"Lack of oxygen in high temperatures'' - John Part felt the heat in darting pomp at World Matchplay
PDC
He won three world titles, threw a perfect leg in Blackpool and beat Phil Taylor at a time no one thought possible. Still, the World Matchplay is missing from John Part's record. The Canadian came close twice, but fell short of the title each time. In the run-up to a new edition of the tournament, Part looks back on his special moments in the iconic Winter Gardens.
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For Part, who currently follows the tournament closely as a commentator for Sky Sports, early memories of Blackpool are especially oppressive. "There would be a lack of oxygen in high temperatures. It could be quite gruelling in those early days. It was quite a factor. A lot has changed since then," he tells to The Mirror.
In the days when smoking was still allowed in the venue, a haze often hung over the stage. Yet Part also experienced sporting highlights there. In 2011, he made history with a nine-darter at the Winter Gardens. Despite losing that match 10-8 to Mark Webster, the moment was magical.
"We always rated it the best venue with the best, most knowledgeable fans," Part said. "On that side of things, you couldn’t ask for any more. It is a fantastic and historic darts venue now."
“I was very happy to get that nine-darter in front of that crowd. It was later in my career. It shocked everybody, maybe including myself! I wasn’t throwing that well when it happened and I kind of made a match out of it, even though I lost [10-8].”
John Part became world champion three times in his career, including twice at the PDC
Two-time runner-up
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Twice Part made it to the final of the World Matchplay. In 2002, he forced Phil Taylor to the limit. The game was won 18-16 by "The Power," but Part had Taylor working hard for it. "It really was breathtaking to play in finals there," he looks back. “The first final, against Phil, I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to what was going on in the audience.
“I trusted they weren’t going to be negative. I knew they liked watching good darts, and I was trying to deliver that.I came quite close in that final with Phil but he just sprung up at the end. I got to 16 [legs] first but not to 18.”
Three years later, he still got his revenge against Taylor, although it was "only" in the quarterfinals. That win was mentally leaden, he says. “I was fortunate enough to beat him in a quarter-final a few years after that. My strengths, when it came to dealing with someone like Phil, actually came in the sets format, when I could afford to be a little more up and down in my game.
“But at my best in career, my standard was quite high. Although it wasn’t Phil’s standard, I could still compete with him and the best in the game.”
After his win over Taylor, Peter Manley awaited him in the semifinals. That match, won 18-16, demolished him mentally.
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“It was hard. I had a tough semi-final with Peter Manley. Prior to that [in 2003], in the Desert Classic, he benefited from me beating Phil in a semi [by winning the tournament]. It was like I had done the hard work [by beating Taylor] and Peter had reaped the benefits.
“I didn’t want that to happen again. He was ahead of me in the semi-finals of the Matchplay. I rallied [to win 18-16] but it was pretty draining, especially off the back of beating Phil, which was very draining.
In the final match, Part faced Colin Lloyd, who eventually took the title 18-12. “It wasn’t the best match we ever had but it reminds me of the calibre of the matches me and Colin would have. It was phenomenal at times.
“They didn’t have averages at every tournament back then but we’d have 110 [average] matches. There was no doubt in Colin’s abilities and how deserving he was to win major titles. It was appropriate that we had a major final against each other.
Part concludes by referring to the discussion of whether the level of darts today is higher than in his day. "People think darts is more competitive now but believe me, back in those days there weren’t a lot of easy games. You can’t trust averages all the time.”
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Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
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