| Kevin Painter | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Painter in 2014 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Nickname | "The Artist" | ||||||||||||||
| Born | (1967-07-12)12 July 1967 (age 58) Billericay,Essex, England | ||||||||||||||
| Home town | Rugby, Warwickshire, England | ||||||||||||||
| Darts information | |||||||||||||||
| Playing darts since | 1982 | ||||||||||||||
| Darts | 24g Winmau Signature | ||||||||||||||
| Laterality | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||
| Walk-on music | "I Predict a Riot" byKaiser Chiefs preceded by the intro to "The Greatest Show" byThe Greatest Showman[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Organisation (seesplit in darts) | |||||||||||||||
| BDO | 1992–2001 | ||||||||||||||
| PDC | 2001–2021 | ||||||||||||||
| WDF major events – best performances | |||||||||||||||
| World Championship | Quarter-final:2000,2001 | ||||||||||||||
| World Masters | Quarter-final: 2001 | ||||||||||||||
| World Trophy | Last 32:2007 | ||||||||||||||
| Int. Darts League | Preliminary Round:2007 | ||||||||||||||
| Finder Masters | Quarter-final:2001 | ||||||||||||||
| PDC premier events – best performances | |||||||||||||||
| World Championship | Runner-up:2004 | ||||||||||||||
| World Matchplay | Quarter-final:2010 | ||||||||||||||
| World Grand Prix | Quarter-final:2001,2003,2004,2009,2014 | ||||||||||||||
| UK Open | Semi-final:2009 | ||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam | Quarter-final:2007,2009,2012 | ||||||||||||||
| European Championship | Last 16:2012,2013 | ||||||||||||||
| Premier League | 7th:2012 | ||||||||||||||
| Ch'ship League | Runner-up:2008 | ||||||||||||||
| Desert Classic | Semi-final:2004 | ||||||||||||||
| US Open/WSoD | Last 16:2006,2007 | ||||||||||||||
| PC Finals | Winner (1):2011 | ||||||||||||||
| Masters | Last 16:2013 | ||||||||||||||
| WSDT major events – best performances | |||||||||||||||
| World Championship | Semi-final:2022,2023 | ||||||||||||||
| World Matchplay | Semi-final:2022 | ||||||||||||||
| World Masters | Last 16: 2023 | ||||||||||||||
| Champions | Quarter-final:2023 | ||||||||||||||
| Other tournament wins | |||||||||||||||
UK Open Regionals (x2)
| |||||||||||||||
Kevin Painter (born 12 July 1967) is an English former professionaldarts player who competed inBritish Darts Organisation (BDO) tournaments from 1992 to 2001, before switching to theProfessional Darts Corporation (PDC) in 2001, playing professionally until 2021. Nicknamed "the Artist". he was the runner-up toPhil Taylor in the2004 PDC World Championship final, widely considered as one of the greatest televised matches in darts history.[2][3][4] He won his only PDC major title at thePlayers Championship Finals in2011.
Painter started playing darts around the age of 17. His first County Appearance was against Staffordshire for Essex at the Runnymede Hall, Benfleet on Saturday 15 November as a Men's B Team player, where he won 2–0 in 16 and 21 darts, recording an average of 27.08 (81.24) Once anEssex county player, his first appearance on television was in the1994 BDO World Championship, which was notable as the first BDO World Championship to follow thesplit in darts, where 16 players formed theWorld Darts Council (later Professional Darts Corporation) and their own world championship. Painter was defeated in the first round 3–2 byKevin Kenny. During that year (1994) he also appeared on TV'sBullseye and won the pro's Bronze Bully for that year with a score of 380 (doubled up to £760 for charity). He reached the second round of the1995 championship before falling 3–0 toMartin Adams, but success followed later in 1995 with a win in the inauguralEngland Open and in 1997 he won the prestigiousBritish Open. Two more appearances in the second round of the BDO World Championship followed and in the2000 championship he reached his first televised quarter-final, but lost 5–2 to the eventual championTed Hankey.
The new millennium marked more success for Painter with victory in theSwedish Open. Only a month earlier he had made his debut in a PDC event – the2000 World Grand Prix where he reached the second round, but was defeated 3–2 by Taylor. Painter however did not become a member of theProfessional Dart Players Association, the organisation that allows players to play in all PDC events, and therefore remained a BDO player. In what would be his final appearance in the event, Painter once again reached the quarter-finals in the2001 BDO World Championship before losing 5–2 toAndy Fordham. Painter entered another PDC event, the2001 World Matchplay, but lost in the first round before returning again in the2001 World Grand Prix, where in a major shock he defeated Taylor in the first round. Taylor had never before been defeated in this event and had not lost on television for two years prior to this loss. This was also the first time that Taylor had been defeated in the first round of a televised PDC event. Painter reached the quarter-finals before losing 6–1 toDennis Smith. Back in the BDO he made his best performance in the 2001Winmau World Masters, reaching the quarter-finals and repeated that placing in the 2001 Zuiderduin Masters, in what was his last BDO event.
Painter made his debut in the PDC World Championship in the2002 event but lost in the first round toRonnie Baxter. Despite a victory in the 2002 Bob Anderson Classic, he failed to make any real headway in the televised PDC events until he reached his first world championship semi-final in the2003 PDC World Championship, where he lost 6–4 to eventual championJohn Part.
Painter's finest hour came in the2004 World Championship. As the 10th seed, he began his campaign by beatingPaul Williams before he defeated 7th seed Baxter in the fourth round. He then beatMark Dudbridge before a whitewash of former world championBob Anderson followed later on in the semi-finals. Painter then met top seed Taylor in the final. What followed was the longest televised darts match ever and for a time the most watched PDC darts match (820,000 viewers)[5] until the 2007 final. Despite Painter leading 4–1 at one point, the match went to 6–6 in sets and 5–5 in legs in the final set, so a sudden-death leg was needed to decide a winner. Taylor won it and became the champion, but Painter, who had a three-dart out-shot to win the championship at 2–1 and 3–2 in the final set, while also leaving himself double 16 at 4–3 in the final set without ever getting a dart at it, gained fame for his participation in such an epic final.
The following year was a strong one for Painter where he reached the quarter-finals in theUK Open and the semi-finals in theLas Vegas Desert Classic, his best performance in these tournaments to date. He reached the quarter-finals of the 2005 Las Vegas Desert Classic and the2005 World Championship despite falling victim to a leg injury which damaged his form and kept him out of many tournaments.
Painter's form dropped substantially in 2006. Despite opening strongly with a victory in the North West UK Open final[6] and a second successive appearance in the quarter-finals of the2006 World Championship, his form began to stagnate around the middle of the year. Painter suffered first or early round defeats in most of the major tournaments and hisranking had dropped to 18 by the beginning of 2007. This was exacerbated by a defeat in the first round ofthat year's World Championship to his former practice partnerColin Osborne.
The first half of 2007 saw the early round defeats in televised majors continue, though many of them were to Taylor and then-World ChampionRaymond van Barneveld. Painter suffered another first round loss in the2007 World Grand Prix, but this would prove to be the turning point. Sky Sports pundit and friendRod Harrington warned that Painter could "slip into anonymity" if he did not recover his form. Painter attributed the "perception that he was finished" to a renewed determination and subsequent rise in form.[7]
November 2007 saw a strong return to form for Painter, where he reached the quarter-finals of the firstGrand Slam of Darts despite being entered as awild card. The2008 World Championship proved to be a monumental success for Painter, where he was responsible for knocking out defending championRaymond van Barneveld in the last 16. Painter was knocked out in the semi-finals by eventual champion Part, his best performance since when he was the runner-up in 2004. Painter considers the win over van Barneveld as the greatest of his career.[8]
Painter's results in the televised majors in 2008 were not as might have been expected from the World Championship – he was once again defeated by Osborne in the third round of theUK Open and lost in the first round of theLas Vegas Desert Classic against the eventual champion Taylor. Painter averaged 104 (the third highest average of the tournament) and did not miss a double in the match, but was still defeated 6–4. His poor record at theWorld Matchplay continued as he suffered a first round loss in the2008 event toTony Eccles. He lost in a deciding leg toColin Lloyd in the second round of theWorld Grand Prix (having missed three darts to win the match) and finished bottom of his group in the2008 Grand Slam of Darts. However, his success in non-televised events was considerably better including an appearance in the Bristol Players Championship final – losing 3–2 toDennis Priestley. This was his first PDC final since September 2006.
Painter entered the2009 PDC World Championship as the number 17 seed. He defeatedMatt Clark in the first round, winning in a sudden-death leg to become the first seeded player to progress to the second round, where he beatCarlos Rodríguez. However, in the third round he lost 4–1 to eventual champion Taylor. In the inauguralPlayers Championship Finals at the end of January, Painter looked to be heading for another first round exit as he went 5–2 down toAlex Roy, but he won four consecutive legs to progress to the second round, where he met second seedJames Wade. This match also went to a deciding leg; Painter missed one dart at the bullseye and Wade took his chance to go through at Painter's expense. However, this performance saw Painter re-establish his place in the top 16 of the rankings, and his good form in floor events from 2008 continued – he reached two semi-finals on thePDC Pro Tour, notably inGladbeck, Germany, where on 1 March he led Taylor 5–4 before losing 6–5.[9]
In June 2009, Painter reached the semi-finals of theUK Open, his best ever performance in the tournament. After dispatchingDennis Priestley 9–3 andAlan Tabern 10–8, Painter eventually lost 10–7 to Colin Osborne. His World Matchplay woes continued with a 13–3 defeat to Taylor in the second round of the2009 event, though he reached the quarter-finals of theWorld Grand Prix and theGrand Slam of Darts, in the latter topping the 'group of death' that includedRaymond van Barneveld andJohn Part. Another third round exit followed in the2010 World Championship, 4–1 to van Barneveld this time.
Painter's first televised appearance in 2010 was a third round defeat at theUK Open, where he was on the end of a 9–0 whitewash by Taylor, who recorded the current world record average at 118.66. But success was to follow in the2010 World Matchplay; after making a remarkable comeback to come from 8–2 down in defeating Essex rival Colin Lloyd 11–9 in the first round,[10] he overcameMark Walsh 14–12 to reach the quarter-finals of the World Matchplay at the tenth time of asking.[11] Once again however, eternal rival Taylor brought his run to an end in the semi-finals.
Initially Painter suffered an indifferent 2011. At the2011 PDC World Championship, he was defeated soundly in the first round byBrendan Dolan. At the2011 World Matchplay, Painter revealed that he had received laser eye surgery before the tournament to improve his game, he also stated that he had hit anine dart finish after 10 minutes of practise with his improved vision.[12] However, in the opening night of the tournament, he led reigning world championAdrian Lewis for most of the match, but missed six doubles that would have won him the match, and subsequently lost by 14 legs to 12.
At thePlayers Championship Finals in December 2011, Painter beat Colin Osborne,Gary Anderson,Mervyn King, andScott Rand to reach his first major final since the World Championship in 2004. The victory against Rand saw him recover from 9–6 down in the best-of-19 leg match and survive two match darts in the seventeenth leg. Painter then beatMark Webster 13–9 in the final to win his first televised major tournament.[13] This victory returned him to the top 10 in thePDC Order of Merit for the first time since 2006. At the2012 PDC World Championship, Painter defeatedArron Monk andMark Walsh before losing once again to John Part by four sets to two.[14]
Painter's Players Championship victory saw him gain aPDC wildcard into thePremier League Darts for the first time.[15] He won his first game with an 8–6 win overGary Anderson, despite averaging 82.67.[16] Painter also had wins overSimon Whitlock,Andy Hamilton, andAdrian Lewis, but finished 7th in the 8 man league.[17] At theWorld Matchplay, Painter suffered a 6–10 defeat toSteve Beaton in the first round.[18] In October, Painter defeatedKim Huybrechts 2–0 in sets in the first round of theWorld Grand Prix without his opponent picking up a single leg,[19] but then lost toJustin Pipe 2–3 in the last 16.[20] Painter won two of his three Group C games at theGrand Slam of Darts to finish second in the table and qualify for the knockout stage, where he facedMervyn King.[21] From 2–2, Painter surged away by taking five straight legs and closed out the match 10–5,[22] but then missed 30 of his 42 attempts at a double in the quarter-finals againstDean Winstanley as he lost 12–16.[23] Painter finished 30th on the ProTour Order of Merit, just inside the top 32 who qualified for thePlayers Championship Finals.[24] He began the defence of his 2011 title with a first round meeting againstMichael van Gerwen, who had won eight tournaments this year, and lost 3–6.[25]
At the2013 World Championship, Painter lost in the last 16 toAdrian Lewis 4–2.[26] He produced a superb fightback from 7–3 down in the fourth round of theUK Open to beatGary Anderson 9–7.[27] At 5–0 down toAdrian Lewis in the next round, Painter threatened another amazing comeback as at one point he trailed only 4–6, but he would ultimately lose 9–4.[28] He was knocked out in the second round of theEuropean Championship,World Matchplay andWorld Grand Prix.[29]In October, Painter made it through to his first PDC ranking final since his major success almost two years ago at the 12thPlayers Championship of the season. From the last 16 onwards he defeatedRobert Thornton,Wes Newton andMichael Smith, but was whitewashed 6–0 byKim Huybrechts in the final.[30]
Painter advanced to the third round of the2014 World Championship without dropping a set but then hit just 19% of his doubles againstSimon Whitlock to lose 4–0.[31]At theUK Open he enjoyed comfortable wins overRichie Burnett,Andrew Gilding andDean Winstanley and ledMervyn King 2–0 in the early stages of their quarter-final, before his form dropped to lose 10–6.[32][33] His second major quarter-final of the year came at theWorld Grand Prix which he reached by coming back from 2–0 down in sets againstAdrian Lewis to win 3–2.[34] He again fell 2–0 down this time againstGary Anderson, but rallied to pull a setback and then took out a 152 finish with Anderson waiting on 36 for the match to draw level at 2–2. However, Painter would lose the deciding set to fall short of reaching his first semi-final in the event, this being his fifth last eight defeat.[35]
Painter built a 3–1 set advantage over Spanish qualifierCristo Reyes in the second round of the2015 World Championship, but lost three sets in a row without getting a match dart to be eliminated 4–3.[36] He suffered a 9–0 whitewash toAndrew Gilding in the third round of theUK Open.[37] Painter missed out on playing in theWorld Matchplay this year since he switched to the PDC in 2001.[38] He failed to qualify for the rest of the majors on the PDC calendar in 2015, but remained in the top 32 on the Order of Merit to play in the2016 World Championship.[39]
In the second round of the2016 World Championship, Painter missed four darts to leadPhil Taylor 2–1 and went on to be defeated 4–1.[40]2016 proved to be the first year since Painter's switch to the PDC that he did not reach the quarter-finals of any event.[41] Painter dropped out of the top 32 in the world rankings during the year and qualified for two other major events, theUK Open (lost 6–4 toDean Winstanley in the second round) and thePlayers Championship Finals (lost 6–4 toDave Chisnall in the first round).[42]
Painter qualified for the2017 World Championship through the Pro Tour Order of Merit whenKyle Anderson was forced to withdraw from the event due to being unable to get a UK Visa. He won the last six legs of his first round encounter withJamie Caven to defeat him 3–1.[43] He missed a number of doubles in his second round match withPhil Taylor, including three to win the third set, and was defeated 4–0.[44]
Painter qualified via the Pro Tour Order of Merit for the2018 World Championship, but lost in the first round toMensur Suljović 3–0.
In 2018 he did not earn enough money to qualify for another major tournament. Since he lost his tour card in 2019 he is playing on the Challenge Tour.
After failing to regain his tour card in 2021 Q School, Kevin publicly announced his retirement from professional darts after his 25-year career.[45]
Painter lives inRugby, Warwickshire. He previously lived with his long-term partner,Janine Gough, and their daughter, Madison Elise Painter (born 2005), until his separation from Gough in 2016.[46] Gough is herself a former darts player fromSwansea, and she won theGirls' World Masters in 1999 and 2000.[47] Kevin Painter was abuilder before turning professional.[48] He spends his training sessions withMatthew Edgar, a PDC darts player.[49] He is also a season ticket and share holder ofIpswich Town. He often plays wearing a blue shirt in reference to his favourite team.
In 2012, Painter, together with the seven other players who competed in thePremier League recorded a charity single withChas 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 will be donated to the Haven House Children's Hospice.[50]
Painter has also been featured in numerous darts videogames, includingPDC World Championship Darts 2008,2009 andPDC World Championship Darts Pro Tour.
Painter is probably also famous for a notorious rivalry with Taylor, perhaps stemming from his shock victory over Taylor in the 2001 World Grand Prix, and loss in the 2004 World Championship final. He has had many run-ins with Taylor. In the2005 World Championship quarter-final against Taylor, Painter often tried to check out by hitting the bullseye, but failed many times. Taylor won the last leg of the match by deliberately leaving 50, then checking out on the bull, which Painter took as a taunt and argued viciously with Taylor for a few minutes after the match.
In April 2008, Painter was involved in another incident at the Holland Masters, a non-televised tournament. In a quarter-final match with Taylor's protégé,Adrian Lewis, an argument between the two took place in the deciding set. They were both disqualified from the tournament.[51] In July, the Darts Regulation Authority decided upon an appropriate punishment; Painter was fined £200 and banned for three months with two months suspended while Lewis was fined £400 with a six-month ban, four months suspended.[52][53]
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score[N 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 1997 | British Matchplay |  Steve Beaton | 3–0 (s) |
| Legend |
|---|
| World Championship (0–1) |
| Players Championship Finals (1–0) |
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score[N 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 2004 | World Championship | Phil Taylor | 6–7 (s) |
| Winner | 1. | 2011 | Players Championship Finals |  Mark Webster | 13–9 (l) |
| Performance Table Legend | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | Won the tournament | F | Finalist | SF | Semifinalist | QF | Quarterfinalist | #R RR Prel. | Lost in # round Round-robin Preliminary round | DQ | Disqualified |
| DNQ | Did not qualify | DNP | Did not participate | WD | Withdrew | NH | Tournament not held | NYF | Not yet founded | ||
BDO
| Tournament | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BDO Ranked televised events | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championship | DNQ | 1R | 2R | 1R | DNQ | 2R | 2R | QF | QF | PDC | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Masters | 1R | 4R | 2R | 2R | 4R | 3R | 2R | 1R | QF | PDC | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| European Masters | Not held | QF | Not held | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Zuiderduin Masters | Not held | DNP | QF | PDC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Darts Trophy | Not held | 1R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International Darts League | Not held | RR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PDC
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDC Ranked televised events | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championship | Non-PDC | 1R | SF | F | QF | QF | 1R | SF | 3R | 3R | 1R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | ||||||||||||||
| UK Open | Not held | 3R | QF | 4R | 3R | 6R | 3R | SF | 4R | 3R | 3R | 5R | QF | 3R | 2R | 3R | DNQ | |||||||||||||||
| World Matchplay | DNP | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | QF | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | DNQ | ||||||||||||||||
| World Grand Prix | 2R | QF | 2R | QF | QF | 2R | 1R | 1R | 2R | QF | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | QF | DNQ | ||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam | Not held | QF | RR | QF | DNQ | QF | RR | DNQ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| European Championship | Not held | 1R | 1R | DNQ | 2R | 2R | DNQ | DNP | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Players Championship Finals | Not held | 2R | 2R | 2R | W | 1R | 1R | 1R | DNQ | 1R | 1R | DNQ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| PDC Non-ranked televised events | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Premier League | Not held | DNP | 7th | DNP | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Masters | Not held | 1R | DNQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PDC Past major events | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Las Vegas Desert Classic | Not held | 1R | DNQ | SF | QF | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | Not held | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year-end ranking | NR | 14 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 18 | 22 | 15 | 13 | 20 | 30 | 46 | 44 | 56 | ||||||||||||||
WSD
| Tournament | 2022 | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WSD Televised events | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seniors World Championship | SF | SF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Seniors Masters | Prel. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Seniors Matchplay | SF | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Painter was involved in what will long be regarded as one of the all-time Circus Tavern classics back in 2004 when he lost a thrilling final 7–6 to his long-time rival Phil Taylor.
...coming from 4–1 down to win in a sudden-death leg against Kevin Painter in arguably the sport's best-ever game.
Kevin Painter made one of the finest comebacks ever seen to overturn an 8–2 deficit against Colin Lloyd.