Richie Burnett

Richard Mark Burnett (born 7 February 1967), nicknamed Prince of Wales, is a Welsh professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.

Burnett began to win many titles in the BDO in 1994, which included the Dutch Open, Welsh Open, British Matchplay and the Denmark Open.

He then added one of the two BDO major titles, the Winmau World Masters beating Steve Beaton in the final.

In the two years after winning the 1994 Winmau World Masters title, Burnett suffered upset losses in the Winmau World Masters finals of 1995 and 1996, losing to Erik Clarys and Colin Monk respectively.

He is a former World No. 1 who won the 1995 Embassy World Darts Championship.

Burnett is known for coming on to "Dakota" and dancing on stage.

Although the 1995 BDO World Darts Championship was his debut, he had risen in the rankings to become number two seed.

After defeating Peter Wright, Russell Stewart, Paul Hogan and Andy Fordham, he went on to win the title, beating Raymond van Barneveld 6–3 (sets) in the final.

Burnett would also reach the final of the BDO World Championship on two more occasions, losing in 1996 to Steve Beaton, and in 1998 to Raymond van Barneveld.

His 1996 final defeat was his first match loss at Lakeside and ended a run of nine consecutive match wins.

Burnett had first competed in the PDC in April 1997, at the Antwerp Open.

In June 1997, Burnett played in a challenge match against the PDC World Champion, Phil Taylor, which was the main event at the Battle of the Champions card at the Circus Tavern, broadcast on Sky Sports.

Although Burnett was in good form, Taylor was in top form and won the match 4-1 in sets.

A few weeks later, Burnett reached the semi-finals of the 1997 World Matchplay, losing to Alan Warriner.

The 1998 final went into the 11th and deciding set, and into a tiebreak.

Burnett had had an out-shot for the title, but narrowly missed his second dart at treble-14 which would have left him on double 20, and did not get another opportunity to win the match.

After a first-round defeat in the 1999 BDO World Championship to Ronnie Baxter, Burnett switched to compete on the PDC circuit.

Burnett played in the World Matchplay again in 1999, losing in the first round to eventual finalist, Peter Manley, and again in 2000, when he reached the semi-finals for the first time since 1997, this time losing to eventual champion, Phil Taylor.

However, Burnett continued playing at the Winmau World Masters until 2001, reaching the semi-finals in 2001, where he lost to his old rival, Raymond van Barneveld.

Burnett's best televised performance to date in the PDC was in reaching the final of the 2001 World Matchplay, where he again lost to Taylor.

At the PDC World Championships, Burnett was never able to achieve the same kind of results that he had in the BDO or at the PDC World Matchplay.

His best results at the PDC World Championship were to twice reach the quarter-finals (2002 and 2003), but his world ranking steadily fell afterwards, and by the end of 2005 he had almost slipped out of the top 50.

This led to many years of poor form and falling world rankings, with his only television appearances between 2005 and 2010 coming at the UK Open, apart from his run in the qualifying rounds for the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship when he won four matches to make it to the television stages.

However, he lost in the first round to Alex Roy.

As a result, he had to qualify for all the major PDC tournaments and failed to qualify for the World Championships for the first time in 2006.

He was also reported to be suffering from dartitis at this time, which was visible at the 2008 UK Open, where he lost in the first round to Jamie Harvey.

Burnett stopped playing darts for a few months in 2009, and it was reported in September that year that he had financial difficulties and was on the dole.

He showed an improvement in his form in October 2010, by reaching the semi-finals of the John McEvoy Gold Dart Classic, losing in a last-leg decider to Gary Anderson.

A week later, he reached two successive PDC Pro Tour finals in Bad Nauheim, Germany – losing 4–6 to fellow Welshman Mark Webster on Saturday, and then by the same scoreline to Simon Whitlock on Sunday.

His improved form earned him qualification for the 2011 World Championships and the 2011 Players Championship Finals (February).

The improvement continued throughout 2011 reaching the semi-finals of the World Grand Prix, where he lost to Phil Taylor, which was Burnett's best result at a television event for 10 years.

Burnett also claimed his first-ever PDC Pro Tour title in September, beating Dave Chisnall in the final.

He is also known for his fiery personality, fighting with Adrian Lewis on stage during the 2012 Players Championship Finals.

Burnett was born in Cwmparc, Treorchy, Rhondda Cynon Taff, and first came to prominence shortly after the split in the game, after the PDC and the BDO players went their separate ways.

Burnett secured the first shock of the 2012 World Championships by defeating fellow countryman and number six seed, Mark Webster, 3–2 in the first round.

He lost nine out of the first ten legs in his second round match to John Part and, although he did win a set, was beaten 1–4.

He then teamed up with Webster for the World Cup and together they reached the semi-finals with wins over Croatia and South Africa.

They could not reach the final however, as the English pair of Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis won 1–3.

In March he hit a nine-dart finish in the fourth UK Open Qualifier during a first round match against Michael Barnard.

Burnett was later knocked out in the fourth round of the event by Dennis Priestley.