Michael Seward "Mike" Gregory (16 December 1956 – 19 April 2022) was an English professional darts player, who reached the final of the Winmau World Masters twice and also reached the final of the Embassy World Darts Championship in 1992 – losing to Phil Taylor in a match regarded amongst the greatest matches ever played.
Gregory was one of the top ranked players from the mid-1980s through to the early 1990s, having been seeded in the top four at the World Championships on seven occasions – although he never won the World title.
His major breakthrough was beating John Lowe in the semi-finals of the 1983 British Open in which he finished runner-up to Eric Bristow. He lost again to Bristow in the final of that year's World Masters tournament. He made his World Championship debut in 1984 and reached the quarter-final, losing heavily 0–5 to Jocky Wilson.
Gregory lost at the quarter-final stage of the World Championship in 1987, 1989 and 1993. He made his first semi-final in 1990, losing to Eric Bristow and his only final appearance came in 1992 – when he lost an epic match 5–6 in sets to Taylor. Having missed six darts for the title – two each for double 20, double 8 and double 10, which he has since jokingly referred to as the Bermuda Triangle – the match went all the way to a sudden death leg, which comes when the players reach 5–5 in both sets and legs. It was the first time this had happened in the World Championship's 14-year history and the match is often mentioned in discussions about the greatest darts match; Taylor himself listed this as his greatest ever match.[2] Gregory won the bull-off to throw first in the decider, but had a bounce-out on his first turn and Taylor comfortably sealed the win. Gregory would become the only man to have lost a World Championship final having had darts at double to win, and remained so until Mark McGeeney did so in 2018.
Whilst he was never a World Champion, he won many televised titles of the era, including the 1984 Unipart British Professional (beating both Jocky Wilson and John Lowe), the 1986 MFI World Matchplay, as well as becoming one of only seven players to win the News of the World Darts Championship twice (in 1987 and 1988), joining Tom Barrett (1963–64 and 1964–65) and Eric Bristow (1983 and 1984) as the only other players to win it in consecutive years.[3]
Mike Gregory was a controversial figure in a dispute which threatened darts during 1992–93. Darts had enjoyed a boom-and-bust period during the 1980s and 1990s. At first, sponsors and television companies could not get enough of the game with many major tournaments appearing on the screens. Despite the number of tournaments, the game had a poor image in the eyes of many – players were allowed to smoke and drink alcohol on stage during matches. The decision of ITV to scrap their World of Sport programme after September 1985 was the first serious blow, as the programme had covered darts on a regular basis. In the summer of 1988, both the BBC and ITV decided in quick succession to axe all their coverage of darts from the start of 1989, with the exception of the World Championship on the BBC. This massive slump in television coverage, combined with the poor image of darts to sponsors, made it very difficult for professional dart players to make a living from the sport.
The players formed the World Darts Council (WDC – now known as the Professional Darts Corporation) in January 1992 with the intention to promote the game more on television and enhance their earnings which had severely diminished in the previous few years.[4]
The top 16 players including all the former World Champions stuck together in the WDC and Gregory won their first ever tournament, the 1992 Lada UK Masters which was televised regionally on Anglia Television, with Gregory defeating Dennis Priestley in the final. The players planned to wear WDC logos on their sleeves during the 1993 World Championship as a show of solidarity – but the governing body, the British Darts Organisation (BDO) told the players to remove them. Later in the tournament, the WDC players issued a statement, saying that they would only participate in the 1994 World Championship, if it came under the auspices of the WDC, and that they only recognised the WDC as having the authority to sanction their participation in darts tournaments worldwide.
Gregory won the second WDC Lada UK Masters in November 1993, defeating Bob Anderson in the final, and the WDC had just signed a contract with Sky Sports to broadcast its own World Championship and World Matchplay, starting in 1994. In late November 1993, Gregory had a change of heart and decided to return to the BDO. Chris Johns was the other player who had gone back to the BDO (before Gregory), but the other 14 stayed united. Gregory's decision to jump back to the BDO caused controversy, as the WDC players felt as if he had let them down, mainly as he had not told them of his decision in advance.
After the split
The last BDO tournament in which the "rebel" players competed was the Finland Open in April 1993. Gregory's return to the BDO was in time for the 1994 British Open, which was staged on New Year's Day, and he reached the semi-finals. He was not able to compete at the Embassy World Darts Championship in 1994, as the tournament draw had been made before he decided to return to the BDO. Later in 1994, he won the Norway Open and Belgian Open.
In 1995, he returned to the Lakeside for the first time since the split as the number five seed. He reached the quarter-finals, losing 3–4 to Martin Adams.
His other WDF titles came in 1995, winning the Swiss Open and the Belgian Open. Gregory then won his last televised title in September 1995, when he won the Unipart European Masters tournament, which was held at Lakeside and broadcast on the BBC. In the semi-final, Gregory defeated the reigning BDO World Champion, Richie Burnett, and beat Peter Manley in the final.
After Gregory's Unipart European Masters triumph, his form quickly faded. He suffered first round defeats in each of his next three appearances in the BDO World Championship at Lakeside – in 1996, 1997 and 1999. Since 1999, Gregory has failed to qualify for the competition. Other than a quarter-final appearance at the 2001 Welsh Open and a defeat to Davy Richardson in the final of the 2003 Scottish Open, he has not featured in the latter stages of Open events since 1999. His last appearance at a major WDF event being the 2005 Scottish Open, when he reached the last 16.
Gregory played county darts for Somerset and also played for Radstock in the Somerset Super League, where he appeared with the PDC player Steve Grubb.
Death
Mike Gregory died on 19 April 2022, at the age of 65. He had been battling dementia in the last few years. [5]
World Championship results
BDO
1984: Quarter Finals (lost to Jocky Wilson 0–5) (sets)
lost in the early rounds of the tournament (WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)
QF
lost in the quarter-finals
SF
lost in the semi-finals
F
lost in the final
W
won the tournament
References
^"Mike Gregory Player Profile". Dartsdatabase.co.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
^. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
^. Superstars of Darts. Archived from the original on 16 December 2009.
^. Theiceman.co.uk. 1 July 2007. Archived from the original on 23 June 2007. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
^"Former World Championship finalist Mike Gregory passes away". Dartsnews.com. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
External links
Mike Gregory profile dartsdatabase
Mike Gregory interview on darts split (2008) superstars of darts
January 14, 2023
mike, gregory, darts, player, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, mike, gregory, darts, player, news, ne. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Mike Gregory darts player news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Michael Seward Mike Gregory 16 December 1956 19 April 2022 was an English professional darts player who reached the final of the Winmau World Masters twice and also reached the final of the Embassy World Darts Championship in 1992 losing to Phil Taylor in a match regarded amongst the greatest matches ever played Mike GregoryPersonal informationFull nameMichael Seward GregoryNicknameThe Quiet Man of DartsBorn 1956 12 16 16 December 1956 1 Bath Somerset EnglandDied19 April 2022 2022 04 19 aged 65 Darts informationPlaying darts since1976Darts22g Winmau SignatureLateralityRight handedWalk on music The Combine Harvester by The WurzelsOrganisation see split in darts BDO1983 1992 1993 2005PDC1992 1993 Founding Member WDF Platinum best performancesWorld Ch shipRunner Up 1992World MastersRunner Up 1983 1992Other tournament winsAustralian Grand Masters1986 1992Belgium Open1994 1995British Open1991Canadian Open1991Finnish Open1984 1987Norway Open1994Swedish Open1989 1992Swiss Open1995Unipart European Masters1995WDC Lada Classic1992 1993Best Old Major results British Matchplay1984British Professional1984Butlins Grand Masters1984MFI World Matchplay1986News of the World Darts Championship1987 1988 Contents 1 Darts career 2 Major controversy 3 After the split 4 Death 5 World Championship results 5 1 BDO 6 Career finals 6 1 Independent major finals 2 2 titles 7 Performance timeline 8 References 9 External linksDarts career EditGregory was one of the top ranked players from the mid 1980s through to the early 1990s having been seeded in the top four at the World Championships on seven occasions although he never won the World title His major breakthrough was beating John Lowe in the semi finals of the 1983 British Open in which he finished runner up to Eric Bristow He lost again to Bristow in the final of that year s World Masters tournament He made his World Championship debut in 1984 and reached the quarter final losing heavily 0 5 to Jocky Wilson Gregory lost at the quarter final stage of the World Championship in 1987 1989 and 1993 He made his first semi final in 1990 losing to Eric Bristow and his only final appearance came in 1992 when he lost an epic match 5 6 in sets to Taylor Having missed six darts for the title two each for double 20 double 8 and double 10 which he has since jokingly referred to as the Bermuda Triangle the match went all the way to a sudden death leg which comes when the players reach 5 5 in both sets and legs It was the first time this had happened in the World Championship s 14 year history and the match is often mentioned in discussions about the greatest darts match Taylor himself listed this as his greatest ever match 2 Gregory won the bull off to throw first in the decider but had a bounce out on his first turn and Taylor comfortably sealed the win Gregory would become the only man to have lost a World Championship final having had darts at double to win and remained so until Mark McGeeney did so in 2018 Whilst he was never a World Champion he won many televised titles of the era including the 1984 Unipart British Professional beating both Jocky Wilson and John Lowe the 1986 MFI World Matchplay as well as becoming one of only seven players to win the News of the World Darts Championship twice in 1987 and 1988 joining Tom Barrett 1963 64 and 1964 65 and Eric Bristow 1983 and 1984 as the only other players to win it in consecutive years 3 Major controversy EditMain article split in darts Mike Gregory was a controversial figure in a dispute which threatened darts during 1992 93 Darts had enjoyed a boom and bust period during the 1980s and 1990s At first sponsors and television companies could not get enough of the game with many major tournaments appearing on the screens Despite the number of tournaments the game had a poor image in the eyes of many players were allowed to smoke and drink alcohol on stage during matches The decision of ITV to scrap their World of Sport programme after September 1985 was the first serious blow as the programme had covered darts on a regular basis In the summer of 1988 both the BBC and ITV decided in quick succession to axe all their coverage of darts from the start of 1989 with the exception of the World Championship on the BBC This massive slump in television coverage combined with the poor image of darts to sponsors made it very difficult for professional dart players to make a living from the sport The players formed the World Darts Council WDC now known as the Professional Darts Corporation in January 1992 with the intention to promote the game more on television and enhance their earnings which had severely diminished in the previous few years 4 The top 16 players including all the former World Champions stuck together in the WDC and Gregory won their first ever tournament the 1992 Lada UK Masters which was televised regionally on Anglia Television with Gregory defeating Dennis Priestley in the final The players planned to wear WDC logos on their sleeves during the 1993 World Championship as a show of solidarity but the governing body the British Darts Organisation BDO told the players to remove them Later in the tournament the WDC players issued a statement saying that they would only participate in the 1994 World Championship if it came under the auspices of the WDC and that they only recognised the WDC as having the authority to sanction their participation in darts tournaments worldwide Gregory won the second WDC Lada UK Masters in November 1993 defeating Bob Anderson in the final and the WDC had just signed a contract with Sky Sports to broadcast its own World Championship and World Matchplay starting in 1994 In late November 1993 Gregory had a change of heart and decided to return to the BDO Chris Johns was the other player who had gone back to the BDO before Gregory but the other 14 stayed united Gregory s decision to jump back to the BDO caused controversy as the WDC players felt as if he had let them down mainly as he had not told them of his decision in advance After the split EditThe last BDO tournament in which the rebel players competed was the Finland Open in April 1993 Gregory s return to the BDO was in time for the 1994 British Open which was staged on New Year s Day and he reached the semi finals He was not able to compete at the Embassy World Darts Championship in 1994 as the tournament draw had been made before he decided to return to the BDO Later in 1994 he won the Norway Open and Belgian Open In 1995 he returned to the Lakeside for the first time since the split as the number five seed He reached the quarter finals losing 3 4 to Martin Adams His other WDF titles came in 1995 winning the Swiss Open and the Belgian Open Gregory then won his last televised title in September 1995 when he won the Unipart European Masters tournament which was held at Lakeside and broadcast on the BBC In the semi final Gregory defeated the reigning BDO World Champion Richie Burnett and beat Peter Manley in the final After Gregory s Unipart European Masters triumph his form quickly faded He suffered first round defeats in each of his next three appearances in the BDO World Championship at Lakeside in 1996 1997 and 1999 Since 1999 Gregory has failed to qualify for the competition Other than a quarter final appearance at the 2001 Welsh Open and a defeat to Davy Richardson in the final of the 2003 Scottish Open he has not featured in the latter stages of Open events since 1999 His last appearance at a major WDF event being the 2005 Scottish Open when he reached the last 16 Gregory played county darts for Somerset and also played for Radstock in the Somerset Super League where he appeared with the PDC player Steve Grubb Death EditMike Gregory died on 19 April 2022 at the age of 65 He had been battling dementia in the last few years 5 World Championship results EditBDO Edit 1984 Quarter Finals lost to Jocky Wilson 0 5 sets 1985 1st Round lost to Bobby George 1 2 1986 1st Round lost to Keith Deller 0 3 1987 Quarter Finals lost to Jocky Wilson 3 4 1988 1st Round lost to Chris Johns 0 3 1989 Quarter Finals lost to Jocky Wilson 3 4 1990 Semi Finals lost to Eric Bristow 2 5 1991 2nd Round lost to Eric Bristow 0 3 1992 Runner Up lost to Phil Taylor 5 6 1993 Quarter Finals lost to Bobby George 2 4 1995 Quarter Finals lost to Martin Adams 3 4 1996 1st Round lost to Les Wallace 0 3 1997 1st Round lost to Roland Scholten 2 3 1999 1st Round lost to Martin Adams 1 3 Career finals EditIndependent major finals 2 2 titles Edit Outcome No Year Championship Opponent in the final ScoreWinner 1 1987 News of the World Championship 1 Peter Evison 2 0 l Winner 2 1988 News of the World Championship 2 Kevin Spiolek 2 1 l Performance timeline EditTournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000BDO World Championship Did not qualify QF 1R 1R QF 1R QF SF 2R F QF DNQ QF 1R 1R DNQ 1R DNQWinmau World Masters 2R DNQ F 3R QF 3R QF SF QF QF 4R F DNP 4R QF 3R 2R DNQ 3R 1RBritish Professional NH Did not qualify W QF QF 2R 2R Not heldMFI World Matchplay Not held 1R QF W SF QF Not heldEuropean Masters Not held W Not heldNews of the World QF QF RR W W Not held Not heldPerformance Table LegendDNP Did not play at the event DNQ Did not qualify for the event NYF Not yet founded R lost in the early rounds of the tournament WR Wildcard round RR Round robin QF lost in the quarter finals SF lost in the semi finals F lost in the final W won the tournamentReferences Edit Mike Gregory Player Profile Dartsdatabase co uk Retrieved 19 April 2022 Biography Phil Taylor website profile Archived from the original on 8 November 2014 Retrieved 19 April 2022 Major darts tournament winners Superstars of Darts Archived from the original on 16 December 2009 Alan Warriner Little on Darts split Theiceman co uk 1 July 2007 Archived from the original on 23 June 2007 Retrieved 26 August 2011 Former World Championship finalist Mike Gregory passes away Dartsnews com 19 April 2022 Retrieved 19 April 2022 External links EditMike Gregory profile dartsdatabase Mike Gregory interview on darts split 2008 superstars of darts Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mike Gregory darts player amp oldid 1123241540, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
