| Darren Webster | |
| Nickname: | "Demolition Man" |
| Birth Place: | Norwich, England |
| Hometown: | Norwich, England |
| Since: | 2002 |
| Darts: | 18g Gram Cosmo's |
| Laterality: | Right-handed |
| Music: | "Dancing in the Dark" by Bruce Springsteen |
| Pdc: | 2002–2024 |
| Matchplay: | Quarter Final: 2017, 2018 |
| Grand Prix: | Last 16: 2018 |
| Uk Open: | Last 16: 2007, 2016 |
| Vegas: | Last 32: 2004, 2005 |
| Grand Slam: | Last 16: 2017, 2019 |
| Masters: | Last 16: 2019 |
| Results: | Players Championships |
| Achievement: | 2017 Breaks into the top 32 on the PDC Order of Merit for the first time 2018 Breaks into the top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit for the first time |
Darren Michael Webster (born 10 June 1968) is an English darts player who is nicknamed Demolition Man.
Webster won the 2005 Open Oust Nederland, beating Co Stompé in the final.[1]
Originally nicknamed The Sniper, Webster reached the quarter-finals of the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship, where he beat former champion Bob Anderson, Adrian Gray and South African Wynand Havenga, before being beaten 5–1 by Phil Taylor.[2]
Webster reached the last 16 at the 2007 UK Open. He beat Andy Hamilton and James Wade, before losing to Alan Green.[3]
In December 2013, Webster lost to James Wade in the first round of the 2014 World Championship, despite leading 2 sets to 1 (first to 3). He missed six darts to win the match, to which Wade responded in three straight legs, thus winning the match.[4] He played in the World Matchplay for the first time since 2005 and was beaten 10–4 by Taylor in the first round.[5] Webster's resurgence of form also saw him play in his first World Grand Prix and Grand Slam of Darts, but he lost in the opening round of the former and was defeated in all three of his group games in the latter.[6] [7] A final appearance in a major event of the year came at the Players Championship Finals where he missed two match darts in the deciding leg of the first round against Robert Thornton to lose 6–5.[8]
Webster atoned for his misses against Wade a year earlier when he faced Simon Whitlock in the 2015 edition of the World Championship. From 1–1 in sets he only allowed the world number seven one more leg as he beat him 3–1.[9] He won a trio of sets in deciding legs to lead Dean Winstanley 3–2 in the second round. However, Webster lost two sets in a row to be beaten 4–3.[10] Webster twice reached the quarter-final stage of Players Championship events in 2015.[11]
Webster saw off John Henderson 3–1 in the opening round of the 2016 World Championship, but Michael van Gerwen averaged 109.23 in their second round clash as Webster could only win one leg in a 4–0 defeat.[12] [13] A 9–8 win over Ricky Evans saw him reach the fifth round of the UK Open for the second time in his career and he lost 9–5 to Peter Wright.[14] Webster's first semi-final in over two and a half years came at the ninth Players Championship and he was beaten 6–1 by Benito van de Pas.[15] Another came at the 17th event, but he was whitewashed 6–0 by Van Gerwen.[16] Webster was already eliminated from the Grand Slam of Darts before his third group game with Phil Taylor after losing his opening two matches, but nevertheless thrashed the 16-time world champion 5–0. Webster stated that the result would give him a confidence boost for the remainder of the year.[17] He was right, because at the Players Championship Finals he saw off Jonny Clayton and Simon Whitlock both 6–3, Alan Norris 10–5 and Christian Kist 10–6 to reach the semi-finals of a PDC major for the first time. Webster stormed in to a 6–0 lead over Van Gerwen, but missed a dart to be 7–2 ahead as Van Gerwen closed to 6–6. Webster did take a one leg lead on two further occasions, but would ultimately be defeated 11–8.[18]
Webster survived seven match darts from Stephen Bunting in the first round of the 2017 World Championship to progress with a 3–2 win. Webster had finishes of 157, 147 and 140 during the match.[19] He described his second round 4–0 victory over Simon Whitlock as the moment of his career as Webster averaged 104.64 and closed the match with a 140 finish.[20] He missed two darts to take the opening set in the third round against Van Gerwen and went 3–0 behind. He pulled a set back, but would be ousted 4–1.[21]
Webster hit his first career nine-dart finish on 11 February 2017 in the 5th UK Open qualifier during a 6–5 win over Benito van de Pas. In July, he won his first players Championship title, defeating Daryl Gurney 6–1 in the final in Barnsley.
In the 2019 World Championship he suffered a surprise defeat and whitewash to Vincent van der Voort losing 3–0 in the Second Round.
Webster lost his Tour card following the 2022 PDC World Darts Championship but regained it on the second day of the 2022 Q-School Final stage.
Unable to find his previous form, Webster struggled throughout seasons 2022 and 2023. However, he won PDC Tour card holders qualification for 2024 PDC World Darts Championship, returning to the World Championship for the first time since 2020 and stating it will be his last tournament in career. He played Niels Zonneveld in the First round, had several chances to take the clash to a final set but missed every single time and lost 1–3, which meant he also lost his Tour card. [22]
| Tournament | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranked televised events | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PDC World Championship | DNP | 1R | QF | DNQ | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 3R | QF | 2R | 3R | DNQ | 1R | |||||||||||
| UK Open | 2R | 3R | 5R | 2R | 6R | 2R | DNQ | 2R | DNQ | 4R | DNQ | 3R | 2R | 5R | 3R | 3R | 4R | 4R | 4R | 1R | 3R | DNP | |||
| World Matchplay | DNP | 1R | DNQ | 1R | DNQ | QF | QF | 1R | DNQ | ||||||||||||||||
| World Grand Prix | DNQ | 1R | DNQ | 1R | 2R | DNQ | |||||||||||||||||||
| European Championship | Not held | DNQ | 1R | QF | 1R | DNQ | |||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam of Darts | Not held | DNQ | RR | DNQ | RR | 2R | DNQ | 2R | DNQ | ||||||||||||||||
| Not held | DNQ | 1R | DNQ | SF | 3R | 2R | DNQ | 1R | DNQ | ||||||||||||||||
| Non-ranked televised events | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Masters | Not held | DNQ | 1R | DNQ | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Past major events | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Las Vegas Desert Classic | DNP | 1R | 1R | DNQ | Not held | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year-end ranking | 56 | 28 | 31 | 41 | 44 | 88 | style="text-align:center; | - | 134 | style="text-align:center; | - | 57 | 38 | 35 | 36 | 32 | 21 | 13 | 20 | 46 | 94 | 156 | 105 | ||
PDC European Tour
| Season | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | ADO 1R | GDC 1R | EDO DNQ | GDM 1R | DDM DNQ | ||||||||
| 2013 | UKM 1R | EDT 2R | EDO DNQ | ADO 1R | GDT DNQ | GDC 2R | GDM DNQ | DDM DNQ | |||||
| 2014 | GDC DNQ | DDM 3R | GDM DNQ | ADO DNQ | GDT DNQ | EDO 2R | EDG 3R | EDT DNQ | |||||
| 2015 | GDC DNQ | GDT DNQ | GDM 2R | DDM 1R | IDO 1R | EDO DNQ | EDT DNQ | EDM 2R | EDG DNQ | ||||
| 2016 | DDM DNQ | GDM DNQ | GDT DNQ | EDM 2R | ADO DNQ | EDO DNQ | IDO 2R | EDT 1R | EDG 2R | GDC DNQ | |||
| 2017 | GDC DNQ | GDM DNQ | GDO 2R | EDG DNQ | GDT 2R | EDM 1R | ADO DNQ | EDO DNQ | DDM 1R | GDG 3R | IDO 2R | EDT DNQ | |
| 2018 | EDO DNQ | GDG 3R | GDO 3R | ADO 3R | EDG 3R | DDM 3R | GDT 2R | DDO 3R | EDM 3R | GDC 3R | DDC 2R | IDO QF | EDT 3R |
| 2019 | EDO 3R | GDC QF | GDG 3R | GDO 3R | ADO 2R | EDG QF | DDM 2R | DDO 2R | CDO 2R | ADC 2R | EDM DNQ | IDO DNQ | GDT 1R |
| 2020 | BDC DNQ | GDC DNQ | EDG DNQ | IDO DNQ | |||||||||
| 2021 | HDT 1R | GDT DNQ | |||||||||||
| 2022 | IDO DNQ | GDC DNQ | GDG DNQ | ADO DNQ | EDO DNQ | CDO DNQ | EDG DNP | DDC DNQ | EDM DNQ | HDT DNQ | GDO WD | BDO DNQ | GDT DNQ |
| 2023 | BSD DNQ | EDO DNQ | IDO DNQ | GDG DNQ | ADO DNQ | DDC DNQ | BDO DNQ | CDO DNQ | EDG DNQ | EDM DNQ | GDO DNQ | HDT DNQ | GDC DNQ |
| Performance Table Legend | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DNP | Did not play at the event | DNQ | Did not qualify for the event | NYF | Not yet founded |
| lost in the early rounds of the tournament (WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin) | |
| QF | lost in the quarter-finals | SF | lost in the semi-finals | F | lost in the final | W | won the tournament | |