Phill Nixon

Darts player infobox


playername = Phill Nixon
fullname = Phillip Nixon
nickname = Nixy, Ferryhill Flyer
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1956|3|13
cityofbirth = County Durham
countryofbirth = England
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
hometown = Ferryhill, County Durham
homecountry = England
since = 2002
darts = [http://www.reddragondarts.com/pages/phill-nixon-2062.htm Darts]
BDO = since 2002
PDC =
currentrank = 21 (BDO)
BDO World = Runner-up 2007
World Masters = QF 2002
World Darts Trophy = Last 56, 2007
Int. Darts League = Group stage 2007
PDC World =
Matchplay =
Grand Prix =
UK Open =
Vegas =
Premier League =
Grand Slam = Last 32 Group 2007
tournament =
updated = February 29, 2008

Phill Nixon (born March 13, 1956) is an English darts player from Ferryhill, County Durham sponsored by Red Dragon Darts [http://reddragondarts.com] .

Darts career

Nixon reached the final of the 2007 Lakeside World Darts Championship at the age of 50 [The Journal. Jan 13, 2007. [http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/0200sport/7000digest/tm_headline=darts--durham-hopeful-takes-aim&method=full&objectid=18462586&siteid=50081-name_page.html "Darts: Durham hopeful takes aim"] . ICNewcastle.co.uk. Retrieved 14-01-2007.] . After years of attempting, it was the first time he had managed to qualify for the event. 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, after at one stage being 6-0 down one leg from defeat, taking home a cheque for £30,000. He almost completed an all-time great sporting comeback. After looking down and out at 6-0 down at the interval all seemed lost. While 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 the Lakeside Crowd really got behind him. Gradually he clawed the gap back and sensed Adams vulnerability, which resulted in Adams missing four doubles to win the championship. Nixon played inspiring darts through the second half of the match and played at a high standard. He eventually lost the match 7-6 with Adams winning the final set 3-0. He was simply outplayed in that set, and Adams really upped his game. But Nixon did have his chances; he had a double 8 to win the first leg and a double 18 to save the match in the final leg. Unfortunately for Nixon, he just missed these chances, which proved critical.

Prior to his 2007 heriocs, 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 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. He put a brave fight against James Wade in his opening match at the inaugural Grand Slam of Darts in November - but lost 4-5 but then thrashed Niels de Ruiter to give himself a chance of reaching the last 16. However, he blew his opportunity, as he allowed a 4-0 lead and a total of eight match darts slip to lose 5-4 to Pat Orreal.

Nixon was eliminated from the 2008 BDO World Darts Championship in the first round, going down 3-0 to Martin Adams in a repeat of their final from twelve months earlier.

Outside darts

Phill is married to Suzanne (b 1969), they had been married for three years (together for eleven) at the time of his world final appearance in 2007. They have two children, although Phill has eight in total. [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,28910-2548309,00.html Darts Wives are thrown into a spin] article from "The Times"]

At the start of the tournament, Nixon's prime occupation was as a house husband. Nixon began to concentrate on his darts to a greater degree when he was made redundant.

References