FORGOTTEN DARTERS: Gary Mawson (or was it Rafael Benitez?), the Canadian American who halted Raymond van Barneveld's run of success at the UK Open

In this column, we regularly reminisce about a "forgotten darters" from the past. Today it is the turn of Canadian Gary Mawson.  

Born May 17, 1963 in Etobicoke, Canada, Gary Mawson is the son of British parents. In 1995, he made his debut in front of the TV cameras at the World Matchplay, where he went down 8-5 against Phil Taylor in the opening round. In the years that followed, he was a regular at the World Matchplay, reaching the last sixteen in 1998 and 1999.

In 1996 he made his debut at the PDC World Championship, where he got stuck in the group stage. In the end, he managed to survive the first round only once in seven appearances, which was in 1999 when he defeated Ritchie Gardner 3-0 before losing 3-2 to John Ferrell. A year earlier, he did make it to the quarterfinals at the World Grand Prix, which for a long time was his best result at a major.

For a long time indeed, because that changed at the 2008 UK Open. Mawson, who by now had been living in the USA for a long time and chose to play for that country, caused a sensation that year. However, the run-up to the UK Open did not go smoothly, he had forgotten his passport at home and was only barely allowed to board the plane to Bolton. After wins against Darren Johnson, Mark Frost, Alex Roy, Mark Lawrence, Mark Dudbridge and Wayne Jones, Mawson found himself in the semifinals. There awaited a duel with none other than Raymond van Barneveld, the man who had won the UK Open the previous two years and was now 16 matches unbeaten. However, Mawson pulled off a huge shock and beat Van Barneveld 10-8. In the final, James Wade eventually proved too strong 11-7.

During the UK Open that year, Mawson also grew into a real crowd favorite. Fans saw in him a double of Rafael Benitez and sang to him all the time with references to the top Spanish coach.

Mawson reached the quarterfinals at the 2012 World Cup of Darts with the U.S. team alongside Darin Young, losing 3-1 to England. The one point did come courtesy of Mawson, who actually won over Phil Taylor. A year later, he won the Las Vegas Open by beating Wes Newton in the final.

Since then it has been quiet around Mawson, who did compete at the 2019 US Darts Masters. In the opening round he lost, again playing for Canada, 6-4 to Gerwyn Price. Nowadays he mainly plays in the CDC, an organization that organizes tournaments in North America in cooperation with the PDC.