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Alan Tabern
03 Aug 2009
ALAN only joined the PDC circuit in 2005 after coming through the pub qualifiers to win a place in the UK Open, reaching the second round.
A Lancashire County player at the time, he went on to defeat Peter Evison in the PDPA qualifiers for the World Championship later in the year, making his debut at the Circus Tavern with a shock win over Alex Roy, although he lost out to Mark Dudbridge in round two.
The left-hander achieved his first competitive nine-darter in the JR & Vauxhall 128-plus Classic, and then won his first ranked event at the UK Open North-West Regional Final.
Tabern then starred in the UK Open, reaching the semi-finals before losing to Barrie Bates, and also made his World Matchplay debut in the summer of 2006, going out to Dennis Priestley in round one.
He came through the knockout qualifiers to again win a World Championship spot at the end of the year, and overcame Alan Warriner-Little, Denis Ovens and Dave Askew to reach the last eight, where he went down 5-0 to Raymond van Barneveld.
The rest of 2007 saw Tabern continue his emergence, with five semi-finals on the circuit pushing him up to 17th in the world alongside qualification for the Las Vegas Desert Classic - losing in round two to Gary Mawson - and World Matchplay, where Terry Jenkins defeated him.
The 2008 World Championship marked the start of a superb year of form as Tabern came of age on the televised stage, taking victories against Per Laursen and Andy Jenkins before losing 4-3 to Phil Taylor.
He won a Players Championship in Wigan in March before then reaching three successive quarter-finals in the summer's major tournaments, at the UK Open, Desert Classic - where he overcame defending champion Raymond van Barneveld - and World Matchplay.
Further Players Championship wins in Atlanta and Newport followed, and he won a Championship League Group before ending the Winners Group as a semi-finalist.
Tabern then made the last eight in the European Championship and also picked up a spot in the Grand Slam of Darts, but missed out in the group phase with defeat to Andy Hamilton in the historic nine-dart shoot-out.
The 2009 World Championship was less successful for the left-hander, with Co Stompe ending his hopes in round two, before he suffered a last 16 exit in the Players Championship finals to Robert Thornton.
Tabern reached two PDC Pro Tour finals in the first half of 2009, and went on to be a quarter-finalist again in the UK Open, eventually losing out to Kevin Painter after a memorable deciding leg win over Wes Newton was capped by a 156 checkout.
The Las Vegas Desert Classic saw Newton gain revenge with a first round win, and the 2009 World Matchplay ended with a narrow 16-14 loss to Ronnie Baxter in a tie break.
PDC non-televised titles:
UK Open North-West Regional Final 2006
Players Championship (Wigan) 2008
Peachtree Open Players Championship (2008)
Players Championship (Wales) 2008
A Lancashire County player at the time, he went on to defeat Peter Evison in the PDPA qualifiers for the World Championship later in the year, making his debut at the Circus Tavern with a shock win over Alex Roy, although he lost out to Mark Dudbridge in round two.
The left-hander achieved his first competitive nine-darter in the JR & Vauxhall 128-plus Classic, and then won his first ranked event at the UK Open North-West Regional Final.
Tabern then starred in the UK Open, reaching the semi-finals before losing to Barrie Bates, and also made his World Matchplay debut in the summer of 2006, going out to Dennis Priestley in round one.
He came through the knockout qualifiers to again win a World Championship spot at the end of the year, and overcame Alan Warriner-Little, Denis Ovens and Dave Askew to reach the last eight, where he went down 5-0 to Raymond van Barneveld.
The rest of 2007 saw Tabern continue his emergence, with five semi-finals on the circuit pushing him up to 17th in the world alongside qualification for the Las Vegas Desert Classic - losing in round two to Gary Mawson - and World Matchplay, where Terry Jenkins defeated him.
The 2008 World Championship marked the start of a superb year of form as Tabern came of age on the televised stage, taking victories against Per Laursen and Andy Jenkins before losing 4-3 to Phil Taylor.
He won a Players Championship in Wigan in March before then reaching three successive quarter-finals in the summer's major tournaments, at the UK Open, Desert Classic - where he overcame defending champion Raymond van Barneveld - and World Matchplay.
Further Players Championship wins in Atlanta and Newport followed, and he won a Championship League Group before ending the Winners Group as a semi-finalist.
Tabern then made the last eight in the European Championship and also picked up a spot in the Grand Slam of Darts, but missed out in the group phase with defeat to Andy Hamilton in the historic nine-dart shoot-out.
The 2009 World Championship was less successful for the left-hander, with Co Stompe ending his hopes in round two, before he suffered a last 16 exit in the Players Championship finals to Robert Thornton.
Tabern reached two PDC Pro Tour finals in the first half of 2009, and went on to be a quarter-finalist again in the UK Open, eventually losing out to Kevin Painter after a memorable deciding leg win over Wes Newton was capped by a 156 checkout.
The Las Vegas Desert Classic saw Newton gain revenge with a first round win, and the 2009 World Matchplay ended with a narrow 16-14 loss to Ronnie Baxter in a tie break.
| Name: | Alan Tabern |
| Nickname: | The Saint |
| Date of Birth: | 23/9/1966 |
| Place of Birth: | St Helens |
| Current Home Town: | St Helens |
| Darts Used: | 20g Red Dragon |
| TV Debut: | 2005 |
| Height: | 5' 10" |
PDC non-televised titles:
UK Open North-West Regional Final 2006
Players Championship (Wigan) 2008
Peachtree Open Players Championship (2008)
Players Championship (Wales) 2008
