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Simon Whitlock
26 Feb 2010
SIMON WHITLOCK made his initial breakthough in 2002 by winning the Oceanic Masters, defeating Brian Roach in the final and earning a place in the 2003 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship.
In that event, he announced himself as a contender on the international stage with a run to the last 16, defeating Paul Williams and Peter Manley before going down to Richie Burnett.
He returned to Australia and continued to impress on the domestic circuit, winning a second successive Australian Masters in 2003 and a number of further events the following year before making his World Masters debut.
Whitlock, sporting his distinctive pony-tail, made his debut in the Lakeside Championship in 2005 and again impressed, reaching the semi-final before losing to Martin Adams.
He also reached the last four at the 2005 International Darts League, and defeated Phil Taylor in repeating that finish in 2006, where he went down to Raymond van Barneveld.
Whitlock was a second round loser in the 2006 and 2007 World Championships, but reached the quarter-finals of the World Masters later in 2007 before enjoying a run to the final at Lakeside in early 2008, including Ted Hankey amongst his victims before losing 7-5 to Mark Webster.
That achievement also earned him a place in the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts, and he reached the quarter-finals in Wolverhampton, leading Phil Taylor before falling victim to the eventual champion.
After being a second round loser to Darryl Fitton in the 2009 World Championship, Whitlock subsequently joined the PDC-affiliated DPA circuit in Australia.
His domination of the Australian Grand Prix series of events ensured qualification for a return to the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship, while the summer also saw him qualify for the Las Vegas Desert Classic, although Terry Jenkins was too strong in round one.
Robert Thornton defeated Whitlock at the semi-final stage of the Australian Open Players Championship in August 2008, while he returned to the UK in November to compete again in the Grand Slam.
Whitlock qualified unbeaten from a group featuring Ted Hankey, Scott Waites and Wayne Mardle, and then defeated Steve Beaton before suffering another quarter-final loss, this time to Waites.
Making his return to the PDC's World Championship, Whitlock produced arguably the best darts of his career in a run to the final at Alexandra Palace.
Colin Osborne - who shares the "Wizard" nickname with Whitlock - was seen off in the first round, before he then defeated Wayne Jones, Terry Jenkins, James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld to reach the final, where he shared the early stages with Phil Taylor before eventually going down 7-3.
Whitlock's success earned him selection as a Sky Sports Wildcard for the 2010 Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts, and also jumped him into the top 20 of the PDC Order of Merit, while the £100,000 runner-up prize will enable him to move to the UK from his New South Wales home to compete full-time on the PDC circuit.
Player Information
Name: Simon Whitlock
Nickname: The Wizard
Date of Birth: March 3 1969
Home Town: Cessnock, NSW, Australia
Darts Used: 22g Red Dragon
In that event, he announced himself as a contender on the international stage with a run to the last 16, defeating Paul Williams and Peter Manley before going down to Richie Burnett.
He returned to Australia and continued to impress on the domestic circuit, winning a second successive Australian Masters in 2003 and a number of further events the following year before making his World Masters debut.
Whitlock, sporting his distinctive pony-tail, made his debut in the Lakeside Championship in 2005 and again impressed, reaching the semi-final before losing to Martin Adams.
He also reached the last four at the 2005 International Darts League, and defeated Phil Taylor in repeating that finish in 2006, where he went down to Raymond van Barneveld.
Whitlock was a second round loser in the 2006 and 2007 World Championships, but reached the quarter-finals of the World Masters later in 2007 before enjoying a run to the final at Lakeside in early 2008, including Ted Hankey amongst his victims before losing 7-5 to Mark Webster.
That achievement also earned him a place in the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts, and he reached the quarter-finals in Wolverhampton, leading Phil Taylor before falling victim to the eventual champion.
After being a second round loser to Darryl Fitton in the 2009 World Championship, Whitlock subsequently joined the PDC-affiliated DPA circuit in Australia.
His domination of the Australian Grand Prix series of events ensured qualification for a return to the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship, while the summer also saw him qualify for the Las Vegas Desert Classic, although Terry Jenkins was too strong in round one.
Robert Thornton defeated Whitlock at the semi-final stage of the Australian Open Players Championship in August 2008, while he returned to the UK in November to compete again in the Grand Slam.
Whitlock qualified unbeaten from a group featuring Ted Hankey, Scott Waites and Wayne Mardle, and then defeated Steve Beaton before suffering another quarter-final loss, this time to Waites.
Making his return to the PDC's World Championship, Whitlock produced arguably the best darts of his career in a run to the final at Alexandra Palace.
Colin Osborne - who shares the "Wizard" nickname with Whitlock - was seen off in the first round, before he then defeated Wayne Jones, Terry Jenkins, James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld to reach the final, where he shared the early stages with Phil Taylor before eventually going down 7-3.
Whitlock's success earned him selection as a Sky Sports Wildcard for the 2010 Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts, and also jumped him into the top 20 of the PDC Order of Merit, while the £100,000 runner-up prize will enable him to move to the UK from his New South Wales home to compete full-time on the PDC circuit.
Player Information
Name: Simon Whitlock
Nickname: The Wizard
Date of Birth: March 3 1969
Home Town: Cessnock, NSW, Australia
Darts Used: 22g Red Dragon
