Denis Ovens

Denis Ovens
Personal information
Nickname	The Heat
Born	1 July 1957 (1957-07-01) (age 54) Enfield, England
Home town	Stevenage England
Darts information
Darts	20g LazerDarts
Laterality	Right-handed
Walk-on music	"The Heat Is On" (1985) by Glenn Frey
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO	1986 - 2000
PDC	2000 - present
Current world ranking	19
BDO majors - best performances
World Ch'ship	Round 1 2000
World Masters	Quarter Finalist 1999
World Darts Trophy	Round 1 2007
PDC premier events - best performances
World Ch'ship	Quarter Finalist 2005
World Matchplay	Round 2 (6) 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 2005, 2009
World Grand Prix	Round 2 (3) 2001, 2003, 2011
Grand Slam	Last 16 2008
Ch'ship League	Initial groups, Semi-finals 2008
Desert Classic	Quarter Finalist 2002
European Ch'ship	Round 2 2008
UK Open	Semi Finalist (2) 2010, 2011
US Open/WSoD	Last 32 2008
Players Ch'ship Finals	Round 1 (3) 2009, 2010, 2011
Other tournament wins
Tournament	Years
Scottish Open Claims Solution Classic Jersey Festival of Darts Irish Masters Open Holland John Smith's Open UK Open South Ireland Open Classic Players Championship Gibraltar	1999 2001 2001 2001, 2002 2003 2005 2005 2007 2010

Denis Ovens (born 1 July 1957 in Enfield) is an English darts player currently ranked number 29 in the PDC Order of Merit. He is nicknamed The Heat and is now based in Stevenage.^[1] Ovens is widely regarded as one of the most consistent players in the circuit, though he has as yet failed to convert his form from the circuit to the big stages on television. His constant second round exits in numerous televised tournaments has led him to be called by commentators as 'The Nearly Man'.

His one good run came in the 2005 PDC World Darts Championship, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to former World Masters champion Mark Dudbridge. He has since suffered four successive second round exits in the World Championship - against Steve Alker in 2006, against Alan Tabern in 2007 (in a thriller that went to a sudden death deciding leg, with Ovens narrowly missing a double 12 for a perfect nine dart finish and a £15,000 bonus), in 2008 against Dutchman Jan van der Rassel, after defeating Colin Monk in the first round and in 2009, to Ronnie Baxter having defeated Steve Maish 3-0 in the first round.

Outside of darts Denis is a big Manchester United fan and has a season ticket, he goes to watch games when he is not playing darts.

Trivia

• Ovens is known for his trademark unshaven looks. Ovens stated on ESPN's World Series of Darts that he kept shaving before a darts match and always lost, so he thought "OK, don't shave".
• Ovens is well known to darts fans as "Captain Hobo", in reference to his unkempt appearance.
• Ovens is a devoted Manchester United fan and his favourite player is Wayne Rooney.
• Ovens was Michael Caine's body double in a dart scene in the film Bullseye! which also featured Roger Moore.
• Ovens' exploits within the PDC opens structure is well-known. Ovens holds the record for "most open wins" on the PDC circuit, with a total of 37 successes. He also holds the record for consecutive opens wins, a record which he set in 2005 after he recorded 7 consecutive open titles.

References

1. ^ "Denis Ovens (ENG)". ITV. http://www.itv.com/Sport/Darts/Playerprofiles/DenisOvens/default.html. Retrieved 21 January 2010. 

External links

• Interview with Denis Ovens
• Profile and stats on Darts Database

Persondata
Name	Ovens, Denis
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1 July 1957
Place of birth	Enfield, England
Date of death
Place of death