Shaun Greatbatch
| Shaun Greatbatch | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Nickname | 9 Dart |
| Born |
13 July 1969 Newmarket, England |
| Home town |
Lakenheath England |
| Darts information | |
| Laterality | Right-handed |
| Walk-on music | Town Called Malice by The Jam |
| Organisation (see split in darts) | |
| BDO | 2001-2010 |
| BDO majors - best performances | |
| World Ch'ship | Semi-Final: 2006 |
| World Masters | Last 32: 2006 |
| World Darts Trophy | Last 16: 2004, 2007 |
| Int. Darts League | Quarter-Final: 2003 |
| Zuiderduin Masters | Quarter-Final: 2005 |
| PDC premier events - best performances | |
| Grand Slam | Group Stage: 2007 |
| Other tournament wins | |
| Tournament | Years |
| Dutch Open Swedish Open German Open Pairs Denmark Open England National Championship |
2002 2004, 2007 2004 2005 2006, 2007 |
Shaun Greatbatch (born 13 July 1969) is a former English darts player. He lives in Suffolk and works in the construction industry. His nickname is 9 Dart, 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.
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 Colin Monk, 2004 against James Wade and 2005 against Mike Veitch. 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. The result means he did not need to qualify for the 2007 championship where he lost in the second round to Tony Eccles. In 2008 the first round jinx came back to haunt him as he was beaten by Martin Phillips.
On 14 June 2008 it was announced that Shaun had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma. As a result of his treatment, he lost all of his hair, weighs two stones lighter and is 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, 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.
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