Gary Stone (born 19 June 1981) is a Scottish professional darts player who currently plays in the World Darts Federation tournaments.
| Gary Stone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Stoney | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 19 June 1981 Bellshill, Scotland | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home town | Larkhall | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Darts information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing darts since | 1997 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Darts | 21 Gram Unicorn Neon | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Laterality | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Walk-on music | "Freedom" by QFX | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Organisation (see split in darts) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BDO | 2009–2014, 2018–2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| PDC | 2014–2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| WDF | 2018– | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current world ranking | (WDF) 54  46 (24 November 2024)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| WDF major events – best performances | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Ch'ship | Last 16: 2012, 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Masters | Last 16: 2018, 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| PDC premier events – best performances | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UK Open | Last 96: 2013, 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other tournament wins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Career
editBDO
editStone began his darts career at The Village Tavern in his hometown of Larkhall, reaching the semifinal of the weekly tournament before being eliminated by eventual winner and local darts protégé Darren Cross. The next week, Stone reached the final only to be beaten again by "The Crucifying Cross". It was Stone's first prize in darts; the prize was four credits for the jukebox.
Stone was spotted by local promoter Dave "Clubber" Lang, who recommended him to the BDO tour's management, who beat out competition from rival darts promotions in St Tam's and Netties to sign him to play professionally on the tour.
Stone qualified for the 2012 BDO World Championship and reached the last 16, defeating Ron Meulenkamp 3–0 but losing 4–0 to Martin Adams.[2] He won the WDF Europe Cup, beating reigning world champion Christian Kist in the final. He qualified for the 2013 BDO World Championship and lost 3–1 to Steve Douglas in the first round.[3]
Stone was part of the Scotland team that won gold in the men's team event at the WDF World Cup in 2013, with teammates Ross Montgomery, Craig Baxter and Alan Soutar. Scotland defeated America 9–7 in the team final. Stone also helped Scotland win silver in the overall competition.[4]
In 2019, Gary Stone won the Swedish Classic, defeating John Scott 5–2 in the final.
PDC
editStone entered the PDC Q School in January 2014, and secured a tour card on the third day with a 5–2 win over Steve Grubb in the final round.[5] He made his debut in the European Tour at the European Darts Open in July, losing 6–4 to Ryan de Vreede in the first round.[6] He also reached the last 32 of two Players Championship events during the season.[7]
He qualified for the 2015 German Darts Masters and overcame Rowby-John Rodriguez 6–4, before losing 6–2 to Michael van Gerwen.[8] Stone also reached the second round of the Dutch Darts Masters by beating Dean Winstanley 6–4 with an average of almost 100, but then narrowly lost 6–5 to Steve Beaton.[9] His tour card expired at the end of 2015 and with Stone ranked 100th on the Order of Merit he needed to enter Q School.[10] A single last 16 showing over the four days was not enough for Stone to win his place back.[11] A trio of last 64 defeats saw him qualify for the 2016 UK Open, where he beat Johnny Haines 6–5, before losing 6–2 to Jamie Caven in the second round.[12] Stone played in the majority of Challenge Tour events, with two last 16 defeats being his best runs.[13]
World Championship results
editBDO/WDF
edit- 2012: Second round (lost to Martin Adams 0–4)
- 2013: First round (lost to Steve Douglas 1–3)
- 2020: First round (lost to Jim Williams 2–3)
- 2023: Third round (lost to Andy Baetens 1–3)
References
edit- ^ "WDF Men's Rankings Table". WDF. 24 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
- ^ "2012 BDO World Championship Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
- ^ "2013 BDO World Championship Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
- ^ "Ross 'The Boss' Montgomery is on top of the world after winning darts team event in Canada". Daily Record. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
- ^ "2014 PDC Qualifying School Day Three". PDC. Archived from the original on 19 January 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
- ^ "European Darts Open First Round". PDC. Archived from the original on 13 July 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
- ^ "Gary Stone 2014". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
- ^ "2015 PDC German Darts Masters Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
- ^ "Dutch Darts Masters Day One". PDC. Archived from the original on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Order of Merit on 4 January 2016". PDC. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ "2016 PDC Qualifying School Day Four". PDC. Archived from the original on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
- ^ "2016 Coral UK Open Day One". PDC. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- ^ "Gary Stone 2016". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 25 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
External links
edit- Player profile for Gary Stone from Dartsdatabase