Erik Clarys
| Erik Clarys | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Nickname | The Sheriff |
| Born | 18 October 1968 Belgium |
| Home town | Antwerp |
| Darts information | |
| Playing darts since | 1981 |
| Darts | 24 Gram Signature |
| Laterality | Right-handed |
| Walk-on music | The Good, the Bad and the Ugly by Ennio Morricone |
| Organisation (see split in darts) | |
| BDO | 1989-2004 |
| PDC | 2004-2006 |
| WDF major events – best performances | |
| World Ch'ship | Quarter Final 2003 |
| World Masters | Winner (1) 1995 |
| World Trophy | Last 32 2002 |
| Int. Darts League | Last 32 Group 2003 |
| PDC premier events – best performances | |
| World Ch'ship | Last 32 2004, 2006 |
| UK Open | Quarter Final 2005 |
| Desert Classic | Last 16 2005 |
| Other tournament wins | |
| Tournament | Years |
| Belgium National Championship Belgium Gold Cup Dortmund Open Swedish Open German Gold Cup | 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003 1998, 2002, 2004 1998, 1999, 2002 1999 2006 |
Erik Clarys (born 18 October 1968) is a former Belgian darts player who competed plays for the British Darts Organisation and the Professional Darts Corporation events. He is nicknamed "The Sheriff". Clarys was known for his unorthodox way of scoring and finishing which made him popular with fans.
BDO career
Clarys caused a major upset by winning the 1995 Winmau World Masters. Amongst his victims were future World and Masters champions Andy Fordham and Martin Adams before beating reigning Masters and World champion Richie Burnett in the final. Clarys continued to do well in tournaments, winning the Belgium National Championship four times, the Belgium Gold Cup three times, the Dortmund Open three times as well as the 1999 Swedish Open. Despite this however, he wasn't able to match these performances in other major tournaments. He played in six BDO World Championships, losing in the first round in his first four visits. He finally won a match at the Lakeside in the fifth time of asking in 2002, beating Andree Welge before losing in the second round to Raymond van Barneveld. In 2003, Clarys beat Tony Eccles and Robert Wagner en route to the quarter finals, eventually losing again to Barneveld despite hitting a 170 checkout.
PDC career
In 2004, Clarys switched to the PDC, after qualifying for their World Championship, beating Dan Lauby and Mark Walsh to reach the third round, losing to Ronnie Baxter. Though Clarys was unable to win any titles, he had good showings in major tournaments including a quarter final place in the 2005 UK Open. He made another appearance in the PDC World Championship, beating Winston Cadogan in round one before losing to Wayne Mardle. He then went on to win the WDF German Gold Cup.
Injury and retirement
In June 2006, Clarys shattered his right elbow after falling from a ladder while at work, forcing him to withdraw from the 2006 UK Open.[1] He was ranked 26th in the PDC world rankings at the time of his accident and was in the running for qualification for the World Matchplay. After eleven operations, Clarys has now given up all hope of returning to darts as a right-handed player. He has though begun practising throwing left-handed and stated he hoped to return to the game some day. He does however remain inactive.[2]
World Championship performances
BDO
- 1997: 1st round (lost to Paul Williams 2-3)
- 1998: 1st round (lost to Kevin Painter 1-3)
- 1999: 1st round (lost to Tony Littleton 2-3)
- 2001: 1st round (lost to Martin Adams 1-3)
- 2002: 2nd round (lost to Raymond van Barneveld 0-3)
- 2003: Quarter-finals (lost to Raymond van Barneveld 1-5)
PDC
- 2004: 3rd round (lost to Ronnie Baxter 2-4)
- 2006: 2nd round (lost to Wayne Mardle 1-4)
Career finals
BDO major finals: 1 (1 title)
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score | Ref. |
| Winner | 1. | 1995 | Winmau World Masters |  Richie Burnett
|
3–0 (s) | [3] |
References
- ^ Clarys To Miss Budweiser UK Open
- ^ Disappointment For Clarys
- ^ "1995 World Masters Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 12 November 2015.