BACK IN THE DAY WITH - Justin Pipe: the former tree surgeon turned methodical top 10 star who vanished

In this feature, we regularly look back at the career of a particular darts player. Today, we turn our attention to Englishman Justin Pipe. For many years, he was one of the most recognisable players in professional darts. Not only because of his performances, but particularly because of his famously slow throwing style. The Englishman went from being an amateur who could barely play darts because of smoke-filled pubs to becoming a player who defeated some of the biggest names in the sport, won multiple Pro Tour titles and even spent some time among the world's elite.

Justin Pipe was born on November 9, 1971, in Taunton. His path to the top was anything but straightforward. During his youth, he was involved in boxing, while his darts career was held back for a long time by the conditions in which the sport was played at the time. As a staunch opponent of smoking, he refused to play darts in local pubs. The large amounts of cigarette smoke caused his eyes to water.

The introduction of the smoking ban in England in 2007 changed everything. Pipe was able to seriously pursue darts again and made his first major stage appearance a year later. At the 2008 UK Open, he qualified for the tournament as a pub qualifier. He defeated Geoff Wylie and Lionel Sams before his run ended against James Wade in the third round.

A year later, Pipe made the move to the PDC Pro Tour. He quickly made his presence felt there as well. At the 2009 UK Open, he once again reached the third round, where Andy Jenkins eventually proved too strong, winning 9-5.

Pipe's real breakthrough came in 2011. He qualified for the World Championship and also made his World Matchplay debut. In Blackpool, he immediately caused an upset by defeating Mervyn King 10-6.

Later that year came an even bigger milestone. In Dublin, Pipe won his first PDC Pro Tour tournament by defeating none other than Phil Taylor 6-5 in the final. It was a victory that made it clear that the unusual player from England was no longer simply an eye-catching presence, but had genuinely become one of the dangerous outsiders on the Pro Tour.

Shortly afterwards, Pipe won another Players Championship. His excellent run meant that he was even the number one seed at the Players Championship Finals. After all, he had reached the final in six of his previous ten tournaments.

Pipe also showed at the 2012 World Championship that he had continued to develop. After defeating Sean Reed, he fell 2-0 behind against Wes Newton, but fought back to eventually win 4-3. That saw him reach the last 16 of the World Championship for the first time. Terry Jenkins proved too strong there, winning 4-1.

His performances in 2011 also earned him an important individual award. At the annual PDC Awards, Pipe was named PDPA Players' Player of the Year.

Justin Pipe was a regular presence in the world's top 32 for several years.

Pipe continued his good form in 2012. At the first Players Championship of the year, he won the final convincingly, beating Paul Nicholson 6-0. A day later, he was in another final, but this time had to settle for second best against Michael Smith, who won 6-3.

In April came one of the most important victories of his career. Pipe won the Austrian Darts Open by defeating James Wade 6-3 in the final. In the semi-final, he had also beaten Raymond van Barneveld 6-3, recording an average of 107.

That victory saw Pipe break into the world's top 16 for the first time. He climbed to 15th in the rankings, giving him automatic entry into several major televised tournaments.

Pipe also impressed at the 2012 World Matchplay. He defeated Joe Cullen and Wes Newton to reach the quarter-finals, where Ronnie Baxter proved too strong, winning 16-11. Nevertheless, it was Pipe's first quarter-final appearance at a major televised tournament.

Later that year, he also reached the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix. In addition, he qualified for the Championship League Winners Group by defeating Phil Taylor 6-5.

His strong Pro Tour season ultimately earned Pipe fifth place on the Order of Merit. At the Players Championship Finals, he then reached the semi-finals of a major televised tournament for the first time. He defeated Colin Osborne, Brendan Dolan and Mervyn King before Kim Huybrechts ended his run. Pipe lost 11-6.

2013 also produced plenty of highlights. At the World Matchplay, Pipe reached the quarter-finals for the second consecutive year. He defeated Mark Webster and then Raymond van Barneveld. Against the Dutchman, he also produced a spectacular 170 finish.

Phil Taylor awaited in the quarter-finals. Pipe was unable to win the match and lost 16-10, but once again he had shown that he could compete with the best players in the world.

One of the biggest achievements of his career came later that year at the World Grand Prix. Pipe defeated Andy Smith, Adrian Lewis and Andy Hamilton in succession to reach the semi-finals. He himself described that run as the best achievement of his career.

In the semi-final, Pipe made an excellent start against Dave Chisnall. He went 1-0 ahead and later led 2-1, but Chisnall turned the match around. Pipe eventually lost 5-2.

Pipe also reached the semi-finals of the Players Championship Finals for the second consecutive year. Once again, Phil Taylor was his opponent. Pipe initially stayed close to the darts legend, but a crucial moment came with the score at 5-4. Taylor hit a 132 finish via the bull while Pipe still had 38 points remaining. Taylor then pulled further clear and won 10-4.

Pipe remained active at the highest level in 2014. At the German Darts Championship, he reached the final and appeared to be on course for the title against Gary Anderson for a long time. Pipe led 5-3 but missed no fewer than six match darts. Anderson took advantage and eventually won 6-5.

In May, Pipe lost the final of a Players Championship 6-2 to Peter Wright. Later that year, however, he got an important revenge. At the fifteenth Players Championship of 2014, Pipe claimed his first title in more than two years.

The way he did it was particularly significant. In the semi-final, he defeated Adrian Lewis in a deciding leg, while reigning world champion Michael van Gerwen was his opponent in the final. Pipe once again kept his composure in the deciding leg against the Dutchman and claimed the title.

However, his victory was followed by a major disappointment. Just two days later, he was eliminated in the first round of the World Grand Prix, losing 2-0 in sets to Robert Thornton.

From 2015 onwards, it became increasingly difficult for Pipe to maintain the level he had reached in the previous years. At the 2015 World Championship, he led Laurence Ryder 2-1 but then lost six consecutive legs and was surprisingly eliminated.

One of his final major appearances came that year at the Dutch Darts Masters. Pipe reached the final without defeating a top-20 player along the way, but Michael van Gerwen was waiting for him in the final. The Dutchman demolished his opponent, winning 6-0.

The following years also made it increasingly difficult for Pipe to make deep runs in major tournaments. At the 2016 World Championship, he lost in the first round to Christian Kist, going down 3-0. His average was just 75.55 and he lost the final seven legs of the match.

There were still moments when the old Pipe resurfaced, however. At the final Players Championship of 2016, he reached the semi-finals. He defeated, among others, Peter Wright, before losing 6-5 to Benito van de Pas.

In 2017, another notable performance followed at the Players Championship Finals. As the 23rd seed, Pipe defeated Daryl Gurney 10-9 in the quarter-finals. Michael van Gerwen then proved too strong in the semi-finals, winning 11-3.

Pipe's career entered a highly controversial chapter at the 2018 World Championship. In the first round, he played Bernie Smith. During the decisive stage of the match, Pipe appeared to move closer towards Smith and coughed at a moment when his opponent was throwing.

Smith missed, and Pipe eventually won the match 3-2. The incident was quickly dubbed 'Cough-gate' and sparked plenty of discussion. The Darts Regulation Authority eventually intervened. Pipe was fined £3,000 on January 8, 2018, as a result of the incident.

In the second round, he faced Phil Taylor. Pipe could do little against the legendary Englishman. He won just two legs and lost 4-0.

What makes Pipe's career so remarkable is that his success was anything but guaranteed. He was not someone who had been competing at the highest level since his early teenage years. He initially had a background in boxing, later worked as a tree surgeon, and for a long time his darts career was hindered by smoke-filled pubs.

On top of that, he was involved in a serious car accident in 1993. His right arm was paralysed for three months as a result. His unusually slow throwing style is partly attributed to that accident.

Nevertheless, Pipe eventually developed into a player who defeated Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, Raymond van Barneveld, Adrian Lewis and other world-class players. He won multiple Pro Tour titles, reached the semi-finals of major televised tournaments and even spent some time inside the world's top 16.

From January 2015 onwards, Pipe was also managed by his own 'Team Pipe'. His management team consisted of family members and friend Krispy Brown. He had previously signed a sponsorship agreement with Cosmo Darts. Pipe lost his PDC Tour Card in 2021 and did not return to the professional circuit afterwards.

Justin Pipe will ultimately be remembered as one of the most unconventional players in the history of modern darts. His extremely slow pace was a source of frustration for some and a tactical weapon for others. But behind that distinctive playing style was, above all, a remarkable story: that of a man who took his opportunity later in life, overcame countless obstacles and ultimately established himself among the best darts players of his generation.