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Denis Ovens

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Denis Ovens
Personal information
Nickname"The Heat"
Born (1957-07-01) 1 July 1957 (age 67)
Enfield, England
Home townStevenage, England
Darts information
Playing darts since1976
Darts20g LazerDarts
LateralityRight-handed
Walk-on music"The Heat Is On" by Glenn Frey
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO1984–2000
PDC2000–2015
WDF major events – best performances
World Ch'shipLast 32: 2000
World MastersQuarter Final: 1999
World TrophyFirst Round: 2007
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'shipQuarter Final: 2005
World MatchplayLast 16: 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2011
World Grand PrixLast 16: 2001, 2003, 2011
UK OpenSemi Final: 2010, 2011, 2012
Grand SlamLast 16: 2008
European Ch'shipLast 16: 2008
Ch'ship LeagueSemi Final: 2008
Desert ClassicQuarter Final: 2002
US Open/WSoDQuarter Final: 2006
PC FinalsLast 32: 2009, 2010, 2011
Other tournament wins
Claims Solutions Classic 2001
Ireland Open Autumn Classic 2007
Irish Masters 2001, 2002
Jersey Festival of Darts 2001
Open Holland 2003
PDC Eastbourne Open 2005
Scottish Open 1999

Players Championships

Players Championship (GIB) 2010

UK Open Regionals/Qualifiers

UK Open Regional (SOU) 2005

Denis Ovens (born 1 July 1957) is an English former professional darts player. He is nicknamed "The Heat" and is now based in Stevenage.[1] Ovens is regarded as one of the most consistent players in the circuit, though he has as yet failed to convert his form from the circuit to the big stages on television. His constant second-round exits in numerous televised tournaments have led him to be called by commentators as "The Nearly Man".

Career

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His one good run came in the 2005 PDC World Darts Championship, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to former World Masters champion Mark Dudbridge. He has since suffered six successive second round exits in the World Championship – against Steve Alker in 2006, against Alan Tabern in 2007 (in a thriller that went to a sudden death deciding leg, with Ovens narrowly missing a double 12 for a perfect nine dart finish and a £15,000 bonus), in 2008 against Dutchman Jan van der Rassel, after defeating Colin Monk in the first round, in 2009 to Ronnie Baxter having defeated Steve Maish 3–0 in the first round, in 2010 to Colin Lloyd and in 2011 to Simon Whitlock.

He reached the semi-final of the UK Open in three consecutive years from 2010 to 2012, where he was defeated by Phil Taylor (twice) and Wes Newton and reached the final of the inaugural German Darts Championship in 2007.

BDO

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Ovens retired in 2015. Almost two years to the day since his last appearance, at the BDO Swedish Open in 2016, the 61-year-old made a comeback at the same event. He lost 2–4 to Veine Hagen in the last 256 of the Swedish Open Men's Singles, lost 0–3 to Willem Mandigers in the last 32 of the Gents Classic and lost alongside Keith Wetton against Mauri Tuutijärvi and Ari Nevalainen in the last 16 of the Men's Pairs.

World Championship results

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BDO

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PDC

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Career statistics

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Prel. DNQ DNP NH
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Prel.) Preliminary round; (DNQ) Did not qualify; (DNP) Did not participate; (NH) Not held

Performance timeline

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Tournament 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
PDC World Championship NYF DNP 1R 2R 3R 3R QF 2R 2R 2R 2R 2R 2R 1R 2R
UK Open Not held 4R 5R 4R 5R 5R 3R 3R SF SF SF DNQ
World Matchplay Not held DNP 2R 1R 2R 2R 2R 2R 1R 1R 1R 2R 1R 2R DNQ
World Grand Prix Not held DNP 2R 1R 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R DNQ
European Championship Not held 2R DNQ 1R DNQ
Grand Slam of Darts Not held DNQ 2R RR DNQ
Players Championship Finals Not held 1R 1R 1R 1R DNQ
Las Vegas Desert Classic Not held QF RR 2R 1R 1R DNQ Not held
BDO World Championship DNP 1R No longer a BDO Member
World Masters 4R DNP 2R DNP 3R 1R DNP 2R DNP QF 2R No longer a BDO Member
British Professional 2R 1R 1R Not held
World Darts Trophy Not held DNP 1R Not held
News of the World DNP RR DNP Not held DNP Not held

Trivia

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  • Ovens is known for his trademark unshaven looks. Ovens stated on ESPN's World Series of Darts that he kept shaving before a darts match and always lost, so he thought "OK, don't shave".
  • Ovens is well known to darts fans as "Captain Hobo", in reference to his unkempt appearance.
  • Ovens has said he enjoys playing in German tournaments as Germany "do good beer."

References

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  1. ^ "Denis Ovens (ENG)". ITV. Archived from the original on 3 February 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
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