Wayne Jones (born 24 April 1965) is an English professional

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 plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tournaments. He uses the nickname The Wanderer for his matches.

Career

Jones started his career in the

British Darts Organisation The British Darts Organisation (BDO) was a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft. Made up of 66 member counties, it oversaw professional, semi-professional and amateur darts competitions in Britain. The BDO was a founder ...

in the late 1980s and reached the final of the

British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

in 1990 (losing to Alan Warriner and the British Classic in 2000 (losing to Ritchie Davies) - but his best achievement was reaching the final of the prestigious

Winmau World Masters The World Masters is one of the longest-running and most prestigious of the BDO/WDF tournaments, which began in 1974. The tournament is sponsored by darts board manufacturer, Winmau. The World Masters was unusual in darts in that its sets are th ...

in 1999 when

Andy Fordham Andrew Fordham (2 February 1962 – 15 July 2021) was an English professional darts player, commonly known as The Viking. He won the 2004 BDO World Darts Championship and the 1999 Winmau World Masters. Darts career Fordham made his first ap ...

ended his hopes of a first major title. He didn't make it to the Lakeside Country Club for the BDO World Championship until 2001, losing to

in the second round. He made it to the quarter-finals of the 2002 event by beating Tony Eccles and

Ted Hankey Edward Hankey (born 20 February 1968) is an English former professional darts player and convicted sex offender. Nicknamed "The Count", he won the BDO World Darts Championship in 2000, was runner-up in 2001, and won the title for a second time ...

but lost 1–5 to

Martin Adams Martin Adams (born 4 June 1956) is an English professional darts player who plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) events. Nicknamed "Wolfie", he is a three-time BDO World Champion and three-time World Masters champion. He represents Cambridges ...

. He then switched to the PDC and made his debut at their version of the World Championship in 2004. In 2006 he produced his best ever World Championship performance by reaching the semi-finals before losing to

Peter Manley Peter David Manley (born 7 March 1962) is an English former professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events from July 1996 until 2017. He won one major title, the Las Vegas Desert Classic, in 2003, and twic ...

. In August 2010, he made his first PDC televised final appearance in the European Championships, losing to Phil Taylor. However this had guaranteed him a place in the Grand Slam of Darts in his home town of Wolverhampton in 2010 and 2011. At the 2010 tournament he produced quite a big upset in the quarter finals by beating Scotland's number one Gary Anderson, having trailed throughout the match, his never give up attitude earning him the last three legs to take victory 16–15 in a thriller. By reaching the semi finals of this competition where he lost to James Wade, it also guaranteed himself a place in the Grand Slam of darts for an extra year in 2012. He was beaten by James Wade in the semi finals. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

he reached the last 16 of the PDC World Championship for the first time since 2006. He comfortably beat Scott MacKenzie and Roland Scholten, before being whitewashed, 0–4, to defending champion

Adrian Lewis Adrian Lewis (born 21 January 1985) is an English professional darts player currently playing in the PDC. He is a two-time PDC World Darts Champion, winning in 2011 and 2012. He is nicknamed Jackpot, as he won a jackpot gambling in Las Vegas ...

. At the Dutch Darts Masters, Jones produced an upset by beating Phil Taylor 6–5 en route to the quarter-finals, before losing to Paul Nicholson in the semi-finals. After all 33 ProTour events of 2012 had been played, Jones was 32nd in the Order of Merit, gaining the final spot for the Players Championship Finals. He produced a big shock by whitewashing number one seed

Dave Chisnall Dave Chisnall (born 12 September 1980) is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He began his career in the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and was the runner-up in their World Champion ...

6–0 in the first round, before bowing out of the tournament 7–10 to Peter Wright. Jones lost in the first round of the 2013 World Championship to Dutchman

Jerry Hendriks Jerry Hendriks (born 25 October 1988) is a Dutch darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Career BDO Hendriks won the 2003 WDF World Youth Cup. During his time in the BDO he was a losing semi-finalist in the Fr ...

3–0, after being narrowly edged out of each set by two legs to three. He was whitewashed 5–0 by James Wade in the second round of 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 ...

. Jones reached his first semi-final on the Pro Tour in almost a year in September's eighth Players Championship but was beaten 6–1 by Ian White. He continued his form by reaching another semi later in the month at the German Darts Masters in a run which included wins over

Michael van Gerwen Michael van Gerwen (; born 25 April 1989) is a Dutch professional darts player. He is currently ranked number 3 in the world, having been number 1 from 2014 to 2021. He is also a three-time PDC World Champion, having won the title in 2014, 2 ...

and Gary Anderson, before Mervyn King beat him 6–4. His recent surge in form saw him qualify for the World Grand Prix, where he faced King again and this time beat him by two sets to nil. Jones won the first set of his next match against

but lost 3–1. Jones was involved in a deciding leg in the first round of the Players Championship Finals and left 36 only for his opponent

Brendan Dolan Brendan Gabriel Dolan (born 2 August 1973) is a Northern Irish professional darts player from County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is best known for becoming the first player to hit a ...

to take out 126 on the bull to defeat him 6–5. Jones lost 3–2 to

Kevin McDine Kevin McDine (born 23 May 1985 in Wallsend) is an English professional darts player currently residing in Wallsend. Career In November 2004 he reached the last 16 of the JR & Vauxhall Holiday Park 128 Plus Classic. He improved on that perfor ...

in the first round of the 2014 World Championship as he missed a total of 26 darts at doubles during the match. He dropped out the top 32 on the Order of Merit afterwards as he was ranked number 33. Jones suffered a surprise 5–3 defeat to Jason Hogg in the second round of the

. The only other major event Jones could qualify for during the year was the World Matchplay where he lost 10–3 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 first round. He failed to advance beyond the last 16 of any event during 2014. At the 2015 World Championship, Jones took a 2–1 set advantage over

Dean Winstanley Dean Winstanley (born 10 February 1981) is an English professional darts player. He first took up darts as a two-year-old, stopped playing at the age of 12, and then started playing again when he was 22. He turned professional in 2008 and won ...

but lost the final two sets by three legs to one in a 3–2 defeat. It was his third first round exit in a row at the event. Jones lost in the second round of the

5–2 to

Joey ten Berge Joey ten Berge (born 18 October 1985) is a Dutch former darts player. Career BDO Ten Berge won the 2001 WDF Europe Youth Cup beating Sweden's Markus Korhonen in the final. Six years later, he captured his first professional title by capturing ...

. Three last 16 exits were the furthest he progressed in any tournament in 2015. Jones qualified for the

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

, but lost each of his group fixtures against Michael Smith,

and

. Jones had played in every World Championship since 2005, but failed to qualify for the 2016 edition as he had dropped outside the last 32 on the Order of Merit, failed to win enough money on the Pro Tour and lost in the quarter-finals of the qualifier. A fifth successive second round exit in the

occurred after he lost 6–5 to

Andy Jenkins Andrew Jenkins (born 11 March 1971) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He was nicknamed "Rocky" due to his rough personality. Jenkins has reached high rankings in the PDC, but ha ...

. His first quarter-final since 2013 came at the seventh Players Championship courtesy of defeating Ross Smith 6–1,

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 ...

6–3,

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 ...

6–0 and Ian White 6–1. However, Jones lost 6–2 to

. Jones dropped out of the top 64 during the year and played in Q School to try and earn a new Tour Card. He reached the last 32 on the third day, but over the course of event he did not win enough points and will not be able to play in the full schedule of PDC events in 2017. However, Jones won back his tour card in 2018 after topping the Challenge Tour Order of Merit in 2017, which gave him another two years on the full PDC Circuit. Jones qualified for the 2019 PDC World Darts Championship, his first world championship in four years, as a qualifier on the ProTour Order of Merit. He drew the South-African born Devon Petersen in the first round. Jones went 2-0 down in sets but managed to level the match at 2-2, however Jones then missed six match darts in a last leg decider and lost the match 3–2 in sets. Wayne Jones lost his Tour Card at the end of 2021 & Didn't manage to win it back at 2022 PDC Q School. As of this Wayne Jones was eligible to take part in the World Senior Events, He entered the qualifiers for the

2022 World Seniors Darts Masters The 2022 World Seniors Darts Masters (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2022 JENNINGSbet World Seniors Darts Masters) was the first World Seniors Darts Masters organised by the World Seniors Darts Tour and was held at the Lakeside Leisure Comple ...

and qualified on the 2nd day beating Robert Rickwood 6-4, When at Lakeside he beat Roland Scholten in the preliminary round 4-1 before losing in the Last 16 to

4-2

World Championship performances

BDO

* 2001: Second round (lost to

0–3) * 2002: Quarter-finals (lost to

1–5)

PDC

* 2005: Second round (lost to

Kevin Painter Kevin Painter (born 12 July 1967) is an English retired darts player, known as "The Artist". He is arguably most famous for finishing as the runner-up to Phil Taylor in the 2004 PDC World Championship final, now widely credited as one of the ...

2–4) * 2006: Semi-finals (lost to

0–6) * 2007: Second round (lost to

3–4) * 2008: First round (lost to Tony Eccles 0–3) * 2009: First round (lost to Robert Thornton 1–3) * 2010: Second round (lost to

0–4) * 2011: Second round (lost to

2–4) * 2012: Third round (lost to

0–4) * 2013: First round (lost to

0–3) * 2014: First round (lost to

2–3) * 2015: First round (lost to

2–3) * 2019: First round (lost to Devon Petersen 2–3) * 2021: Second round (lost to Joe Cullen 0–3)

Career finals

Major finals: 2 (2 runners-up)

Career statistics

(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Prel.) Preliminary round; (DNQ) Did not qualify; (DNP) Did not participate; (NH) Not held

Performance timeline

References

External links

PDPA profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Wayne English darts players 1965 births Living people Sportspeople from Wolverhampton Professional Darts Corporation former tour card holders British Darts Organisation players