BACK IN THE DAY - Erik Clarys: how a serious accident changed the career of the Belgian darts pioneer

In this section, we regularly revisit memories of a darts player from the past. Today, it is the turn of Belgian player Erik Clarys, the man who made history in 1995 by becoming not only the first Belgian, but also the first non-British player to win the Winmau World Masters. Clarys seemed destined to break into the elite afterwards, until a workplace accident abruptly ended his career. Nevertheless, Clarys still plays a role in the darts world today, albeit more from the sidelines.

Erik Clarys was born on October 18, 1968, in Deurne, Belgium. In 1995, the Antwerp native first made an impact internationally — and what an impact it was. After victories over Andy Fordham in the quarter-finals and Martin Adams in the semi-finals, Clarys remarkably reached the final of the Winmau World Masters. He immediately became the first — and still only — Belgian ever to achieve that feat. But Clarys did even more: he won the tournament by crushing reigning BDO world champion Richie Burnett 3–0 in the final. Clarys thus became the first non-British player ever to win the prestigious Winmau World Masters and returned home with a cheque worth £7,000.

At the time, the Winmau World Masters was the biggest tournament on the darts calendar after the BDO World Championship. With legendary names such as Eric Bristow, Phil Taylor, Dennis Priestley, John Lowe, and Dutch stars Raymond van Barneveld and Michael van Gerwen on the honour roll, the importance of the tournament cannot be overstated.

Two years later, Clarys made his debut at the BDO World Championship. At the iconic Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, he narrowly lost 3–2 to England’s Paul Williams in the opening round. In his next three appearances at the BDO Worlds, he was also eliminated in the first round, losing respectively to Kevin Painter, Tony Littleton, and Martin Adams.

However, Clarys gradually secured his place among the BDO sub-top. He won the Dortmund Open in 1998, 1999, and 2002, and also claimed the Swedish Open title in 1999. Domestically, he became Belgian champion several times. Clarys was also known as a true mathematical genius, regularly surprising TV camera crews with unusual checkout combinations.

At his fifth appearance at the BDO World Championship in 2002, Clarys finally broke the negative streak and advanced past the opening round thanks to a 3–1 victory over Germany’s Andree Welge. In the second round, however, Raymond van Barneveld proved too strong with a 3–0 win.

A year later, the man nicknamed “The Sheriff” performed even better. After victories over Tony Eccles (3–1) and Robert Wagner (3–0) in the opening two rounds, Clarys faced Van Barneveld again in the quarter-finals. This time Clarys managed to take a set, but the Dutchman still proved too strong, winning 5–1.

Clarys then decided he had seen enough of the BDO and switched to the PDC, the organisation that was gradually overtaking the BDO as the leading force in darts and where players could earn more money. He quickly worked his way into becoming a regular member of the world’s top 32.

In 2004, he reached the third round of the PDC World Championship on his debut after victories over Dan Lauby (3–0) and Mark Walsh (also 3–0). In the third round, Ronnie Baxter defeated him 4–2.

Later that year, Clarys reached the quarter-finals of the UK Open, his best performance at a PDC major. There, he eventually lost 11–2 to Walsh. In 2006, Clarys played in his final World Championship. After an easy 3–0 win over Winston Cadogan in the opening round, Wayne Mardle ended the Belgian’s hopes with a 4–1 victory in round two.

Later that year, disaster struck when Clarys fell off a ladder while working as a roofer. He broke his arm in several places and, despite multiple surgeries, never regained full use of his right arm.

At first, the seriousness of the situation did not fully dawn on him. “I thought I’d be throwing again within three weeks. But three weeks later, I had already undergone five operations. My arm kept dislocating and they referred me to a specialist. That’s when I realised it was serious,” Clarys later said in the Double Top podcast.

Clarys later tried playing left-handed for a while, but he could not reach his previous level and eventually decided to end his career.

Nowadays, several Belgians are active in the PDC, but it is fair to say that Clarys was a pioneer for Belgian darts at professional level. Although he was never a full-time professional — combining his roofing job with his darts career — he became the first Belgian ever to break into the PDC top 32. Clarys was also in the middle of a rise within the PDC before it was abruptly halted by his workplace accident. How high he could have climbed in the rankings is difficult to estimate, but a place in the top 16 certainly seemed realistic at the time.

Even before his relatively short PDC career, Clarys had already earned his place in Belgian darts history. He became the first Belgian ever to win a major title — something only Dimitri Van den Bergh (World Matchplay and UK Open), Andy Baetens (WDF World Championship), and Mike De Decker (World Grand Prix) have achieved since.

Clarys undoubtedly inspired other Belgian players to pursue professional careers in darts. In the early 2000s especially, switching from the BDO to the PDC was far less straightforward than it is today. Clarys showed courage in taking that leap into the unknown.

For a long time, little was heard from Clarys, but in recent years he has regularly appeared on Belgian TV channel VTM, where he provides co-commentary for major darts tournaments.

In addition, Clarys regularly gives workshops to teach recreational players the finer points of the sport and to train and guide potential Belgian talents towards a professional career.

Clarys is also the face and driving force behind the VTM Darts Academy, where he coaches young talent. Earlier this year, DartsNews.com published an article showing that the coaching is gradually beginning to bear fruit.

But Clarys does not limit himself to young talent. He also works as coach and mentor for Kim Huybrechts. “The Hurricane” endured a particularly difficult period last year and narrowly stayed inside the world’s top 64. Since beginning to work with Clarys, Huybrechts has said he is training much harder again, which has already resulted in several strong performances this year.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the popularity of darts in Belgium began to grow, eventually resulting in a full-blown hype. More and more people bought dartboards and clubs sprang up everywhere.

To help beginner players understand the terms and rules of darts, Clarys decided to release a book. In collaboration with publisher Lannoo, he launched Just Darts. In the book, Clarys offers a wealth of information about rules, techniques, and equipment. It is aimed at anyone wanting to better understand the game and improve their skills.

Now aged 57, Clarys seems to have rediscovered his place in the darts world after several years away. No longer as a player, but as a coach and mentor for young talents and other players. With his enormous wealth of experience, he still has an important role to play in modern darts.

As a commentator, there is also plenty of work ahead for the Antwerp native. VTM recently announced that from next year onwards it will broadcast all European Tour tournaments in addition to the major events for which it already holds the rights. With Clarys as one of the regular co-commentators, Belgian viewers can look forward to much more darts on television in the coming years.