I am the only American Male Dart Player ever to have won a Championship in England.  Back in 1994 I beat then #1 Dennis Priestley in the final of the Inaugural World Matchplay in Blackpool England. To this day it is still referred to as the greatest upset in PDC history.   I didn’t really consider it a longshot.  I had a ton of confidence and I knew I was going to win!  The videos of the finals match are posted on YouTube and on the ADO website. www.adodarts.com.  I am honored to appear on the http://www.pdc.tv/page/RollofHonour/0,,10180,00.html for winning the Matchplay and for hitting the elusive 9 dart game in Las Vegas in 2009. Hard to believe  it’s been 17 years since I captured that title! I am now on a mission to capture another one in Europe in September!

I retired from competitive darts shortly after that win to build my business and start a family.  The desire to compete never left me completely. When the PDC announced it was teaming with ESPN to hold the World Series of Darts right here in the United States I picked up my darts again and haven’t put them down since.

I played on and off for a few years and in 2009 with my wife’s reluctant blessings I decided to give it a go and started to travel again.  I rejoined the American Darts Organization and teamed with Canadian Great Bob Sinnaeve for doubles events. In January of this year Bob and I signed a sponsorship contract with

L-Style .  L-Style manufactures and distributes flights, shafts, soft tip points and other great darting accessories. They are widely available for purchase throughout the United States and Canada.  Bob and I are 2 of only 6 PREMIUM players on the L-Style team. Check out my L-Style teammates at http://www.lstyleglobal.com/LSTYLE/Premium.  It has also been announced that I am the first American Darter to be sponsored by Dynasty Japan.  Dynasty is a premium dart manufacturer and my signature darts will be available on or about Sept 1^st of this year. Their newly launched English Language website can be found here.  http://dynastyjapan.com/english

My outstanding play has in the last year and a half as earned me the #1 qualifying spot on the 2011 World Cup Team.  The 2011 World Cup will be hosted by the The Republic of Ireland and will be held in  Castlebar Sept 20th-24th.  I am joined on the World Cup team by Jim Widmayer (NY), Jerry Van Loan (NY), Scott Wollason (LA), Stacy Bromberg (NV) and Brenda Roush (CO).

I have also qualified this year to represent the United States in the Winmau World Masters Tournament held Sept 1-4th in Hull, UK.  It is extremely exciting this year as ESPN Europe has contracted to broadcast the event in its entirety in Europe and is planning on broadcasting highlights right here in the US.  While at the Masters, I will have the opportunity to play for a spot in the World Professionals held in Lakeside later in the year. I will fill the time between the Masters and the World Cup by playing in the British Open.  Representing the United States in two major international events is quite an honor.  It is really something I’ve worked hard to accomplish this year and I am very proud to have done so.

Information about the broadcasting on television and via internet streaming of both the Masters and the World Cup will be available to anyone who is interested.  This very encouraging to those of us who want to see darts grow in America!

I appreciate all of your support over the years and as I once again enter the international dart arena.  I hope to bring both the World Masters Trophy and the World Cup Gold home to Dayton,  Ohio,  The United States of America.

I hope you’ll visit frequently to read my blog. I think you’ll enjoy it!

I’m on my way to the 34th annual Cleveland Extravaganza! This tournament along with the Rock n Roll are 2 events that I’ve attended regularly over the past 25 years. I’ve enjoyed success at the Extravaganza and have one all of the events at one time or another. I hope to be as successful this year as in years past.

I thought it might be fun to share some past experience’s at the tournaments I’m heading to. I hope to have some winning moments to share later.

Circa 1984 and I’m at my first Cleveland Extravaganza. I set up for the 4 person team with my doubles partner Bill and Rich Baldwin Jr. and his partner. Back then Rich was the BIG name on our team! Shortly before the event was to start Rich’s partner informed me that for reasons unknown Rich would be unable to play and we would need to find someone else. I asked around and since it was so close to the start of the event and I was still an unknown I couldn’t fill the spot. In almost utter desperation I approached the guy sitting behind the lathe. He said that he was up to his eyebrows in repairs and wouldn’t play, however, his daughter would. I reluctantly agreed and we sat down to wait. When we finally got called we set the lineup so that the girl was up last. It wasn’t long before we had her shooting first. We finished T8 in that event and kit was mostly because of the great shooting by Julie Nicoll and the encouragement of her father Nick!

That’s it for now. Please go to www.dartbook.tv for up to date results as they happen and come back here for the full report!

Good Darts
Larry