | Right-handed |
| Walk-on music | Paranoid by Black Sabbath |
| Organisation (see split in darts) | |
| BDO | 2002- |
| Current world ranking | (BDO) 37 |
| BDO majors - best performances | |
| World Ch'ship | Quarter Final: 2012 |
| World Masters | Semi Final: 2007 |
| World Darts Trophy | Quarter Final: 2005 |
| Int. Darts League | Quarter Final: 2004, 2005 |
| Zuiderduin Masters | Quarter Final: 2009 |
| Other tournament wins | |
| Tournament | Years |
| British Open England Classic Warm Up England GP of Darts Bolton England Matchplay Finnish Open Northern Ireland Open |
2012 2010 2012 2012 2006 2009 |
Martin Atkins (born 24 December 1965) 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. He has also beaten former world champion Raymond van Barneveld three times on the world stage.
Career
Atkins has been a Yorkshire county player since 1996 and has represented the England national side in many occasions including 3 times in the Six Nations, winning all three, and once in the World Cup in 2011, contributing to England's best performance since 1995. He reached the last 16 of the BDO World Professional Darts Championship in both 2006 and 2007. In 2006 he led Martin Adams 3-0 and had a match dart in the fifth leg of the fifth set, but ultimately lost 4-3. The following year, he was beaten by eventual finalist Phill Nixon.
He was seeded number 10 for the 2008 BDO World Darts Championship. However, he lost in the first round to Andy Boulton. The following year, unseeded, Atkins won his first round match 3-2 against Joey ten Berge before losing to Gary Robson 4-1.
Seeded number 10 for the 2010 BDO World Darts Championship, Atkins suffered another first round exit after he was defeated by Lakeside debutant Paul Carter 3-1. In 2011, Atkins was drawn against third seed and eventual runner-up Dean Winstanley in the first round, and lost 3-2 having missed two match darts in the fourth set.
Atkins finally progressed past the second-round stage of the World Championship when, in 2012, he defeated 7th seed John Walton and 10th seed Willy van de Wiel en route to a quarter-final match against Ted Hankey where he lost 5-1. In 2012, Atkins won the biggest title of his career so far by winning the BDO British Open, beating Robbie Green in the final. However, his season ended in disappointment when he lost in the first round of the World Championship to Jason Cullen.
Atkins was unseeded for the 2014 World Championship and faced eighth seed Jeffrey de Graaf in the first round. Despite competing with an elbow injury sustained on New Year's Day, and despite de Graaf throwing for two of the sets, Atkins won the match 3-0, finishing with a 135 checkout on the bullseye. However, Atkins had to withdraw during his second round match against Rick Hofstra while trailing 2-0 in sets.
World Championship results
BDO
- 2005: 1st Round (lost to Robert Thornton 0-3)
- 2006: 2nd Round (lost to Martin Adams 3-4)
- 2007: 2nd Round (lost to Phil Nixon 1-4)
- 2008: 1st Round (lost to Andy Boulton 2-3)
- 2009: 2nd Round (lost to Gary Robson 1-4)
- 2010: 1st Round (lost to Paul Carter 1-3)
- 2011: 1st Round (lost to Dean Winstanley 2-3)
- 2012: Quarter Final (lost to Ted Hankey 1-5)
- 2013: 1st Round (lost to Jason Cullen 1-3)
- 2014: 2nd Round (withdrew while trailing Rick Hofstra 0-2)