Part’s career began with a bang in the 1990s when he made an injured Bobby George look pedestrian, cruising to a 6–0 win in the BDO World Championship final. It was a victory some labelled controversial...
Re-mastered? North American darts legend 'Darth Maple' returns to iconic event originally appeared on The Sporting News
John Part, the three-time World Champion better known to darting mortals as Darth Maple, has decided he isn’t quite finished with the oche after all. Many will be familiar with his dulcet tones from commentary on PDC and other events but now the Canadian legend is dusting off the flight case and returning to the World Darts Federation stage, entering the upcoming WDF World Masters. It’s his first crack at the event since 2002 – which, in darts years, is roughly three generations of hairstyles ago.
For those with shorter memories, Part’s career began with a bang in the 1990s when he made an injured Bobby George look pedestrian, cruising to a 6–0 win in the BDO World Championship final. It was a victory some labelled controversial, mostly because the big names had already bolted to the brand-new PDC. But Part didn’t waste much time following them, making the jump himself in 1998.
By 2001, he’d already reached his first PDC World Final – and promptly ran into Phil Taylor, which in those days was like running headfirst into a brick wall made of tungsten. Two years later, though, Part got his revenge in a match so dramatic that Sid Waddell declared it the greatest game Sky has ever shown. When Sid said something like that, you just nodded and believed him.
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Part went on to claim two more world titles, the second coming at the expense of Kirk Shepherd in a final so one-sided it should probably have come with a parental advisory warning. But after hitting the sport’s summit, the inevitable slow drift downward began. By the late 2000s, Part’s Premier League appearances had dried up, and so had the regular trips to the business end of major tournaments.
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Losing his tour card in 2019 might have been the end for most, but Part has kept himself busy on the Senior circuit, where he proved he can still throw a mean dart even if the knees don’t quite bend like they used to. He’s reached quarter-finals here and there, showing glimpses of the old sparkle, but now the WDF beckons him back – a neat little full-circle moment given his earliest major steps came in the BDO World Masters back in 1993.
The World Masters itself has seen just about every darts great worth naming lift the trophy – Bristow, Lowe, van Barneveld, Taylor – though the event has had its ups and downs lately, with pandemics, cancellations, and occasional oops, not enough players”moments. Last year’s edition in Budapest saw Wesley Plaisier and Beau Greaves defend their titles, proving some people really don’t like sharing.
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This year’s showpiece lands at the Gerevich Aladár National Sports Hall in Budapest once again, 29th October - 1st November, and Part will be aiming for the kind of run that reminds everyone why he’s still one of the sport’s most iconic names.
Will he win? Who knows. But if darts has taught us anything, it’s that you should never underestimate a man who once dethroned Phil Taylor while dressed like a Canadian Sith Lord.
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Category: General Sports