Shaun Greatbatch

Shaun Greatbatch (born 13 July 1969) is a former English darts player. He lives in Suffolk and works in the construction industry. His nickname is 9 Dart, having been the first player to hit a perfect nine dart finish on live television, in the final of the 2002 Dutch Open against Steve Coote.

Darts career

Shaun's family is said by commentators to have a rich darting pedigree. His Welsh mother, Sandra, reached the semi-finals of the Women's World Championship in 2002 and was a Women's World Masters finalist in 1992 and 1997. Shaun lost in the first round of the BDO World Darts Championship in his first four occasions, 2001 against then reigning champion Ted Hankey, in 2003 against Colin Monk, 2004 against James Wade and 2005 against Mike Veitch. This dubious honour ended in the 2006 World Championship, where Shaun finally won in five sets against Niels de Ruiter. He went on to reach the semi-finals, losing to eventual champion Jelle Klaasen. The result means he did not need to qualify for the 2007 championship where he lost in the second round to Tony Eccles. In 2008 the first round jinx came back to haunt him as he was beaten by Martin Phillips.

Cancer diagnosis

On 14 June 2008 it was announced that Shaun was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer, and as a result of his treatment, he has lost all of his hair, weighs two stones lighter and is four inches shorter from 6'5" to 6'1".^[1]

Despite his illness, he still managed to play in the 2009 BDO World Darts Championship, having earned enough ranking points to claim one of the automatic spots for the events. He was soundly beaten in the first round 3-0 by John Walton, but his mere presence under such difficult circumstances showed great bravery and generated praise from fellow players and fans. He emotionally left the Lakeside stage to a guard of honour made up of the rest of the players in the tournament male and female, as well as officials, referees and former finalist Dave Whitcombe who had come to the event solely for Shaun.

World Championship Results

BDO

• 2001: 1st Round (lost to Ted Hankey 0-3)
• 2003: 1st Round (lost to Colin Monk 0-3)
• 2004: 1st Round (lost to James Wade 1-3)
• 2005: 1st Round (lost to Mike Veitch 2-3)
• 2006: Semi-Final (lost to Jelle Klaasen 3-6)
• 2007: 2nd Round (lost to Tony Eccles 0-4)
• 2008: 1st Round (lost to Martin Phillips 1-3)
• 2009: 1st Round (lost to John Walton 0-3)

Nine-dart finishes

Shaun Greatbatch hit the first ever live broadcast nine dart finish in the Final of the Dutch Open on 3 February 2002.

Shaun Greatbatch televised nine-dart finishes

Date	Opponent	Tournament	Method	Prize
3 February 2002	Steve Coote	Dutch Open	3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T15, D18

References

External links

• Shaun Greatbatch's profile and stats on Darts Database