John Lowe (born 21 July 1945) is an English former 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. Along with
Eric Bristow
Eric John Bristow (25 April 1957 – 5 April 2018), nicknamed "the Crafty Cockney", was an English professional darts player and one of the most recognisable and successful players of the 1980s. He was ranked World No. 1 by the World Darts Fed ...
and
Jocky Wilson
John Thomas "Jocky" Wilson (22 March 1950 – 24 March 2012) was a Scottish professional darts player. After turning professional in 1979, he quickly rose to the top of the game, winning the World Professional Darts Championship in 1982, ...
, he was known for dominating darts during the 1980s. Lowe was
world champion on three occasions, in 1979, 1987 and 1993. He was also a two-time winner of the
Winmau World Masters
The World Masters is a darts tournament, initially organised by the British Darts Organisation from 1974 and later by the World Darts Federation. It is one of the longest-running and most prestigious of the BDO/WDF tournaments. The tournament w ...
and a two-time
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
singles champion. In total, Lowe won 15 BDO and WDF majors. He held the
World No. 1 ranking on four occasions. In October 1984, he became the first player to hit a televised
nine-dart finish
A nine-dart finish, also known as a nine-darter, is a perfect leg or single game in the sport of darts. The object of the game is to score a set number of points, most commonly 501; in order to win, a player must reach the target total exactly a ...
.
Lowe is one of only six players to have won the World Championship three or more times, and was the first person to win it in three separate decades; along with
Phil Taylor, he remains one of only two players to achieve this. Amidst growing dissatisfaction with the
British Darts Organisation
The British Darts Organisation (BDO) was a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft, and dissolved in 2020 under the stewardship of Des Jacklin. Made up of 66 member counties, it oversaw professional, semi-professional and ...
, Lowe was also one of 16 players who in 1993
broke away to form their own governing body, the
World Darts Council (now known as the
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 ...
).
Career
Lowe won the
World Championship
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
title in three different decades – 1979, 1987 and 1993.
He met
Eric Bristow
Eric John Bristow (25 April 1957 – 5 April 2018), nicknamed "the Crafty Cockney", was an English professional darts player and one of the most recognisable and successful players of the 1980s. He was ranked World No. 1 by the World Darts Fed ...
six times in the World Championship in various semi-finals and finals,
and it was not until his fourth attempt (in the 1987 final) that he managed to overcome his rival. His record against Bristow in majors was three wins and six defeats.
Lowe achieved the first-ever televised
nine-dart finish
A nine-dart finish, also known as a nine-darter, is a perfect leg or single game in the sport of darts. The object of the game is to score a set number of points, most commonly 501; in order to win, a player must reach the target total exactly a ...
on 13 October 1984,
during the World Matchplay tournament against
Keith Deller
Keith Deller (born 24 December 1959) is an English former professional darts player best known for winning the 1983 BDO World Darts Championship. He also won the Unipart British Professional Championship in 1987.
He was the first qualifier t ...
,
although it was not live and instead shown on a highlights programme on
ITV. It was achieved via a rare third-visit combination of treble 17, treble 18 and double 18.
For the nine-dart finish, Lowe received £102,000,
he went on to win the tournament, for which he received £12,000, and earned an additional £1,000 for the tournament's highest outshot (161).
This remained the highest amount of money earned by a darts player at a single tournament for almost two decades.
In addition to his three world titles, Lowe has also won two
World Masters
The World Masters, known for sponsorship reasons as the Mita/Sky World Masters, was a snooker tournament held between 13 and 26 January 1991. Conceived by promoter Barry Hearn, the tournament had a similar format to the Grand Slam (tennis), Gran ...
titles,
two British Open titles,
two British Matchplay championships,
two
World Cup Singles,
and three European Cup Singles Titles,
as well as other titles around the world in his career.
He played for England over 100 times and was WDF England Captain between 1986 and 1993, during which time England remained unbeaten.

A composed performer, his demeanor was captured in his nickname ''Old Stoneface'',
which was also the title of Lowe's
autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
published in 2005.
Lowe enjoyed an impressive longevity at the sport. He played in the televised stages of the World Championship for a then-record 28 consecutive years,
from the inaugural championship in 1978 to his last appearance in 2005, where he was defeated by the Canadian
John Verwey in a final-leg tiebreak.
Lowe played at the
Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace is an entertainment and sports venue in North London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. A listed building, Grade II listed building, it is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and th ...
in 1980 in front of 7,000 people in the News of the World Championship.
Lowe also dominated the
British Pentathlon event, winning it ten times, including six in a row from 1982 to 1987.
He stopped entering the event because the prizemoney had not changed in 12 years and cost players £100 to enter, plus expenses.
Lowe was secretary of the World Professional Dart Players Association (later to become the
Professional Dart Players Association (PDPA)), and, in 2005, he enjoyed a testimonial year in the sport to commemorate his 30th year as a professional. He attempted to qualify for the World Championship each year until 2008, but he fell short in the early qualifying rounds.
After this, he joined a short-lived venture, the
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports Media is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland and in Tbilisi, Georgia, broadcasting throughout select Eurasian countries, and the Philippines. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Iris ...
–televised BetFred League of Legends in 2008.
Post-darts career
In May 2009, Lowe released a book, ''The Art of Darts'', in which he offered his personal insights into the game to both amateur and aspiring professional dart players. In 2013, ''The Art of Darts'' was produced in
app-form for the
iPhone
The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...
and
iPad
The iPad is a brand of tablet computers developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple that run the company's mobile operating systems iOS and later iPadOS. The IPad (1st generation), first-generation iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010. ...
.
In 2014, Lowe was one of several celebrities to take part in
ITV's new game show ''
Amazing Greys'', in which members of the public take on icons of British sport and entertainment.
Personal life
Lowe was born in
New Tupton,
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
. He is married to Karen and lives in
Chesterfield. They both support
Sunderland football club.
World Championship results
BDO
*1978: Runner-up (lost to
Leighton Rees
Leighton Thomas Rees (17 January 1940 – 8 June 2003) was a Welsh professional darts player. He was the first BDO World Professional Darts Champion, having won the inaugural 1978 BDO World Darts Championship, and was a former World No. 1 pla ...
7–11 legs)
*1979: Winner (beat Leighton Rees 5–0 sets)
*1980: 2nd round (lost to
Cliff Lazarenko
Cliff Lazarenko (born 16 March 1952) is an English former professional darts player. Nicknamed "Big Cliff" due to his height (193 cm / 6'4") and weight (over 127 kg at his peak), he is known for being a colourful character on and off ...
0–2)
*1981: Runner-up (lost to
Eric Bristow
Eric John Bristow (25 April 1957 – 5 April 2018), nicknamed "the Crafty Cockney", was an English professional darts player and one of the most recognisable and successful players of the 1980s. He was ranked World No. 1 by the World Darts Fed ...
3–5)
*1982: Runner-up (lost to
Jocky Wilson
John Thomas "Jocky" Wilson (22 March 1950 – 24 March 2012) was a Scottish professional darts player. After turning professional in 1979, he quickly rose to the top of the game, winning the World Professional Darts Championship in 1982, ...
3–5)
*1983: Quarter-finals (lost to
Keith Deller
Keith Deller (born 24 December 1959) is an English former professional darts player best known for winning the 1983 BDO World Darts Championship. He also won the Unipart British Professional Championship in 1987.
He was the first qualifier t ...
3–4)
*1984: Semi-finals (lost to Eric Bristow 0–6)
*1985: Runner-up (lost to Eric Bristow 2–6)
*1986: Quarter-finals (lost to
Bob Anderson 3–4)
*1987: Winner (beat Eric Bristow 6–4)
*1988: Runner-up (lost to Bob Anderson 4–6)
*1989: Semi-finals (lost to Eric Bristow 1–5)
*1990: 2nd round (lost to
Ronnie Sharp 2–3)
*1991: 1st round (lost to
Peter Evison 2–3)
*1992: Semi-finals (lost to
Phil Taylor 4–5)
*1993: Winner (beat
Alan Warriner 6–3)
PDC
*1994: Group Stage (beat
Tom Kirby 3–2 and lost to
Larry Butler 2–3)
*1995: Semi-finals (lost to Phil Taylor 4–5)
*1996: Semi-finals (lost to Phil Taylor 1–5)
*1997: Last 24 group (lost to
Jamie Harvey
Jamie Harvey (born 15 August 1955) is a Scottish former professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and British Darts Organisation (BDO) tournaments. Originally nicknamed “The Tartan Terror” he later used ...
2–3 and beat
Paul Lim
Paul Lim Leong Hwa (born 25 January 1954) is a Singaporean professional darts player. Nicknamed "the Singapore Slinger", Lim was the first player to hit a perfect nine-dart finish during the Embassy World Darts Championship, which he achiev ...
3–1)
*1998: Last 24 group (lost to
Peter Manley 0–3 and lost to
Gary Mawson 0–3)
*1999: 2nd round (lost to Phil Taylor 1–3)
*2000: Quarter-finals (lost to
Dennis Smith 3–5)
*2001: 2nd round (lost to Jamie Harvey 0–3)
*2002: 2nd round (lost to Peter Manley 5–6)
*2003: 2nd round (lost to
Les Fitton 1–4)
*2004: 3rd round (lost to Alan Warriner 3–4)
*2005: 2nd round (lost to
John Verwey 2–3)
WSDT
*2022: 2nd round (lost to Dave Prins 0–3)
Career finals
BDO major finals: 25 (9 titles, 16 runners-up)
WDF major finals: 6 (5 titles, 1 runner-up)
Independent major finals: 1 (1 title)
Performance timeline
Nine-dart finishes
Lowe accomplished the first-ever televised nine-dart finish.
References
External links
Interview with John Lowe*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowe, John
English darts players
1945 births
Living people
BDO world darts champions
Sportspeople from Chesterfield, Derbyshire
Professional Darts Corporation founding players
People from Tupton
Sportspeople from Derbyshire
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Darts players who have thrown televised nine-dart games
Professional Darts Corporation Hall of Fame