Former PDC darter Nigel Birch has passed away

Former darter Nigel Birch has passed away at the age of 56. Birch competed on the PDC circuit for 10 years from 2007 to 2017. Initially, he made his PDC debut at the 2007 UK Open as one of the amateur qualifiers.

He defeated Mark Wilson, Stuart Holden and Steve Brown in Bolton before being defeated at the last 64 by Kevin Painter. Birch began competing on the full PDC circuit in 2008 and during his second UK Open victory he defeated Paul Knighton, Dale Pinch, Shane Cox and Dennis Priestley before losing to Jelle Klaasen at the last 32. The darter from Stoke-on-Trent continued to play on the circuit until the end of 2017. In recent years, it was on the PDC Challenge Tour.

Former World Championship finalist Andy Hamilton paid tribute to ''one of the best darters from Stoke''. He described Birch as "a great darter, a fierce opponent, a brilliant captain but above all an even better person." Wayne Mardle described Birch, nicknamed "Nutty Nigel," as "always so much fun to be around." Chris Birch, the son of Nigel Birch, is currently employed by the PDC. He is one of the markers (someone who keeps score) at the floor tournaments at the PDC.