Nicholson believes O’Shea would’ve achieved PDC success: “I’m pretty sure he would have won PDC titles”

As part of Paul Nicholson’s series with Sporting Life, he discussed Tony O’Shea and whether he would’ve achieved PDC success.

Nicholson describes the popular ‘Silverback’ as the ‘Terry Jenkins of the BDO’ after losing all seven of his major finals.

But for ‘The Asset’, he believes he would have won titles in the PDC if he’d switched during the 2000’s.

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“I think everyone knows how popular Tony is and there’s no doubt his ability level would have served him very well in the PDC system had he chosen to move across, especially in the pre-Tour Card era,” said Nicholson to Sporting Life.

“But much like Martin Adams, he loved wearing his England shirt and that’s why he ultimately stayed.

When it comes to his results, you’d have to ask him what his biggest achievement is because there are glaring holes in his career and he’s almost the Terry Jenkins of the BDO.”

“He lost all seven of his major finals including three at the Lakeside from 2009 to 2013, two in the World Masters (2004, 2012) and once apiece in the World Darts Trophy (2002) and International Darts League (2005).

“There’s a lot he didn’t manage to win but doesn’t take away from just how talented a player he was during his peak years, and the players who beat him on those occasions - Tony David, Mervyn King (twice), Ted Hankey, Christian Kist, Stephen Bunting and Scott Waites - were obviously top-class opposition.

“At the turn of the century, many still felt the BDO had better talent overall and although the tipping point came around 2001, it was still a very high standard.

“Tony would probably say he doesn’t have any regrets about not moving earlier in his career – mainly because of playing for England – but that hasn’t stopped him trying to crack Q School on multiple occasions in recent times.

“If only he was the player he once was, particularly between 2002 and 2010, then he’d be pretty high up the rankings, let alone earning a Tour Card!

“I’m pretty sure he would have won PDC titles back then but would they have been majors? Possibly not considering he couldn’t get the job done in the big BDO finals but he’d definitely have given the likes of Phil Taylor, John Part, James Wade, Adrian Lewis and Terry Jenkins a real run for their money.

“He’ll look back on his career with fond memories but would have loved a proper crack at the PDC a bit like Ted Hankey did, albeit not being successful. That was proof in itself that the PDC isn’t for everyone.”