Brilliant Burgess hits nine-darter

The former world number two hit two successive maximum 180s and checked out 141 in the Sussex County Darts Super League Champion of Champion Play-Offs.

The 48-year-old pulled off the rare feat to complete a 3-0 victory in his quarter-final against fellow local player Mark Stafford, with whom Burgess used to play pairs.

While many players would tackle 141 by going treble 20, treble 19, double 12, Burgess went his own way with treble 19, treble 16 and double 18.

Nicknamed “The Bulldog”, Burgess hit his first nine-darter in the Eastbourne Open 11 years ago during his Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) days.

Burgess also chalked one by Alan Warriner-Little in Ireland and Martin Phillips did a nine-darter against him in the semi-finals of the Isle of Man Open only to lose 3-1.

Hollington-based Burgess, who represents Bexhill in the Super League, went on to lose 3-1 against team-mate Adrian Gray in the semi-finals.

PDC player Gray went 2-0 down to Gary Blackwood (Littlehampton) in the final, but came back to level the match at 2-2 via a 156 checkout in the fourth leg and won a tense decider.

Burgess was once one of the game’s top players. A three-time major event finalist, he was runner-up at the World Grand Prix in 1999 and 2000, and 2003 UK Open.

This year he seems to have rediscovered some of his old form because as well as the nine-darter, he also topped the Sussex Super League averages for the first time ever, won a qualifier to book his place in the UK Open televised finals and has made it through to the BDO World Championship Play-Offs next month.

See Friday’s Hastings Observer for the full article.