John Bowles (born 26 May 1967) is an English professional

darts Darts is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, projectiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dartboard. Point ...

player who plays in

Professional Darts Corporation The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 when a group of leading players split from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form what was initially called the Wor ...

(PDC) events. He has twice come through Q School to play on the tour. He is best known for hitting a double "Robin Hood" on live television.

Career

Bowles made his television debut at the 2011 UK Open at the

Reebok Stadium The Toughsheet Community Stadium is a Association football, football stadium in Horwich near Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers F.C., Bolton Wanderers Football Club, with an all-seated capacity of 28, ...

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

as a pub qualifier. He defeated

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 1996 until 2017. He won one major title, the Las Vegas Desert Classic, in 2003, and twice he ...

Devon Petersen Devon Petersen (born 4 June 1986) is a South African professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He won his first PDC European Tour title at the 2020 German Darts Championship. He reached his first ma ...

Justin Pipe Justin Pipe (born 9 November 1971) is an English former professional darts player who competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He won six PDC titles. Playing career Pipe was a Boxing, boxer in his youth, and, as a staunch anti- ...

and

Steve Beaton Steve Beaton (born 5 April 1964) is an English former professional darts player who competes in World Seniors Darts (WSD) events. Nicknamed "the Bronzed Adonis", Beaton formerly formerly competed in British Darts Organisation (BDO), World Dart ...

before losing 4–9 to

Dave Chisnall David Chisnall (born 12 September 1980) is an English professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number twelve; he reached a peak ranking of world number five in ...

in the last 16 earning himself £4,000 in the process. That year was the furthest a pub qualifier has gone in the history of the

UK Open The Ladbrokes UK Open is a ranking major darts tournament held annually at the Butlins Minehead Resort by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) in England. The event is often referred to as the "FA Cup of darts" as it has an unseeded open dr ...

sharing the feat with

Andy Boulton Andrew Boulton (born 25 February 1973) is a Scottish professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Nicknamed "X-Factor", he has won four titles on the PDC Challenge Tour. Career BDO, UK Open appearances ...

. He won a two-year

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 ...

card in 2012 via Q School. His best results of 2012 were last 16 defeats in the second UK Open Qualifier and the sixth Players Championship, losing to

Vincent van der Voort Vincent van der Voort (born 18 December 1975) is a Dutch former professional darts player who played in British Darts Organisation (BDO) then Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is nicknamed the "Dutch Destroyer", although he used ...

5–6 on both occasions. He also lost in the last 96 of the

1–4 to Nigel Heydon. In November 2012, Bowles won six games to reach the final of the PDC World Championship qualifier, where he lost 1–5 to

Stuart Kellett Stuart Kellett (born 12 August 1981) is an English darts player. BDO career Kellett reached the last 16 of the 2007 Winmau World Masters, having beaten Andy Fordham among others on the way to the televised stages. He lost 1-3 in sets to the ...

. However, his run to the final earned him a spot in the preliminary round in what was his first appearance at the World Championship. He beat Spain's Carlos Rodríguez by four legs to two in the preliminary round and then came from 1–2 down in sets against

Jamie Caven Jamie Robert Caven (born 10 March 1976) is an English former professional darts player who competed in Professional Darts Corporation and British Darts Organisation (BDO) events. He won seven PDC Pro Tour titles, including two in the same we ...

to win 3–2. Bowles cited a 121 checkout to win the fourth set as the key to winning the match. He played fourth seed Gary Anderson in the second round and lost 3–4 in sets in an extremely close match. Bowles missed one dart at double 20 in three separate legs to reach the last 16. After the tournament Bowles was ranked world number 64. He reached his first PDC semi-final in the sixth 2013 UK Open Qualifier in April, having defeated the likes of Mervyn King (with an average of 108) and

Brendan Dolan Brendan Gabriel Dolan (born 2 August 1973) is a Northern Irish professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He was the first player to hit a nine-dart finish in a "double-to-start" event (where a pla ...

, but lost 3–6 to

Kim Huybrechts Kim Huybrechts (born 16 November 1985) is a Belgian professional darts player competing in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He was runner-up in the 2012 Players Championship Finals, losing to Phil Taylor 13–6. He also made the fin ...

. This result helped him finish 22nd on the UK Open Order of Merit to enter the competition at the third round stage, where he beat Paul Nicholson 9–5. He played Terry Temple in the next round and lost 7–9. He reached the last 16 once during the rest of the year, at the seventh Players Championship, in a run that included a 6–0 whitewash over

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, West London. He was educa ...

before he lost 6–4 to Peter Wright. Bowles missed out on reaching the 2014 World Championship by just £650 on the ProTour Order of Merit. Bowles' ranking increased by 14 places in 2013 to begin 2014 world number 50. He lost 5–1 to

Dirk van Duijvenbode Dirk van Duijvenbode (born 30 June 1992) is a Dutch professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is known for his energetic walk-on, combined with hardstyle music. More recently, he has become known f ...

in the second round of the

. Bowles had his best results in Players Championship events, losing in the last 16 of two events, before reaching the quarter-finals of the 19th tournament with wins over

, Mervyn King, Andy Smith and

. He faced

and was edged out 6–5. Bowles lost his prize money from the 2013 World Championship on the Order of Merit at the beginning of 2015, which was largely the reason which saw him drop to world number 61, still inside the top 64 who retain their tour cards. He qualified for the 2015 German Darts Championship and beat Chris Aubrey 6–2, before losing 6–3 to

in the second round. Bowles played in the

for the sixth successive year, but lost 5–2 to Steve Douglas in the first round. Bowles could only reach the last 16 of one tournament this year, which came at the 11th Players Championship and he was beaten 6–1 by Nigel Heydon. Bowles was ranked 73rd on the PDC Order of Merit after the 2016 World Championship, meaning he had to enter Q School to win his place back. He was successful at the first attempt and stated that he was looking to add more consistency to his game and hoped that the darts room he had built at his house would help him do this. He failed to qualify for the

2016 UK Open The 2016 Coral UK Open was a darts tournament staged by the Professional Darts Corporation. It was the fourteenth year of the tournament where, following numerous regional qualifying heats throughout Britain, players competing in a single eliminat ...

, but did make the German Darts Masters and saw off Fabian Herz 6–3 in the first round, before losing 6–4 to

Adrian Lewis Adrian Lewis (born 21 January 1985) is an English professional darts player who formerly competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Nicknamed "Jackpot", he is a two-time PDC World Champion, having won the title in 2011 and 2012. ...

. Bowles' best run of the year was at the 8th Players Championship event where he ousted

, Alan Norris and Berry van Peer in advancing to the last 16. He was beaten 6–1 by

. Bowles won through to the final round of the qualifier for the 2017 World Championship, but lost 5–0 to Kevin Simm. This was still enough to win a place in the preliminary round and he was beaten 2–0 by David Platt, losing both sets in deciding legs.

Personal life

Whilst playing amateur rugby league for local club Simms Cross, Bowles suffered a serious broken arm leaving him with metal screws holding his arm together. Bowles is a builder by trade.

World Championship results

PDC

* 2013: Second round (lost to Gary Anderson 3–4) * 2017: Preliminary round (lost to David Platt 0–2)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowles, John Living people English darts players Sportspeople from Widnes Professional Darts Corporation former tour card holders 1967 births