BACK IN THE DAY with Robbie Green: From early setbacks to vast career ended by knee injury

In this feature, we regularly travel back in the day with a particular darts player. Today, we are looking at Robbie 'Kong' Green. He had a career that spanned several chapters, during which he experienced both the PDC and BDO at close quarters.

Green became a familiar name in international darts, impressed on major stages, reached several finals and semi-finals, and made history with an exceptionally high match average. At the same time, his career also included a number of setbacks including a long-term injury and a remarkable fall down the world rankings.

Robbie Green was born on July 19, 1974, in Liverpool. He first made a major impression on television at the 2004 UK Open. There, he reached the last 64, putting himself firmly in the spotlight with the wider public for the first time.

In the same year, he qualified for the World Matchplay in Blackpool. However, his debut at the prestigious event ended in the first round, where Bob Anderson proved too strong.

Two years later, Green showed that he had much more potential. At the 2006 UK Open, he battled his way to the quarter-finals. Along the way, he defeated Jamie Harvey, Chris Mason, Mark Walsh and Terry Jenkins. His impressive run eventually came to an end against John MaGowan, but Green had firmly established himself as a player capable of causing upsets at major tournaments.

He qualified for the International Darts League and again made a good impression at the UK Open. Financially, however, things remained difficult. Due to a lack of sponsorship money, Green was forced to play in fewer tournaments, temporarily slowing his development.

In January 2008, an important decision followed. Green switched from the PDC to the BDO, something that at the time was only possible for a handful of players. His first BDO tournament was the Scottish Open, where he reached the second round.

Green was thus returning to his roots in Merseyside. He had previously played for Cheshire, but subsequently represented Merseyside in county darts. His switch proved to be an excellent sporting decision. At the BDO International Open, he reached the semi-finals, defeating Martin Adams, Gary Anderson, Martin Atkins and Ted Hankey along the way. Ross Montgomery eventually proved too strong in the semi-finals.

A year later came another milestone. Green was selected for England, giving him the opportunity to prove himself internationally as well. In 2009, he reached the final of the Winmau World Masters. On his way there, he defeated Ross Montgomery, Connie Finnan and Lourence Ilagan, among others.

In the final, Martin Adams, the defending champion, awaited. Green looked on course for a huge upset for a long time. He took a 6-3 lead and even had a match dart at double 16 for the title. However, he failed to take the opportunity. Adams capitalised and completely turned the match around. Green subsequently lost six consecutive legs and saw an almost certain world title slip through his fingers.

Green continued to perform and managed to qualify for the BDO World Championship. At Lakeside, he faced top seed Tony O'Shea in the opening round. It was an extremely close match, which Green eventually lost 3-2.

In 2010, Green once again proved that he belonged to the absolute elite of the BDO circuit. On March 7 of that year, he threw a three-dart average of no less than 128.82. That remains among the highest match averages ever recorded.

Green also made a big impression at the Zuiderduin Masters. He reached the final and looked on course for the title for a long time. Against Ross Montgomery, he raced into a 4-0 lead, but once again things went wrong in the closing stages. Montgomery fought his way back and eventually won 5-4 in sets.

Green's performances were nevertheless enough to take him back to Lakeside. In 2011, he was a seeded player there. Andy Boulton was convincingly beaten 3-0 in the first round, before Dean Winstanley proved too strong in the second round, winning 4-1.

Later that year, Green did win an important title. He won the Scottish Open by defeating Clive Bardon 5-4 in the final. Thanks to that victory, he briefly reached the world number one ranking.

At the 2012 BDO World Championship, Green was the fourth seed. He began with a victory over Darryl Fitton, but was eliminated in the second round by Wesley Harms.

A year later, however, came his best Lakeside campaign up to that point. Green was seeded fifth and faced defending champion Christian Kist in the first round. He won 3-1 and then defeated Scott Mitchell 4-1. That took him to the World Championship quarter-finals for the first time.

There, he faced Tony O'Shea once again. Green won the first set, but then had several opportunities to take the second set as well. He missed no fewer than eight darts at a double. He eventually lost 5-3.

Despite failing to win a title, Green enjoyed a strong year. At the Winmau World Masters, he reached the semi-finals after defeating world champion Scott Waites. James Wilson then prevented him from reaching the final.

At Lakeside, Green went one step further. With a series of strong performances and tournament averages above 90 points, he defeated Richie George, Gary Robson and Tony Eccles. Against Eccles, he also produced spectacular finishes of 125 and 164. For the first time, Green reached the World Championship semi-finals. Stephen Bunting ended his dream, however, with a convincing 6-1 victory.

Green subsequently rounded off that period by winning the Isle of Man Open. In the final, he defeated James Wilson 5-1 and recorded an impressive average of 114.65.

In 2014, Green returned to the PDC once again. He made his debut at the Grand Slam of Darts and survived a tough group containing Raymond van Barneveld, Robert Thornton and Vincent van der Voort. After losing to Van Barneveld, he defeated Thornton and Van der Voort. Against Van der Voort, Green decided the match with a spectacular 170 finish in the deciding leg.

He lost to Dave Chisnall in the next round, but at the following PDC World Championship, Green once again showed that he could perform at the highest level. As the 16th seed, he defeated Darius Labanauskas and Peter Sajwani. Before his quarter-final against Jeff Smith, Green was even considered the favourite by bookmakers. Smith caused an upset, however, winning 5-1.

At the beginning of 2015, Green once again came through Qualifying School to earn a PDC Tour Card. Although he did not qualify directly on any of the four days, he finished high enough on the Order of Merit to secure a two-year Tour Card.

That year, he reached several quarter-finals on the Players Championship circuit and made the last 16 of the Grand Slam of Darts for the second consecutive year. Against Robert Thornton, Green fell 4-0 behind and later trailed 7-3. Thanks in part to a 170 finish, he fought his way back to 7-6, but eventually lost 10-8.

The 2016 season perhaps produced one of the most notable chapters of Green's PDC career. At the third Players Championship event, he reached the semi-finals, where Michael van Gerwen proved too strong in a 6-1 victory. Just two days later, Green was back in another semi-final, this time at the fifth event. Ian White won 6-4.

His good results earned him a place in the World Matchplay. Twelve years after his first appearance, Green returned to Blackpool. He faced an enormous challenge immediately: Phil Taylor. Green eventually lost 10-8.

He also qualified for the World Grand Prix. Against Dave Chisnall, Green won the first set and then even had the chance to decide the match. He failed to take that opportunity and Chisnall turned the match around.

In 2017, Green made his debut at the PDC World Darts Championship. Against Raymond van Barneveld, however, he won just two legs in a 3-0 defeat. Later that year, he reached another Players Championship semi-final and defeated James Wade 5-1 at the Grand Slam.

At the beginning of 2018, Green still appeared capable of competing on the PDC circuit. During one of the UK Open qualifying events, he even hit a nine-darter.

Then disaster struck again. Green was suffering from a knee injury that had been present since he was 15 following a football incident. The problems had a major impact on his performances. He was no longer able to qualify for the major televised tournaments or the European Tour, and eventually dropped to 77th in the world rankings.

At the 2019 UK Q-School, Green subsequently failed to regain a Tour Card. He has not played in professional PDC tournaments since July 2019. His final match on the PDC circuit came during the Challenge Tour on January 26, 2020. A few weeks later, on February 16, he played at the Scottish Open for the WDF. That ultimately proved to be his final darts tournament.

Robbie Green's career is therefore a remarkable story. From a promising PDC talent and a player who reached the UK Open quarter-finals, through a difficult period involving a suspension, to becoming a BDO star who topped the world rankings and recorded a historic 128.82 average. He then returned to the PDC, where he once again defeated big names, reached semi-finals and qualified for events including the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix.

Green did not win the major world title that he came so close to during his best years, but his career contained enough memorable moments to leave a lasting impression. His performances in the BDO, his spectacular matches at Lakeside and his return to the highest level of the PDC make him one of the more remarkable figures in modern darts.