Adrian Gray
Personal information
Nickname"The Conqueror"
Born (1981-02-28) 28 February 1981
Hastings, East Sussex, England
Home townSt Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, England
Darts information
Playing darts since1999
Darts21g Trinidad Adrian Gray
LateralityRight-handed
Walk-on music"Freestyler" by Bomfunk MC's
Organisation (see split in darts)
PDC2002–
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'shipLast 32: 2007
World MatchplayLast 32: 2007, 2008
World Grand PrixQuarter-finals: 2007
UK OpenLast 16: 2003
Ch'ship LeagueInitial groups: 8th, 2008
Desert ClassicQuarter-finals: 2008
US Open/WSoDLast 64: 2007
Other tournament wins
Soft Tip Dartslive Asia Open 2014
Soft Tip Dartslive Singapore 2015

Adrian Gray (born 28 February 1981) is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.

Career

Gray made his televised debut at the 2003 UK Open. He only began playing darts at the age of 18, and within three years had defeated notable players such as three-time world champion John Part.[1]

He made his debut in the PDC World Darts Championship in 2006, defeating Ronnie Baxter in the first round before losing to Darren Webster. An ever-present in the UK Open televised finals in Bolton, Gray's run to the semi-finals at the Antwerp Darts Trophy in 2007 saw him earn a Stan James World Matchplay qualifying spot but he lost 10–12 to Kevin Painter in the first round.

Gray had previously come through to win a place at the 2005 Las Vegas Desert Classic, where he overcame American John Kuczynski in the first round before going down to Ray Carver.[2]

He produced a major upset at the 2007 World Grand Prix when he became only the third player in the history of the tournament to defeat Phil Taylor. Despite losing the first two legs of their first round match, Gray then rarely missed his starting double 16 and took five successive legs to move within one of the match. In the fourth leg of the second set, Gray hit back-to-back 180s and finished the match with a double seven to complete the shock result.

Hoping to build on his success over Taylor in Ireland, Gray suffered a disappointing first round exit from the 2008 World Championship, losing 3–2 to Mark Walsh. This was followed up by a disappointing 2008 UK Open, losing 9–4 to Chris Thompson in the third round. However, Gray bounced back in the 2008 Las Vegas Desert Classic, reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in the competition before being defeated by Taylor.

Gray suffered another first round exit in the 2009 PDC World Darts Championship in a 3–0 defeat against Newcastle-born Australian Paul Nicholson, losing all nine legs in the process and only managing one dart at a double.

In January 2012, Gray entered the PDC 'Q School'. On the third day of action he earned a PDC Pro Tour card with a 6–5 win over John Scott after also beating Geoff Kime, Steven Pearson and Brian Kirk before reaching the final stage.[3] His best result of 2012 came in October, when he reached the semi-finals of the 15th Players Championship.[4] He beat the likes of Brendan Dolan and Andy Hamilton, before losing 4–6 to Peter Wright.[5]

He went into 2013 ranked world number 74.[6] At the UK Open he beat Steve Brown, Connie Finnan and Dean Stewart to reach the fourth round, where he met Phil Taylor.[7] Taylor averaged 105 in the match as he comfortably beat Gray 9–2.[8] He advanced to the quarter-finals of the 10th Players Championship of the year where he lost 6–1 to Andrew Gilding.[9] Gray entered Q School in January 2014 and had his best run on the second day when he was beaten 5–4 by Stuart White in the last 32.[10] He did not do enough over the four days to earn a tour card and only had PDPA Associate Member status for 2014 which gave him entry to UK Open and European Tour qualifiers as well as the Challenge Tour.[11] He qualified for the UK Open and was whitewashed 5–0 by Ronny Huybrechts in the second round.[12] In April, Gray beat Yuji Eguchi to win the Soft Tip Dartslive Asia Open and $15,000.[13] A second soft tip title came in 2015 when he took the Dartslive Singapore event by defeating Hyun Chul Park.[14]

In January 2019, Gray regained his PDC Tour Card via the Q-School Order of Merit, sealing at least two years on the ProTour. Two last 16 appearances in the first 18 events were followed by a sensational run to the semi-finals of Players Championship 20, where Gray beat the likes of Max Hopp, Justin Pipe, Nathan Aspinall and Steve Beaton before succumbing to Peter Wright.

World Championship results

PDC

Personal life

Gray lives in St Leonards-on-Sea in East Sussex. He is not a full-time professional – he makes his living as a carpet fitter, where he is a business partner with Colin Barnes. In 2006, Gray and Barnes were named East Sussex carpet fitters of the year – a title Gray referred to when interviewed on stage later that year. Gray also darts for the Hastings side in the East Division of the Sussex Superleague, alongside other former prominent PDC player Shayne Burgess.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Adrian Gray profile Archived 14 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine Planetdarts.tv
  2. ↑ "2005 Las Vegas Desert Classic Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  3. ↑ "Planet Darts | Latest News | Newsdesk | Newsdesk | Qualifying School - Day Three". Archived from the original on 24 January 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "Adrian Gray 2012". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  5. ↑ "2012 Killarney Pro Tour Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  6. ↑ "Order of Merit on 1 January 2013". PDC. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  7. ↑ "2013 UK Open Fixtures". Darts Database. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  8. ↑ "Speedy Services UK Open - Fourth Round". PDC. Archived from the original on 10 June 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  9. ↑ "2013 PDPA Players Championship Ireland Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  10. ↑ "2014 PDC Tour Card Qualifying School Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  11. ↑ "2014 PDC Qualifying School Day Four". PDC. Archived from the original on 19 January 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  12. ↑ "Coral UK Open - Friday Afternoon". PDC. 7 March 2014.
  13. ↑ "2014 Soft Tip Dartslive Asia Open Player Prize Money". Darts Database. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  14. ↑ "2015 Soft Tip Dartslive Singapore Player Prize Money". Darts Database. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  15. ↑ "Sussex Darts Organization: The Official Site". Sussex Darts Organization. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
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