Stephen Edward Brennan (born 2 February 1951) is a Northern Irish former 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 competed in the 1980s. He was a civil engineer from

Leiston Leiston ( ) is a town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is close to Saxmundham and Aldeburgh, north-east of Ipswich and north-east of London. The town had a population of 5,508 at th ...

and began playing county darts for

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

in 1979–1980. He was eligible to play for Northern Ireland because his father was born in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

Darts career

He made his Embassy World Darts Championship debut in 1982 and caused one of the great upsets in darts history by beating defending champion

Eric Bristow Eric John Bristow (25 April 1957 – 5 April 2018), nicknamed "the Crafty Cockney", was an English professional darts player and one of the most recognisable and successful players of the 1980s. He was ranked World No. 1 by the World Darts Fed ...

in the first round. He also knocked out

Dave Whitcombe David Whitcombe (born 27 June 1954) is an English former professional darts player who won several major tournaments, he was twice a winner of the Winmau World Masters (1982 and 1985) and lost to Eric Bristow in two World Championship finals i ...

in the second round before losing 0–4 to

Stefan Lord Stefan Lord (born 4 December 1954) is a Swedish former professional darts player who competed in events of the British Darts Organisation (BDO) in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and is one of the country's most successful players. Career He compe ...

in the quarter-finals. He appeared at the next four World Championships, but only won two more matches – both first round victories in 1984 and 1985. His last appearance came in 1986 when he lost in the first round to

Paul Lim Paul Lim Leong Hwa (born 25 January 1954) is a Singaporean professional darts player. Nicknamed "the Singapore Slinger", Lim was the first player to hit a perfect nine-dart finish during the Embassy World Darts Championship, which he achiev ...

. After another surprise victory over Bristow in the 1986 MFI World Matchplay tournament,Brennan Puts Out Bristow
, ''

Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

'', 11 October 1986, p. 19, retrieved 31 October 2010 Bristow stated that "he kept losing to wallies".

World Championship results

BDO

* 1981: Preliminary round: (lost to

Wayne Lock Wayne Locke is a Welsh former professional darts player. Darts career 1981 On 14 January 1981, Lock played in the BDO World Darts Championship, beating by the preliminary round to Steve Brennan of Ireland and before losing in the first round ...

1–2) * 1982: Quarter Finals: (lost to

0–4) * 1983: Last 32: (lost to

Jocky Wilson John Thomas "Jocky" Wilson (22 March 1950 – 24 March 2012) was a Scottish professional darts player. After turning professional in 1979, he quickly rose to the top of the game, winning the World Professional Darts Championship in 1982, ...

0–2) * 1984: Last 16: (lost to

1–4) * 1985: Last 16: (lost to

Alan Glazier Alan James Glazier (21 January 1939 – 12 November 2020) was an English professional darts player. He used the nickname "The Ton Machine" and was noted for his all-black outfits. Career Glazier was one of the first darts players who turned p ...

2–3) * 1986: Last 32: (lost to

1–3)

References

External links

Profile and stats on Darts Database
1951 births Living people Darts players from Northern Ireland British Darts Organisation players People from Leiston Sportspeople from Derry (city) {{NorthernIreland-darts-bio-stub