Simon Whitlock (born 3 March 1969) is an Australian 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 who competes in

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 ...

(PDC) events, having previously competed in British Darts Organisation (BDO) events. Nicknamed "The Wizard", he won the 2012 European Championship and the 2022 World Cup of Darts for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, partnering Damon Heta. Whitlock is also a two-time World Championship finalist, having been the runner-up at the BDO World Darts Championship in

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, and the PDC World Darts Championship in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. He has won a total of 18 PDC titles and 30 Dartsplayers Australia (DPA) titles.

Early darts career

In 2003, Whitlock reached the last 16 of 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 ...

, with wins over Paul Williams and Peter Manley, but lost to Richie Burnett 5–3. In 2005, Whitlock made the semi-finals of the 2005 BDO World Championship but lost to Martin Adams 5–0. In other major events, he also reached the semi-finals of the International Darts League in both 2005 and 2006, losing to Mervyn King and Raymond van Barneveld respectively. Whitlock won the first two events in the Dartplayers Australia (DPA) series of tournaments. Whitlock competed in the BDO World Championship, achieving wins over Edwin Max, Fabian Roosenbrand, Ted Hankey, and Brian Woods to reach the final, where he lost to Mark Webster 7–5. Whitlock entered the 2009 BDO World Darts Championship as the number twelve seed and reached the second round, defeating Mark Barilli, but losing to

Darryl Fitton Darryl Fitton (born 5 May 1962) is a former English professional darts player. He was nicknamed The Dazzler and worked as an undertaker before embarking on his darts career. Fitton won the 2009 Finder Masters and the 2016 BDO World Trophy. ...

Return to PDC

Whitlock returned to the PDC on 19 March 2009. He began playing in the AGP circuit where he won eight tournaments. He qualified for the Las Vegas Desert Classic but lost in the first round of the televised stages against Terry Jenkins. At the 2009 Grand Slam of Darts Whitlock won all 3 of his group stage games with wins over Ted Hankey, Wayne Mardle and

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 ...

. In the last 16 he defeated 1996 BDO World Champion Steve Beaton 10–1 but lost to eventual runner up Scott Waites. At the 2010 PDC World Championship, Whitlock defeated Colin Osborne, Wayne Jones, Terry Jenkins, James Wade, and Raymond van Barneveld before losing to Phil Taylor 7–3. After his run to the World Championship final, it was announced that he would be competing in the 2010 Premier League Darts as a wild card. He finished second in the table, therefore qualifying for the semi-finals where he lost 8-6 to James Wade. On his World Matchplay debut in

, Whitlock reached the semi-finals before losing to Phil Taylor. At the 2010 Grand Slam of Darts, he lost all three of his group matches against Dave Chisnall, Colin Osborne and Robert Thornton. Whitlock represented Australia alongside Paul Nicholson during the inaugural PDC World Cup of Darts in December 2010, losing out in the semi-finals to Wales' Mark Webster and Barrie Bates.

2011–2012

At the 2011 PDC World Darts Championship, Whitlock defeated Steve Evans and Denis Ovens before losing to Vincent van der Voort in the third round. He competed in the 2011 Premier League, but finished sixth. During the 2011 PDC Pro Tour, he became the first player to hit nine-dart finishes in successive Pro Tour events. At the 2011 World Matchplay, Whitlock defeated Peter Wright and Denis Ovens to reach the quarter-finals. He was defeated by Andy Hamilton 17–15. Whitlock was forced to withdraw from the 2011 Grand Slam of Darts and 2011 Players Championship Finals through injury. He played at 2012 World Championship where beat Dennis Smith,. Steve Beaton,

Michael van Gerwen Michael van Gerwen (; born 25 April 1989) is a Dutch professional darts player, who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where is currently ranked PDC Order of Merit, world number three; he was ranked world number one from 20 ...

, and Gary Anderson before losing to Andy Hamilton 6–5. Whitlock partnered Nicholson again at the 2012 PDC World Cup of Darts. Together they achieved victories over Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands to final, where they played the England's Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis. Whitlock and Nicholson both missed two darts each to win the match in a sudden death leg. He was picked for the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

. Whitlock won seven of his fourteen league games to finish second in the table, qualifying him for the play-offs. Whitlock played Andy Hamilton in the semi-finals, he hit a nine darter in the second leg of the semi-final, and won the match to reach the final. There he played Phil Taylor and lost 10–7. Whitlock hit a nine-darter in his second round match at the 2012 Austrian Darts Open (ET1) against Joe Cullen, but lost 6–4. Whitlock achieved a 6–4 victory over Andy Hamilton in the final of Players Championship 12. At the following week's European Championship, he won his first major title. Whitlock took the title with an 11–5 win over Wes Newton. Whitlock then won his first European Tour title at the 2012 Dutch Darts Masters, defeating his World Cup partner Paul Nicholson 6–1 in the final. Whitlock lost to Taylor in the final of the 2012 Championship League Darts, 6–5. He then won his second Players Championship of the year with a 6–2 defeat of Dennis Priestley in the final. Whitlock was the second

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for the 2012 Players Championship Finals where he beat Jamie Caven 6–3 in the first round. Whitlock then defeated Ronnie Baxter, and Gary Anderson, but lost to Phil Taylor in the semi-finals 11–2.

2013

Whitlock won his first two matches in the 2013 World Championship without dropping a set and then won a deciding set against Dave Chisnall. However, he lost to Raymond van Barneveld 5–1. In his third World Cup of Darts with Paul Nicholson the pair were defeated 5–1 by Belgium's Ronny Huybrechts and Kim Huybrechts. He competed in the 2013 Premier League. but finished sixth in the table. Whitlock won his first tournament of 2013 at the fifth UK Open Qualifier. He beat

6–1 in the final. Van Gerwen beat Whitlock in the final of the 2013 European Darts Open 6–2. Whitlock won the award for televised performance of the year at the PDC Awards Dinner for his quarter-final win over Jamie Caven, but lost to Adrian Lewis 11–6 in the 2013 European Championship final.

2014

Whitlock beat Ian White 5–4 in the quarter-finals of the 2014 PDC World Darts Championship. However, he was defeated by Peter Wright 6–2 in the semi-finals. Whitlock moved up to third in the world rankings after the tournament. Whitlock competed in the

but only won one of his nine matches to be eliminated from the competition. Whitlock and Nicholson reached the semi-finals of the 2014 PDC World Cup of Darts where they faced England's Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis. Whitlock was beaten 4–1 by Taylor, but Nicholson overcame Lewis 4–2, before Australia lost 4–0 in the doubles decider. Whitlock won Players Championship 12 by beating James Wade 6–3 in the final. He reached the final of the 2014 European Darts Open, but lost 6–2 against Wright. At the World Matchplay, Whitlock recorded wins over Kevin Painter, Raymond van Barneveld and James Wade to reach the semi-finals of the event for the second time. He was defeated by

. He also lost to van Gerwen in the final of the Singapore Darts Masters.

2015

At the 2015 World Championship Whitlock he was beaten 3–1 by Darren Webster in the first round. Whitlock did not receive a wildcard to compete in the

, meaning he missed the event for the first time since 2009.

2016

Whitlock lost to Ricky Evans 3–2 in the first round of the 2016 World Championship. In October, Whitlock won Players Championship 18, defeating Ronny Huybrechts 6–5 in the final. Whitlock beat Alan Norris in a deciding set at the World Grand Prix. but lost to van Gerwen in the quarter-finals. He defeated Chris Dobey to win his second title of the year at Players Championship 19.

2017

Whitlock was beaten 4–0 in the second round of the 2017 World Championship by Darren Webster. Whitlock defeated Gary Anderson 6–4 in the final to win UK Open Qualifier 2. He also claimed the fifth event by beating Ronny Huybrechts 6–3. At the

main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

he was defeated 10–9 by

Daryl Gurney Daryl Gurney (born 22 March 1986) is a Northern Irish professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number twenty-five; he reached a peak ranking of world number thre ...

in the quarter-finals. He won his third ranking event title of 2017 a week later, winning Players Championship 4.

2020

After a drop in rankings and form over 2019, Whitlock made two televised semi-final appearances in 2020, at the World Grand Prix & Grand Slam, as well as a quarter-final in the World Matchplay. He beat

in the quarter-finals at both the Grand Prix and the Slam, defeating van Gerwen 16–15 in a deciding leg at the Grand Slam. Whitlock also hit a Grand Slam record 20 180s in a match during that win against van Gerwen.

2022

In 2022, Whitlock, alongside Damon Heta, won the 2022 PDC World Cup of Darts for Australia, after beating Wales in the final 3–1.

2024

At the 2024 PDC World Championship Whitlock defeated Paolo Nebrida 3–2 in the first round. However, he lost to Gary Anderson 3–0 in the second round.

2025

After losing his Tour Card at the end of 2024. Whitlock accepted an invitation to compete in the 2025 World Seniors Darts Championship. He lost 3–1 in sets to Paul Hogan in round 1. Simon again represented Australia at the 2025 PDC World Cup of Darts, alongside Damon Heta, maintaining his ever present record at the tournament.

Personal life

Whitlock has three sons from two previous marriages: Nicholas (born 1991), Mason (born 2003), and Locky (born 2007). His son Mason also plays darts. He is a fan of Portsmouth F.C. In 2012, Whitlock, together with the seven other players who competed in the

, recorded a charity single with Chas Hodges and his band called 'Got My Tickets for the Darts' which was written by Chas. It was released on 18 May, the night after the play-offs at the O2 in London, where it was premiered. Proceeds from the single were donated to the Haven House Children's Hospice.

World Championship performances

BDO

* 2005: Semi-finals (lost to Martin Adams 0–5) * 2006: Second round (lost to Paul Hanvidge 2–4) * 2007: Second round (lost to Niels de Ruiter 3–4) * 2008: Runner-up (lost to Mark Webster 5–7) * 2009: Second round (lost to

2–4)

PDC

* 2003: Third round (lost to Richie Burnett 3–5) * 2010: Runner-up (lost to Phil Taylor 3–7) * 2011: Third round (lost to Vincent van der Voort 2–4) * 2012: Semi-finals (lost to Andy Hamilton 5–6) * 2013: Quarter-finals (lost to Raymond van Barneveld 1–5) * 2014: Semi-finals (lost to Peter Wright 2–6) * 2015: First round (lost to Darren Webster 1–3) * 2016: First round (lost to Ricky Evans 2–3) * 2017: Second round (lost to Darren Webster 0–4) * 2018: Second round (lost to Darren Webster 1–4) * 2019: Second round (lost to Ryan Joyce 0–3) * 2020: Fourth round (lost to

Gerwyn Price Gerwyn Price (born 7 March 1985) is a Welsh professional darts player and former professional rugby union and rugby league player. He competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked PDC Order of Merit, world ...

2–4) * 2021: Third round (lost to Krzysztof Ratajski 0–4) * 2022: Second round (lost to Martijn Kleermaker 1–3) * 2023: Second round (lost to

José de Sousa José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced ...

2–3) * 2024: Second round (lost to Gary Anderson 0–3)

WSDT

* 2025: First round (lost to Paul Hogan 3–1)

Career finals

BDO major finals: 1 (1 runner-up)

PDC major finals: 7 (1 title, 6 runners-up)

PDC world series finals: 1 (1 runner-up)

PDC team finals: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Career statistics

Performance timeline

PDC European Tour PDC Players Championships

Nine-dart finishes

High averages

Notes

References

External links

* *
Simon Whitlock player profile at Mastercaller
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitlock, Simon 1969 births Australian darts players Living people Sportspeople from Newcastle, New South Wales Sportspeople from Cessnock, New South Wales Professional Darts Corporation former tour card holders British Darts Organisation players European Championship (darts) champions Darts players who have thrown televised nine-dart games PDC World Cup of Darts Australian championship team