Robert Wagner (born 14 June 1965) is a former Austrian-born Norwegian professional darts player nicknamed The Magician.

Career

Wagner has played in the Lakeside World Championship four times, reaching the last 16 on three occasions. In 2003, he beat Gary Robson in the first round before going out after losing to Erik Clarys. He beat

Co Stompé Jacobus Wilhelmus "Co" Stompé (born 10 September 1962) is a Dutch former professional darts player. He was nicknamed The Matchstick because of his almost bald head and very thin appearance. He was also one of very few darts professionals, who pl ...

in the first round in 2004 before losing to John Walton, and in 2005, he put out

Jarkko Komula Jarkko Komula (born 13 March 1976) is a Finnish former professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He got the nickname "Smiley" in humorous reference to his lack of smiling. Darts career BDO Komula reac ...

in his first match, but lost to

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 and 2009 and was runner-up in 2001. He moved to the Professi ...

3–2 in sets after leading 2–0. In 2008, Wagner reached the semi-finals of the Dutch Open where he lost to eventual winner Robert Thornton, was runner up in the Finnish Open won by Steve West, and won the Norway National Championship where he beat Rune David in the final. Wagner reached the semi-finals of the 2008 World Masters, beating Gary Anderson in the last 16 and then beat

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 ...

in the quarter-final before losing to

Scott Waites Scott Waites (born 17 February 1977) is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is a two-time BDO World Darts Champion having won the 2013 tournament and 2016 tournament. He is also ...

. Wagner played in the 2009 BDO World Championships, losing in the first round to Anderson. He then won the 2009 Finnish Open and retained the Norway National Championship. Wagner's best run in the World Championship came in 2010. He defeated Alan Norris in the first round 3–1, to face Brian Woods in the second round. Wagner came back from 2–0 and 3–2 behind to win 4–3 in the sudden death leg, three times having to break Woods's throw to stay in the match and seeing Woods miss one dart at bullseye for the match. Both players made a number of high finishes and consistent scoring, and it was very quickly labelled as one of the best matches ever played in the early stage of a World Championship. The win sent Wagner through to the quarter-final for the first time in his career. However, he was unable to replicate his form in the next round and was defeated 5–1 by number 1 seed

Tony O'Shea Tony O'Shea (born 9 May 1961) is an English professional darts player. His squat figure has resulted in the nickname "Silverback". O'Shea has reached the finals of seven British Darts Organisation (BDO) major darts tournaments, but to date h ...

. Since 2012, Wagner has been competing in PDC-affiliated Scandinavian Darts Corporation (SDC).

Controversy

During a PDC-affiliated SDC event in

Vääksy Vääksy is a village and seat of the municipality of Asikkala in southern Finland. It is located on an isthmus between Päijänne and Vesijärvi, about north of Lahti Lahti (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Päijät-H ...

, Finland on 11 August 2012, Wagner was interviewed shortly after beating Finland's Ulf Ceder in the final. In the interview Wagner praised the PDC and openly stated "The BDO is shite", before being reminded by the interviewer to avoid talking about politics. It is reported that Wagner has been omitted from the 2012 Winmau World Masters and faces a disciplinary hearing.

World Championship results

BDO

* 2003: 2nd round (lost to Erik Clarys 0–3) (sets) * 2004: 2nd round (lost to John Walton 1–3) * 2005: 2nd round (lost to

2–3) * 2009: 1st round (lost to Gary Anderson 2–3) * 2010: Quarter-final (lost to

1–5)

References

External links

Stats on Darts Database
* http://www.scdc.tv/order-of-merit.html * http://www.thedartsforum.co.uk/showthread.php?9384-So-funny-Robert-Wagner-interview {{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Robert Norwegian darts players Living people 1965 births British Darts Organisation players Professional Darts Corporation associate players PDC World Cup of Darts Norwegian team