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Murder On The Darts Board

Phil The Power Taylor, Eric The Crafty Cockney Bristow, and Andy The Viking Fordham — to this great hall of fame, add another name: Justin Irwin — or, to give him his darts moniker: The Bachelor of Darts. Justin Irwin used to have another moniker — that of the Director of England at the children's charity, ChildLine. However, in January 2005, he suddenly resigned, giving up his well-paid job in order to...play darts. His aim was simple: to qualify for the World Darts Championship in just one year. As a child, Justin had wanted to become a sports star. But as the sportsmen got younger, Justin realised in his mid-thirties he was old enough to be Wayne Rooney's father. Professional footballer was out the window. However, he remembered that in 1987 he once hit treble 20 — darts nirvana! Why couldn't he do that again, just on a more regular basis? And so began his journey. From playing with friends, he graduated to pub teams, moving on to Open Tournaments in Essex and Hampshire. From backroom bars to the glamour of the Novotel in Southampton, he learnt the difference between 'Double-in' and 'Double-Trouble'. Justin immersed himself completely in the darts community, getting to know the players, their wives and entourages, the strange rules and language, as well as earning himself the sobriquet of The Bachelor of Darts (so christened because he had that most unusual of attributes for a darts player — his Degree...). Until finally, in December 2005, he found himself playing to qualify for the Darts World Championship.

  • Format
  • paperback
  • Pages
  • 293
  • Language
  • english
  • ISBN
  • 9781906032043
  • Release date
  • 2008