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John Part
03 Aug 2009
CANADIAN star John enjoyed a whirlwind start to his career after only taking up the sport seriously when he was bought a dartboard at Christmas in 1987.
Four years later he won his first title, at the Syracuse Open, and he also took victory in the Blueberry Hill Open and his home-town Motor City Open in 1993 on his way to earning the Canadian number one spot.
His performances earned him a debut in a televised event in the 1994 BDO World Championship, and he stunned the darting world as the unknown foreigner who romped through the field to win the tournament - dropping only one set in the event and whitewashing Bobby George in the final to become the first overseas World Champion.
Part was unable to repeat that feat in the following three years, losing out in round one on each occasion, before he decided to move onto the PDC circuit in 1997, after continuing to dominate the north American circuit.
His first major PDC final came at the PDC World Championship in January 2001, when Part took on Phil Taylor in the World Championship final, and went down 7-0.
Part suffered further defeats to Taylor in the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix the following year before finally getting the better of his nemesis in the 2003 World Championship final with a 7-6 victory in an epic contest to claim his second major title.
His success on the PDC circuit included wins in the Eastbourne Open, Vauxhall Opens at Great Yarmouth and back-to-back Irish Classics in 2002 and 2003, as well as continuing his dominance of the Canadian scene.
Part reached further major finals in 2003 at the Las Vegas Desert Classic, losing to Peter Manley after knocking out Taylor in the semis, and the World Grand Prix, where Taylor took victory for a second successive year.
Those displays, however, had helped Part to claim the number one spot in the world rankings and were followed by him reaching the final of the 2004 UK Open, defeating Taylor before losing out to Roland Scholten in the decider.
Part's duel with Taylor continued in 2005, with Taylor winning both meetings in the inaugural Premier League Darts, where the Canadian finished sixth but only one point off a play-off place.
Taylor edged a victory in the UK Open before Part, having lost in the semi-finals at the Desert Classic to Wayne Mardle, gained revenge with victory in their quarter-final contest at the World Matchplay.
He went on to reach the Blackpool final for a second time, but lost 18-12 to Colin Lloyd.
Having slipped down the world rankings, Part had to come through the qualifiers for the 2006 Desert Classic, but picked up another major title when he went on to win the event in Las Vegas, defeating Raymond van Barneveld in the final.
Part proved more consistent during 2007, reaching the semi-finals of the PDC US Open, Desert Classic and World Grand Prix and winning a Players Championship in Hayling Island.
Taylor ended his hopes in the inaugural Grand Slam of Darts, but Part's bid for further glory was to see him pick up a third World Championship title in January 2008.
He defeated qualifier Kirk Shepherd in the final at Alexandra Palace, becoming the first player to win a World Championship at three separate venues, having also overcome world number three James Wade in the quarter-finals and Kevin Painter in the semis.
Part also won a Players Championship in Gibraltar that month, and returned to Premier League Darts in 2008, only to miss out on the play-offs for a second time.
The year's majors, though, proved somewhat disappointing as the World Champion was defeated in the last 16 at the UK Open, first round in the Las Vegas Desert Classic and the second round at the World Matchplay.
An appearance in the South African Masters final, where Phil Taylor took victory, was followed by an encouraging quarter-final run at the World Grand Prix and a semi-final in the German Darts Championship.
But the defence of his World Championship title was to be short-lived, with Bill Davis condemning Part to a first round defeat at Alexandra Palace.
Another Premier League campaign followed, with Part unable to climb into the play-off places, while Colin Lloyd edged him out 9-8 in the UK Open's last 64.
The summer of 2009, though, saw a welcome return to form as Part reached the semi-finals at the Las Vegas Desert Classic and two quarter-finals on the PDC Pro Tour, although defeat to Vincent van der Voort ended his World Matchplay challenge in round one.
Click here to see the Part's Darts feature, where John Part provides tips and hints for aspiring darts players.
Major Titles
World Championships:
BDO: 1994
PDC: 2003, 2008
Las Vegas Desert Classic: 2006
PDC non-televised event wins since 2004
Golden Harvest North American Open 2004
Players Championship (Hayling Island) 2007
Players Championship (Gibraltar) 2008
Other Awards
Inducted to Oshawa Sports Hall of Fame
Inducted to National Darts Federation of Canada Hall of Fame
Four years later he won his first title, at the Syracuse Open, and he also took victory in the Blueberry Hill Open and his home-town Motor City Open in 1993 on his way to earning the Canadian number one spot.
His performances earned him a debut in a televised event in the 1994 BDO World Championship, and he stunned the darting world as the unknown foreigner who romped through the field to win the tournament - dropping only one set in the event and whitewashing Bobby George in the final to become the first overseas World Champion.
Part was unable to repeat that feat in the following three years, losing out in round one on each occasion, before he decided to move onto the PDC circuit in 1997, after continuing to dominate the north American circuit.
His first major PDC final came at the PDC World Championship in January 2001, when Part took on Phil Taylor in the World Championship final, and went down 7-0.
Part suffered further defeats to Taylor in the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix the following year before finally getting the better of his nemesis in the 2003 World Championship final with a 7-6 victory in an epic contest to claim his second major title.
His success on the PDC circuit included wins in the Eastbourne Open, Vauxhall Opens at Great Yarmouth and back-to-back Irish Classics in 2002 and 2003, as well as continuing his dominance of the Canadian scene.
Part reached further major finals in 2003 at the Las Vegas Desert Classic, losing to Peter Manley after knocking out Taylor in the semis, and the World Grand Prix, where Taylor took victory for a second successive year.
Those displays, however, had helped Part to claim the number one spot in the world rankings and were followed by him reaching the final of the 2004 UK Open, defeating Taylor before losing out to Roland Scholten in the decider.
Part's duel with Taylor continued in 2005, with Taylor winning both meetings in the inaugural Premier League Darts, where the Canadian finished sixth but only one point off a play-off place.
Taylor edged a victory in the UK Open before Part, having lost in the semi-finals at the Desert Classic to Wayne Mardle, gained revenge with victory in their quarter-final contest at the World Matchplay.
He went on to reach the Blackpool final for a second time, but lost 18-12 to Colin Lloyd.
Having slipped down the world rankings, Part had to come through the qualifiers for the 2006 Desert Classic, but picked up another major title when he went on to win the event in Las Vegas, defeating Raymond van Barneveld in the final.
Part proved more consistent during 2007, reaching the semi-finals of the PDC US Open, Desert Classic and World Grand Prix and winning a Players Championship in Hayling Island.
Taylor ended his hopes in the inaugural Grand Slam of Darts, but Part's bid for further glory was to see him pick up a third World Championship title in January 2008.
He defeated qualifier Kirk Shepherd in the final at Alexandra Palace, becoming the first player to win a World Championship at three separate venues, having also overcome world number three James Wade in the quarter-finals and Kevin Painter in the semis.
Part also won a Players Championship in Gibraltar that month, and returned to Premier League Darts in 2008, only to miss out on the play-offs for a second time.
The year's majors, though, proved somewhat disappointing as the World Champion was defeated in the last 16 at the UK Open, first round in the Las Vegas Desert Classic and the second round at the World Matchplay.
An appearance in the South African Masters final, where Phil Taylor took victory, was followed by an encouraging quarter-final run at the World Grand Prix and a semi-final in the German Darts Championship.
But the defence of his World Championship title was to be short-lived, with Bill Davis condemning Part to a first round defeat at Alexandra Palace.
Another Premier League campaign followed, with Part unable to climb into the play-off places, while Colin Lloyd edged him out 9-8 in the UK Open's last 64.
The summer of 2009, though, saw a welcome return to form as Part reached the semi-finals at the Las Vegas Desert Classic and two quarter-finals on the PDC Pro Tour, although defeat to Vincent van der Voort ended his World Matchplay challenge in round one.
Click here to see the Part's Darts feature, where John Part provides tips and hints for aspiring darts players.
| Name: | John Part |
| Nickname: | Darth Maple |
| Walk-On Music: | Star Wars Theme Tune |
| Date of Birth: | 29/6/1966 |
| Place of Birth: | Toronto, Canada |
| Current Home Town: | Oshawa, Canada |
| Darts Used: | 23g Unicorn John Part |
| TV Debut: | 1994 |
| Height: | 6' |
| Website: | Click here |
Major Titles
World Championships:
BDO: 1994
PDC: 2003, 2008
Las Vegas Desert Classic: 2006
PDC non-televised event wins since 2004
Golden Harvest North American Open 2004
Players Championship (Hayling Island) 2007
Players Championship (Gibraltar) 2008
Other Awards
Inducted to Oshawa Sports Hall of Fame
Inducted to National Darts Federation of Canada Hall of Fame
