Who is actually the slowest darter of all time? Watching the video below, the decision seems quickly made.
In 1985,
Jocky Wilson and Terry Down took on each other in the Blackthorn Masters, a BDO tournament organized between 1978 and 1989. It was the last 16 and the Scottish legend was up against the little-known qualifier Down. To say it was a clash of styles would be a huge understatement.
Annoyed
While Wilson completed a visit in barely 10 seconds, Down's high and laborious throwing action allowed him to take nearly a minute to throw three darts. Footage of the match, available on YouTube, shows Wilson becoming increasingly irritated with his opponent's approach while also lighting a cigarette.
Even the commentator could not believe what he was seeing. "This guy is really taking his time, it's almost in slow motion," he said early in the match. Down eventually won the match 2-0 and barely got a handshake from Wilson.
Darting legend, John Lowe gave an anecdote of the match saying Wilson actually asked someone for a chair so he could sit down during his visits.
“Stormed off the stage to the players’ room, where he threw abuse at anyone in sight for the next 20 minutes. Then, in walked Terry. He went straight up to Jocky and apologised for his slow play. Then he planted a big kiss on Jocky’s cheek.
“‘What the f*** are you doing?’, demanded Jocky.’”