BACK IN THE DAY WITH: Robbie Green: from darts first doping positive to major finalist

In this column, we regularly go back in time with a particular darter. Today we do so with Englishman Robbie Green.

Robbie Green was born on July 19, 1974, in Liverpool. He made his debut in front of the TV cameras at the 2004 UK Open, where he eventually lost out in the last 64 after an 8-7 defeat to Cliff Lazarenko. Later that year, he also managed to qualify for the World Matchplay, but in Blackpool things went wrong in the opening round against Bob Anderson. Then it took about two years for Green to make his presence felt again. At the UK Open, he successively defeated Jamie Harvey, Chris Mason, Mark Walsh and Terry Jenkins. In the quarterfinals, John MaGowan proved 11-8 too strong.

However, it was later revealed that Green had tested positive for marijuana use in a doping test at that particular 2006 UK Open. He had to surrender his 4,000 pounds of prize money, was also fined 2,000 pounds and suspended for eight weeks. That doping suspension caused him to lose several sponsors and, as a result, he was able to play far fewer tournaments in the following period.

Green finally decided to make the switch to the BDO in early 2008. He thus became one of the few players to switch from the PDC to the BDO, the switch in the opposite direction was obviously made much more often.

Barely a year after his move to the BDO, he was already successful. At the Winmau World Masters, the second biggest tournament at the time in the BDO, he reached the final. He missed a matchdart on double 16 and in the end it was Martin Adams who was able to take advantage to take the final victory.

Partly due to his strong performance at the Winmau World Masters, he was allowed a first appearance at the BDO World Championship in early 2010. However, in the legendary Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, he went down 3-1 in the opening round against Tony O'Shea. Later that year Green did win the Northern Ireland Open, in 2011 he also added the Sunparks Masters and the Scottish Open.

In 2010 he also reached the final of the Zuiderduin Masters, at that time one of the BDO majors. He started that final particularly well and took a 4-0 lead, but in the end it was Ross Montgomery who took the final victory 5-4.

In 2011 'Kong', as his nickname was, was allowed to go to the BDO World Championship as number one seed for the first time. After a 3-0 victory in the opening round against Andy Boulton, he lost in the second round 4-1 to the later finalist Dean Winstanley. One year later, the same second round was his final destination after a 4-1 defeat against Wesley Harms. In 2012 he did win the Belgium Open.

A year later Green was back at the BDO World Championship and this time he managed to survive the first two rounds. After wins against Christian Kist and Scott Mitchell, a duel with O'Shea awaited in the quarterfinals. Green missed numerous chances on doubles and eventually lost 5-3.

In 2013, Green did not manage to win a single title, but thanks in part to a semifinal place at the Winmau World Masters, he nevertheless headed to his fifth consecutive World Championship appearance with confidence. Aided by his experience from previous years, he defeated Richie George, Gary Robson and Tony Eccles in succession, making his first appearance in the semifinals at Lakeside. In it, however, he was thrashed 6-1 against the later world champion Stephen Bunting.

Later that year he was allowed to compete at the Grand Slam of Darts. He survived a group that also included Robert Thornton, Raymond van Barneveld and Vincent van der Voort, but lost in the next round to Dave Chisnall.

In 2015, Green was last there at the Championship, where he lost 5-1 to eventual finalist Jeff Smith in the quarterfinals. Green decided to return to the PDC after that World Championship. At Q-School, he captured his Tour Card. Ultimately, Green couldn't emulate his BDO success in the PDC. His best performance was a quarterfinal at the 2016 Players Championship Finals.

In 2017, he also attended a PDC World Championship for the only time in his career, but managed to win only two legs in a 3-0 defeat to Van Barneveld. In 2018, he did throw a nine-darter in a qualifying tournament for the UK Open, but knee problems prevented him from ever reaching his best level again and he lost his Tour Card at the end of that year. Green's tentative last appearance at a professional PDC tournament was in 2019, since then it has been quiet around him.