Larry Butler (darts player)

Darts player infobox


playername = Larry Butler
fullname =Larry Thomas Butler
nickname = Larry "Bullseye" Butler
dateofbirth =
cityofbirth =
countryofbirth =
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
hometown =
homecountry =
since =
darts =
BDO = 1992
PDC = 1994 to 1997, 2007 to present
currentrank = 168 (PDC)
63 (WDF)
BDO World = Last 32 1992
World Masters =
World Darts Trophy =
Int. Darts League =
PDC World = Quarter-Finals 1996
Matchplay = Winner 1994
Grand Prix =
UK Open =
Vegas = Last 32 2008
Premier League =
US Open = Last 64 2007
tournament = Soft Tip Bullshooter World Championship
USA Dart Classic
resultyears = 1992, 1993, 1997
2007

Larry Butler is an American darts player, who was the winner of the 1994 PDC World Matchplay Darts Championship. This success made him the first, and so far only American player to have won a major darts tournament in Europe.

He also had some success in his home country, winning the 1993, 1994, 1995 New York Open, the 1994 Darts America Championship, the 1991, 1992, 1993 World Bullshooter Championship and the 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995 Cincinnati Spring Fling Open.

Butler made his World Championship debut in 1992, losing to Dennis Priestley in the first round. Many top British players formed their own organisation (separate to the governing body, the British Darts Organisation) during 1993-94 to organise their own tournaments and their own World Championships (see split in darts). Several North American players were invited to join them in tournaments and Butler appeared at the first WDC (now Professional Darts Corporation, PDC) World Championship in 1994. He failed to qualify from the group stages, but produced a notable victory over three-time former world champion, John Lowe. Lowe was the last world champion before the split just twelve months earlier.

Few would have predicted that Butler would take the World Matchplay Championship in Blackpool later in 1994. He beat Steve Raw, Jerry Umberger, Jocky Wilson and Shayne Burgess to reach the final where he beat the World Champion Dennis Priestley by 16 legs to 12 to take the £10,000 top prize.

Butler also competed at the 1995, 1996 and 1997 WDC World Championships where he beat former world champions Keith Deller and Eric Bristow plus world number one Rod Harrington but only managed to qualify past the group stages in 1997 when he lost to Jamie Harvey in the quarter-finals.

Despite his excellent results, including victories over several world champions, Butler ceased competing regularly on the circuit after the 1997 World Championships. Most major tournaments were staged in the United Kingdom and few North American players were able to make an impact on the game which such travelling difficulties.

After an absence of ten years, Butler began competing again on the PDC North American circuit which began to expand during 2007. He also won the USA Dart Classic, a World Darts Federation tournament. He ended 2007 ranked 81 in the WDF World rankings and 368 on the PDC Order of Merit.

Butler then made his first televised appearance in over ten years after qualifying for the 2008 Las Vegas Desert Classic as one of four North American qualifiers. He lost in the first round 6-4 to Alan Tabern.

External links

* [http://www.cyberdarts.com/pros/LarryButler.html Cyberdarts profile]
* [http://www.teessidesoftware.no-ip.com/DartsDatabase/PlayerDetails.aspx?PlayerKey=1896&organPd=All&tourns=All&plStat=1#PlayerResults Darts database profile]