Phill Nixon
| Phill Nixon | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Phillip Nixon |
| Nickname | The Ferryhill Flyer |
| Born |
13 March 1956 County Durham, England |
| Died | 9 August 2013 (aged 57) Ferryhill, County Durham |
| Home town |
Ferryhill, County Durham England |
| Darts information | |
| Darts | 24g RedDragon |
| Laterality | right-handed |
| Walk-on music | We Will Rock You by Queen |
| Organisation (see split in darts) | |
| BDO | 1999-2012 |
| BDO majors - best performances | |
| World Ch'ship | Runner Up: 2007 |
| World Masters | Quarter Final: 2002, 2012 |
| World Darts Trophy | Last 56: 2007 |
| Int. Darts League | Preliminary Round: 2007 |
| Zuiderduin Masters | Last 24 Group: 2007 |
| PDC premier events - best performances | |
| Grand Slam | Group Stages: 2007, 2008 |
| Other tournament wins | |
| Tournament | Years |
| Mill Rythe Darts Festival | 2004 |
| Updated on 9 August 2013. | |
Phillip "Phill" Nixon (13 March 1956 – 9 August 2013) was an English darts player from Ferryhill, County Durham. He is best known for reaching the 2007 World Final on his first appearance at the age of 50.
Before his 2007 heroics, his best performances came in reaching the quarter-finals of the 2002 Winmau World Masters and the semi-final of the 2004 British Open. After 20 years of attempting, 2007 was the first year Nixon had managed to qualify for the BDO World Darts Championship. Bookmakers had him as a 150-1 shot to win the title, before the event had started. Nixon came through three separate qualifying competitions at county, national and international level to secure his Lakeside debut. He beat number 7 seed Darryl Fitton, number 10 seed Martin Atkins and number 15 seed Paul Hanvidge to the reach the semi-finals and beat Dutchman Niels de Ruiter the number 11 seed for a place in the final against top seed Martin Adams.
He eventually lost 7-6 to Adams in the final but not until completing a great sporting comeback after looking beaten at 0-6 down at the interval. During the break whilst practising in the players lounge with a cigarette in one hand, Nixon was said to have stabbed himself deliberately in his legs to try and motivate himself. After the interval he found form and gradually reduced the deficit. Adams had been victim of some opponents producing dramatic comebacks in his previous 14 failed attempts at winning the world title and may have been vulnerable again. Adams missed four doubles to win the championship as Nixon gradually pulled back to level the match at 6-6, taking it to a final set. In the decider, Nixon missed a dart at double seven to win the first leg, and a further missed dart at double eighteen in the third leg gave Adams his chance to take his first world title. Nixon won £30,000 for his appearance in the final. After his run at Lakeside, he went on to reach the final of the Isle of Man Open (losing to Gary Robson) and the quarter-final of the Swiss Open.
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