Raymond "Ray" Farrell is a former

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

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 ...

player.

Career

Farrell reached the final of the 1985

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 ...

, having beaten

Bobby George Robert Francis George (born 16 December 1945) is an English television presenter and former professional darts player. He is widely recognised as one of the game's biggest personalities, known for his flamboyant entrances in which the "King ...

, Jan Erik Paulsen,

Steve Gittins Stephen Gittins (29 August 1959 – 20 February 2013) was an English professional darts player. Career Gittins played twice at the BDO World Darts Championship. In 1989, he beat Finland's Kexi Heinäharju in the first round but lost in t ...

and

Tony Payne Thomas Anthony Payne (born April 10, 1955) is an American former professional darts player. He is also well known for publishing an article in the ''Bulls Eye News'' magazine famously titled "Thermonuclear Cricket". Career Payne played in s ...

along the way before he was eventually beaten by

Dave Whitcombe David Whitcombe (born 27 June 1954) is an English former professional darts player who won several major tournaments and reached two World Championship Finals between 1980 and 1992. Biography Whitcombe was twice a winner of the Winmau World M ...

. Farrell then played in three successive World Championships, losing in the first round in each occasion. In 1987, he lost 3-2 to

Alan Evans David "Alan" Evans (14 June 1949 – 12 April 1999) was a Welsh professional darts player and former World No. 1 who competed in the 1970s and 1980s. Evans was one of the early faces of television darts and had some tournament success in the ...

, in 1988 he lost 3-2 to

Eric Bristow Eric John Bristow, (25 April 1957 – 5 April 2018), nicknamed "The Crafty Cockney", was an English professional darts player. He was ranked World No. 1 by the World Darts Federation a record five times, in 1980, 1981 and 1983–1985. He was ...

and in 1989 he was beaten 3-1 by

Peter Evison Peter Kenneth Evison (born 27 May 1964) is an English former professional darts player who competed in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and British Darts Organisation (BDO) events. Nicknamed The Fen Tiger, his greatest achievements were ...

. Farrell represented Team Northern Ireland in 1978, 1984 and 1985 with the players

Steve Brennan Stephen Edward Brennan (born 2 November 1951) is an English professional darts player who competed in the 1980s. He was a civil engineer from Leiston and began playing county darts for Suffolk in 1979–1980. He was eligible to play for North ...

, David Keery &

Fred McMullan Freddie "Fred" McMullan (born 4 June 1950) is a Northern Irish former professional darts player who competed in the 1980s. Career McMullan played at the BDO World Darts Championship, World Darts Championship three times. In 1985 BDO World Darts ...

on the World Darts Federation. Farrell reached the final of the 1987 Nations Cup his team with Mitchell Crooks &

Harold Sweeney Harold may refer to: People * Harold (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Harold (surname), surname in the English language * András Arató, known in meme culture as "Hide the Pain Harold" Arts ...

and who losing to 10–1 over England with Bob Anderson,

John Lowe John Lowe may refer to: Sports * John Lowe (darts player) (born 1945), English darts player. * John Lowe (footballer) (1912–1995), Scottish football player * John Lowe (rugby league), English rugby league footballer * John Lowe (cricketer) (188 ...

. Farrell Quit the BDO in 1993. In 2003, Farrell began playing for 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 ...

in Irish based events. In 2006 however, Farrell became a member of the PDPA and began playing on the pro tour. He came close to qualifying for the

2009 PDC World Darts Championship The 2009 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 16th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The event took place at Alexandra Palace in London from 19 D ...

, falling at the final hurdle to

Mark Stephenson Mark Stephenson (born 29 September 1976 from Yarm) is a former English professional darts player who has played in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He was formerly an official, working as a marker. Career Stephenson fell one ...

. He also came close to qualifying for the 2009 World Grand Prix in Ireland, where having taken one of the four Irish qualifying spots ahead of the Players Championship in Austria, Farrell missed out on a countback following

Jacko Barry Jason "Jacko" Barry (born February 13, 1975 in Dublin) is an Irish former professional darts player who competes in the Professional Darts Corporation tournaments. Career Barry won a place in the 2007 World Grand Prix, coming through a record ...

's run into the last 32 stage in the first Players Championship who took the fourth spot ahead of Farrell who reached the last 64 stage in both tournaments. Farrell Quit the PDC in 2010. Farrell appeared in the seventh series of the UK television show

Bullseye Bullseye or Bull's Eye may refer to: Symbols * ◎ (Unicode U+25CE BULLSEYE), in the Geometric Shapes Unicode block * (Unicode U+0298 LATIN LETTER BILABIAL CLICK), the phonetic symbol for bilabial click Animals and plants * Bull's Eye, ''Euryo ...

, attaining the highest score of the series in the show's Bronze Bully challenge.

World Championship Results

BDO

* 1987: Last 32: (lost to

2–3) * 1988: Last 32: (lost to

2–3) * 1989: Last 32: (lost to

1–3)

References

External links

Profile and stats on Darts Database
Darts players from Northern Ireland Living people British Darts Organisation players Professional Darts Corporation former pro tour players 1957 births Sportspeople from Derry (city) {{NorthernIreland-darts-bio-stub