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John Walton (darts player)

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John Walton
Personal information
Full nameJohn Michael Walton
Nickname"John Boy"
Born (1961-11-10) 10 November 1961 (age 63)
Bradford, Yorkshire, England
Home townSheffield, Yorkshire, England
Darts information
Playing darts since1970/71
Darts18g (handmade)
LateralityRight-handed
Walk-on music"Cotton Eye Joe" by Rednex preceded opening from "Layla" by Derek and the Dominos
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO1993–2014, 2015–2016, 2018–2019
PDC2015
WDF2020–
WDF major events – best performances
World Ch'shipWinner(1): 2001
World MastersWinner(1) 2000
World TrophyQuarter-final: 2005
Int. Darts LeagueLast 16: 2005
Finder MastersQuarter-final: 2004
WSDT major events – best performances
World Ch'shipQuarter-final: 2022
Other tournament wins
Belgium Open 2001
British Classic 2001
British Open 2001
British Pentathlon 2002, 2006, 2010
England Masters 2002, 2010, 2011
Flanders Open 2009
IDPA Portland Masters 2001
Scottish Open 2001
Six Nations Cup 2010
WDF Europe Cup Pairs 2008
WDF Europe Cup Team 2004
WDF World Cup Pairs 2001
WDF World Cup Team 1999, 2001, 2007
Welsh Open 2000
Malta Open 2014

John Michael Walton (born 10 November 1961)[1] is an English professional darts player currently playing in World Darts Federation (WDF) events. He is best known for winning the 2001 BDO World Darts Championship. He adopted the nickname John Boy and used the song "Cotton Eye Joe" by Rednex as his walk-on theme.

BDO career

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1993–2000: Early career

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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.

2001–05: World title

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Walton opened his 2001 campaign with a 3–1 first round win over Ritchie 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 was a 5–0 whitewash over Marko Pusa, in which Walton won 14 consecutive legs. Walton then beat Wayne Mardle 5–3 in the semi-final and Ted Hankey 6–2 in the final to become World Champion. This also made him one of only a few players to have held both the Winmau World Masters and World Championship simultaneously. He joined Eric Bristow, Phil Taylor, Richie Burnett and Bob Anderson as the fourth player to win them in the same season. Martin Adams and Stephen Bunting have since joined this elite group of players.

Walton's defence of his Lakeside title in 2002 ended with a second round loss to Colin Monk and he went out in the second round to Davies in 2003. He reached 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, and in 2008 he lost in the first round to the then-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.

2007–14

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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 televised stages in the 34-year history of the event (Chris Mason achieved one in the preliminary round a few years previously), and was the first on BBC television since Paul Lim's historic World Championship feat in 1990. Walton's 2008 campaign was hampered by a shoulder injury but despite sliding down the world rankings, he entered the 2009 BDO World Championship as the number 15 seed. He won through an emotional first-round game against his friend Shaun Greatbatch who was battling bone marrow cancer. He then caused a major shock by beating defending champion Mark Webster 4–0 in the second round. He then played Hankey in the quarter-final, a repeat of the 2001 Embassy Final which Walton won. Hankey avenged the earlier loss with a 5–1 win, and went on to win the championship. On 24 May 2009, Walton hit another 9 darter at the Antwerp Open in the final against Drik Beni. The 9 darter came in the third leg and he went on to win the game 4–0, only to go out the next round to Joey ten Berge in the last 32. In the 2010 Six Nations Cup tournament held in Sligo. Walton representing England, hit his third 9 darter against Dave Smith-Hayes of Wales. This rare achievement in a single leg format of the team event has, as yet, not been equalled. Walton was unseeded for the 2011 World Championship, but beat 16th seed Dave Prins 3–1 in the first round before being defeated by Martin Adams 4–3 in a sudden death leg. The match has already been touted as one of the best in the tournament's history. In 2011 season, he retained the English Masters beating Ross Montgomery in the final. Walton failed to qualify for the 2014 BDO World Darts Championship, the first time since 2000 he did not appear at the event.

2015–18

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Walton lost the Malta Open 2015 final in November 2015 against Ümit Uygunsözlü. Walton qualified for the 2016 BDO World Championship, but did not enter many events after 2016. He did qualify for the TV stages of the 2018 World Masters, beating Martin Adams and Andy Hamilton in the floor stages before losing 3-1 to Glen Durrant in the last-32.

World Seniors Darts Championship

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Walton made a return to the TV Screens by playing in the Inaugural World Seniors Darts Championship, He beat fellow World Champions Les Wallace 3-2 and John Part 3-1 In the opening two rounds, before losing in the quarter final to Terry Jenkins 3-1.

Walton also competed in the Modus Super Series and Live League in 2022.

PDC career

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In January 2015, Walton joined the rival PDC by entering the PDC Qualifying School in an attempt to win a tour card. He was unsuccessful in doing so having failed to finish in the top 18 of the Q School Order of Merit.

World Championship results

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BDO

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WSDT

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Career finals

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BDO major finals: 2 (2 titles)

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Legend
World Championship (1–0)
Winmau World Masters (1–0)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[N 1]
Winner 1. 2000 Winmau World Masters England Mervyn King 3–2 (s)
Winner 2. 2001 World Championship England Ted Hankey 6–2 (s)
  1. ^ (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets.

Performance timeline

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Tournament 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
BDO World Championship DNQ 1R DNQ W 2R 2R QF 2R 1R 2R 1R QF 1R 2R 1R 1R DNQ 1R DNQ
International Darts League Not held RR RR 2R RR DNP Not held
World Darts Trophy Not held 2R 2R 1R QF 2R 1R Not held
Winmau World Masters DNQ 3R DNQ 2R 4R W 4R 2R QF 4R QF QF SF 5R 3R 5R 6R 5R 2R 3R 2R PR DNQ 5R
Zuiderduin Masters Not held DNQ RR RR QF RR NH RR DNQ RR RR RR RR DNQ
Performance Table Legend
DNP Did not play at the event DNQ Did not qualify for the event NYF Not yet founded #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)
QF lost in the quarter-finals SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament

Nine-dart finishes

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John Walton televised nine-dart finishes
Date Opponent Tournament Method Prize
17 November 2007 Wales Martin Phillips World Masters 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 £2,000

References

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  1. ^ "Dart Profis – John Walton – "John Boy"". Dartn.de (in German). Retrieved 15 October 2020.
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