BACK IN THE DAY WITH: Les Wallace, World Champion in a kilt

In this column, we regularly go back in time to reminisces about a particular darter. Today we do so with Les Wallace.

Les Wallace was born on Feb. 22, 1962, in Forres, Scotland. In 1993 he made a first appearance by reaching the final of the Winmau World Masters. There he went down 3-1 against Steve Beaton.

Two years later, Wallace managed to qualify for the BDO World Championship for the first time. At Lakeside Country Club, he went down 3-2 in the first round after a real nail-biter against later finalist Raymond van Barneveld. A year later, Wallace enjoyed more success. After victories against Mike Gregory, Ian Brand and Matt Clark, he reached the semifinals. In those, Richie Burnett was ultimately too strong 5-2.

World champion

The following year, 'McDanger' achieved the biggest success of his career. Playing in his trademark kilt, he defeated Bob Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld, Paul Williams and Mervyn King. In the final, he faced Marshall James. The surprising Welshman was no match for an unleashed Wallace, who took the world title 6-3.

Buoyed by that success, Wallace won his second major the following year. In the final of the Winmau World Masters he was too strong for Alan Warriner. At the BDO World Championship, however, he failed to defend his title, as Steve Beaton proved 3-2 too strong in the second round.

Wallace was last at the BDO World Championship in 2000, where he was forced to depart in the opening round after a 3-0 defeat to Ritchie Davies. In the years that followed, Wallace was only in the news with convictions for drunk driving and not paying his taxes correctly.

Tour Card

It was therefore a big surprise when Wallace suddenly captured a Tour Card at the PDC Q-School in early 2012, after years of absence from the professional circuit. It did not become a great success, however, as he lost it again after two years.

In 2022, Wallace made another comeback on the World Seniors Darts Tour. At the World Seniors World Championship, he went down 3-2 in the opening round against John Walton. At the Masters, he was stranded in the quarterfinals after a 4-3 defeat to Phil Taylor.