Robert "Rob" Szabo (born 29 October 1965 from

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...

) is a former 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 from New Zealand.

Career

Szabo claimed the 2010 New Zealand National Championship by beating Koha Kokiri 4–0 in the final. He qualified for the

2014 PDC World Darts Championship The 2014 Ladbrokes World Darts Championship was the 21st World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The event took place at the Alexandra Palace, London between 13 De ...

after winning the New Zealand National Championship in July 2013. After beating England's Ian Moss 4–3 in the preliminary round he led

Phil Taylor Phil Taylor may refer to: * Phil Taylor (musician) (1954–2015), English drummer, best known as "Philthy Animal" Taylor * Phil Taylor (darts player) (born 1960), English darts player * Phil Taylor (American football) (born 1988), American footbal ...

1–0 in sets and 1–0 in legs before losing 3–1 in sets, in the first round. His performance received high praise from numerous darts pundits including

Wayne Mardle Wayne Elliot Mardle (born 10 May 1973) is an English former professional darts player who played in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and British Darts Organisation (BDO). He was runner-up in three PDC majors, losing to Phil T ...

, and from Taylor himself. In June, Szabo made his debut in the World Cup of Darts as he represented New Zealand with Craig Caldwell and they lost 5–3 to Spain in the first round. Szabo was defeated 6–1 by John Weber in the final of the Warilla Bowls Club Open and Weber was also the winner when the pair met in the final of the Oceanic Masters, this time triumphing 8–2. Szabo won the 2015 DPNZ Tararua Open by beating

Mark McGrath Mark Sayers McGrath (born March 15, 1968) is an American singer who is the lead vocalist of the rock band Sugar Ray. McGrath is also known for his work as a co-host of '' Extra'', and he was the host of '' Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' in 2010. M ...

7–5. He played with

Warren Parry Warren "Wazza" Parry (born 9 January 1964) is a New Zealand professional darts player who played in the World Darts Federation (WDF) events. Parry is widely considered the greatest New Zealand player of all time. Career Parry reached the final o ...

in the 2015 World Cup and they secured New Zealand's first win in the event since 2010 by knocking out Canada 5–4. They faced Northern Ireland in the second round with Szabo losing 4–1 to

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 ...

and Parry losing 4–0 to

Michael Mansell Michael Alexander Mansell (born 5 June 1951 in northern Tasmania) is a Tasmanian Aboriginal leader who, as an activist and lawyer, has worked for social, political and legal changes to improve the lives and social standing of Tasmanian Aborigin ...

to exit the tournament. He won the New Zealand qualifier for the 2016 World Championship by defeating Craig Caldwell 9–3. He overcame Michael Rasztovits 2–0 in the preliminary round, before losing 3–0 to

Jamie Caven Jamie Robert Caven (born 10 March 1976) is an English former professional darts player who plays in British Darts Organisation (BDO) events. He has won seven events on the PDC Pro Tour, including two in the same weekend in May 2013. Caven was a ...

in the first round. His attempt to return to Alexandra Palace for the 2017 World Championship was ended in the final of the New Zealand Qualifying Event 7–3 by Parry. Szabo lost in the final of the DWA Grand Prix to

Corey Cadby Corey Patrick Cadby (born 18 March 1995) is an Australian professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He was the 2016 World Youth champion. Career A native of Tasmania, Cadby began competing in Darts P ...

, but won the Harrows Australian GP by thrashing Damon Heta 6–0. At the 2017 World Cup, Szabo and Cody Harris were eliminated 5–2 by Belgium in the opening round.

World Championship results

PDC

* 2014: First round (lost to

1–3) (sets) * 2016: First round (lost to

0–3)

Personal life

Szabo is a semi-pro darts player and earns a full-time living as a builder for Wellington construction company LT McGuiness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Szabo, Rob 1965 births Living people New Zealand darts players Sportspeople from Wellington City New Zealand people of Hungarian descent Professional Darts Corporation associate players PDC World Cup of Darts team New Zealand