Shaun Greatbatch (13 July 1969 – 5 June 2022) was an English 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. He lived in Suffolk and worked in the construction industry. His nickname was Nine Dart Man, having been the first player to hit a perfect nine dart finish on live television, in the final of the 2002 Dutch Open against Steve Coote.

Darts career

Shaun's family is said by commentators to have a rich darting pedigree. His Welsh mother, Sandra, reached the semi-finals of the Women's World Championship in 2002 and was a Women's World Masters finalist in 1992 and 1997. Shaun lost in the first round of the BDO World Darts Championship in his first four occasions, 2001 against then reigning champion Ted Hankey, in 2003 against

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, 2004 against

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and 2005 against

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. This dubious honour ended in the 2006 World Championship, where Shaun finally won in five sets against Niels de Ruiter. He went on to reach the semi-finals, losing to eventual champion

Jelle Klaasen Jelle Klaasen (born 17 October 1984), nicknamed The Cobra, is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) and World Darts Federation (WDF) events. In 2006, he became the youngest darts player to win th ...

. The result means he did not need to qualify for the 2007 championship where he lost in the second round to

Tony Eccles Tony Eccles (born 8 January 1970) is an English former professional darts player. Nicknamed The Viper, he played in both the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He reached the quarter-finals of the BD ...

. In 2008 the first round jinx came back to haunt him as he was beaten by Martin Phillips.

Personal life

On 14 June 2008, it was announced that Shaun had been diagnosed with

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, ane ...

. As a result of his treatment, he lost all of his hair, weighed two stone lighter and was four inches shorter (going from 6'5" to 6'1"). Despite his illness, he still managed to play in the

2009 BDO World Darts Championship The 2009 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was the 32nd World Championship organised by the British Darts Organisation. Mark Webster was the defending men's champion having won the title for the first time in the 2008 final against ...

, having earned enough ranking points to claim one of the automatic spots for the events. He was soundly beaten in the first round 3–0 by John Walton, but his mere presence under such difficult circumstances showed great bravery and generated praise from fellow players and fans. He emotionally left the Lakeside stage to a guard of honour made up of the rest of the players in the tournament male and female, as well as officials, referees and former finalist Dave Whitcombe. Greatbatch died on 5 June 2022, aged 52.

World Championship Results

BDO

* 2001: 1st Round (lost to Ted Hankey 0–3) * 2003: 1st Round (lost to

0–3) * 2004: 1st Round (lost to

1–3) * 2005: 1st Round (lost to

2–3) * 2006: Semi-Final (lost to

3–6) * 2007: 2nd Round (lost to

0–4) * 2008: 1st Round (lost to Martin Phillips 1–3) * 2009: 1st Round (lost to John Walton 0–3)

Nine-dart finishes

Shaun Greatbatch hit the first ever live broadcast nine dart finish in the Final of the Dutch Open on 3 February 2002.

References

External links

Shaun Greatbatch's profile and stats on Darts Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greatbatch, Shaun 1969 births 2022 deaths English darts players People with multiple myeloma British Darts Organisation players People from Newmarket, Suffolk Darts players who have thrown televised nine-dart games