Mareno Michels (born 23 October 1984) is a Dutch

darts Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small sharp-pointed missiles known as darts at a round target known as a dartboard. Points can be scored by hitting specific marked areas of the bo ...

player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.

Career

BDO

Michels made three quarter final appearances in the BDO Open events in 2005, doing so in the Welsh Open, English Open and the German Open. He followed it up with another quarter final appearance, this time at the

World Darts Trophy The Bullit World Darts Trophy was a professional darts tournament run by the British Darts Organisation and the World Darts Federation. Held each September from 2002 to 2007, it took place at the De Vechtsebanen in Utrecht, Netherlands. The tou ...

, one of the WDF majors. He defeated Tony Martin and

Simon Whitlock Simon Whitlock (born 3 March 1969) is an Australian professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tournaments, having also played in the British Darts Organisation (BDO) between 2004 and 2009. He uses the nickname ...

before losing to Mervyn King. He then made the final of the Swedish Open, losing to

Tony Eccles Tony Eccles (born 8 January 1970) is an English former professional darts player. Nicknamed The Viper, he played in both the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He reached the quarter-finals of the BD ...

. Michels made his World Championship debut in 2006 but lost in the first round to

Paul Hogan Paul Hogan (born 8 October 1939) is an Australian actor and comedian. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance as ...

. It was a disappointing year for Michels, as he also suffered early exits in the World Darts Trophy and the

International Darts League The Topic International Darts League was a darts tournament held at the Triavium in Nijmegen, Netherlands. Raymond van Barneveld dominated the tournament, held in his home country, winning it on three of the five occasions it was held. Gary Anders ...

. Despite a semi-final showing in the Dortmund Open, 2007 was also a disappointment. As well as early exits in open tournaments, Michels played in three

PDC Pro Tour The PDC Pro Tour is a series of non-televised darts tournaments organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). They comprise Professional Dart Players Association (PDPA) Players Championships and European Tour events. Only four players ...

events in the Netherlands and Belgium, losing in the first round in all three tournaments. 2008 was an improvement for the Dutchman, winning his maiden open tournament with the unranked West Brabent Open. He followed it up with a second tournament win with the Hungarian Open, beating local favourite Nándor Bezzeg in the final. On 27 September 2008 Michels added the 2008 WDF French Open to his growing list of titles defeating Welshman Robert Hughes in the final five legs to four. Despite his two ranking tournament wins, Michels did not earn enough points to earn a place in the

2009 BDO World Darts Championship The 2009 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was the 32nd World Championship organised by the British Darts Organisation. Mark Webster was the defending men's champion having won the title for the first time in the 2008 final against ...

and was forced to qualify for the event, but lost in the second round to Belgium's

Kim Huybrechts Kim Huybrechts (born 16 November 1985) is a Belgian professional darts player currently playing in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He made the final of a major TV event, the 2012 Players Championship Finals, losing to Phil Taylor 1 ...

. Michels has been able to maintain his form in 2009, reaching the semi-finals in the Vonderke Masters, German Gold Cup, Dortmund Open and the Swiss Open as well as winning the Open Holland. This form helped Michels qualify for the

2010 BDO World Darts Championship The 2010 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was the 33rd World Championship organised by the British Darts Organisation, and the 25th staging at the Lakeside Country Club at Frimley Green. Ted Hankey was the defending men's champi ...

. He was defeated 3–1 in the first round by John Henderson.

PDC

Michels switched to the PDC circuit shortly afterwards, taking part in his first Players Championship in Gibraltar. His PDC career started badly as he earned no money in his first eight events before finally winning £200 for a last 64 place in a Players Championship in Wigan. He failed to qualify for the 2010 UK Open, earning just £200 in eight qualifying events. 2011 proved to be a better year for Michels. He qualified for the

UK Open The Cazoo UK Open is a ranking major darts tournament held annually at the Butlins Minehead Resort by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) in England. Often referred to as the "FA Cup of darts", the UK Open replicates the abolition of seedin ...

where he lost in the first round to

Antonio Alcinas Antonio Alcinas Estelrich (born 7 April 1979) is a Spanish darts player playing in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Career Alcinas started competing in PDC Europe events in 2010. After reaching the quarter-finals of a Players Champ ...

and reached the last 16 of a Players Championship event in Canada. In January 2012, he entered the PDC 'Q School' qualifying tournament. He didn't qualify directly through any of the four events, but did finish joint 7th on the Order of Merit, comfortably inside the top 24 who received a Tour Card. In April, Michels earned a place in the Austrian Darts Open by defeating

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and Tobias Hontsch in the European qualifier. He played

in the first round and lost 6–4. He also qualified for the second European Tour event, the

German Darts Championship The German Darts Championship is a Professional Darts Corporation event that takes place in Germany as part of the PDC European Tour. Since 2013, it has been held at Halle 39 in Hildesheim, after previously being held in Berlin Berlin ( , ) ...

courtesy of wins over Ante Vranjeka and

Gino Vos Gino Vos (born 6 July 1990) is a Dutch professional darts player. Career Vos first came to prominence as an 18-year-old in the 2008 Czech Open, getting to the final before losing to Dave Prins 6–4. His next major success came in the 2009 Wo ...

. Michels played compatriot Raymond van Barneveld in the first round of the event in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and was beaten 6–1. Michels failed to qualify for the

2013 UK Open The 2013 Speedy Services UK Open was a darts tournament staged by the Professional Darts Corporation. It was the eleventh year of the UK Open tournament where, following numerous regional qualifying heats throughout Britain, players competed in a ...

as he finished 142nd on the Order of Merit, outside of the top 96 who claimed their places. He qualified for the European Darts Open, but lost 6–3 to

Wes Newton Wesley Newton (born 27 August 1977) is an English professional darts player. Darts career Newton's first PDC major was the 2003 UK Open where he lost 8–6 to Mark Thomson in the last 32. He was beaten in the semi-finals of the Eastbourne Ope ...

in the first round. In September, Michels qualified for the German Darts Masters and beat Andy Smith 6–2 in the opening round, before coming back from 4–2 down to see off top 20 player

. Michels kept his run going with a 6–1 victory over compatriot

Vincent van der Voort Vincent van der Voort (born 18 December 1975) is a Dutch professional darts player on the PDC circuit. As of the 2012 PDC World Darts Championship, his nickname is the "Dutch Destroyer", although he used to go by "Grease Lightning". He is bes ...

to reach the quarter-finals of a PDC event for the first time. However, the pressure of the occasion seemed to affect Michels as he averaged just 79.03 in a 6–0 defeat against Wayne Jones. His run in the event earned him £3,000 which was the main reason in Michels finishing the year ninth on the European Order of Merit which has seen him qualify for his first PDC World Championship by claiming the second of four spots which were available to non-qualified players. Michels played

John Part John Part (born June 29, 1966) is a Canadian former professional darts player and current commentator. Nicknamed Darth Maple, he is a three-times World Champion, having won the 1994 BDO World Darts Championship on his world championship debut, a ...

in the first round and lost the first two sets and was 2–0 down in legs in the third. However, Michels rallied to win the set and the next by taking out 120 with treble 20, double 20, double 10 to level the game, but couldn't win a leg in the decider to bow out of the tournament 3–2. Michels was 75th on the Order of Merit after the World Championship, outside of the top 64 who had full playing rights on the PDC. He entered Q School in an attempt to earn his place and lost in the final round 5–3 to Steve West on the fourth day. However, this result saw him finish inside the top 24 on the Q School Order of Merit to win a two-year tour card. Michels won three matches at the 10th Players Championship of the year, before losing 6–2 to

Andy Hamilton Andrew Neil Hamilton (born 28 May 1954) is a British comedian, game show panellist, television director, comedy screenwriter, radio dramatist, novelist and actor. Early life and education Hamilton was born in Fulham, southwest London. He ...

in the last 16. This was very much Michels stand out display of 2014 as he could not get past the last 64 in any other event. He qualified for the

2015 German Darts Championship The 2015 German Darts Championship was the first of nine PDC European Tour events on the 2015 PDC Pro Tour. The tournament took place at Halle 39, Hildesheim, Germany, between 13–15 February 2015. It featured a field of 48 players and £115,000 i ...

, but missed eight match darts during a 6–5 first round defeat to

Ronny Huybrechts Ronny Huybrechts (born 20 July 1965) is a former Belgian professional darts player. Career Ronny and his brother Kim Huybrechts became the first brothers to play in the World Cup of Darts in February 2013 and advanced from Group H courtesy of a ...

. In 2016 he played in all of the

Challenge Tour The Challenge Tour is the second-tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and, as with on the main European Tour and the European Senior Tour, some of the events are played outside Europe. History T ...

events and reached the quarter-finals of the third one, where he lost 5–2 to Ryan Searle.

World Championship results

BDO

* 2006: First round (lost to

0–3) * 2010: First round (lost to John Henderson 1–3)

PDC

* 2014: First round (lost to

2–3)

External links

Mareno Michels' Profile and Stats on Darts Database

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michels, Mareno 1984 births Living people Dutch darts players Sportspeople from Dordrecht British Darts Organisation players Professional Darts Corporation former tour card holders