An insurer bet £100,000 that no one would ever throw a perfect game on TV. In 1984, someone did.
October 13, 1984. Slough, England. The MFI World Matchplay quarter-final.
John Lowe, nicknamed “Old Stoneface,” had never shown anyone what he was thinking.
Nobody expected him to win. The bookmakers’ favourites were Eric Bristow and Jocky Wilson.
The challenge was simple. A perfect game of darts takes nine darts. No more. No misses.
Two visits. Six treble 20s.
141 left.
Treble 17. Treble 18. Double 18.
Nine darts.
His opponent, Keith Deller, applauded.
And for the first time all night, Old Stoneface smiled.
The prize: £102,000. £100,000 from the organisers, who had reportedly insured against exactly this, and £2,000 from the BDO.
It was not shown live. Viewers saw it later on an ITV highlights programme.
Six years later, in 1990, Paul Lim hit the first nine-darter at the World Championship. He received £52,000, which one account says was twice what Phil Taylor earned for winning that tournament.
In 2002, Taylor hit one live on UK television. The bonus was £100,000.
Lowe’s £102,000 topped both.
By Sunday, with the title (£12,000) and a 161 outshot (£1,000), his weekend came to £115,000. It stayed a record for almost twenty years.
He won the World Championship again in 1987 and 1993, and was later awarded an MBE.
But the man everyone remembers is the one who showed nothing until the ninth dart landed.
Was it luck, or the most prepared three darts in history?
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Kırşehir'in Kaman ilçesinde ava çıktığı sırada tarlada yılan gören bir vatandaş, şaşkınlığını gizleyemeyerek yılanı kuyruğundan tutup arkadaşının üzerine fırlatmaya çalıştı.
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grupta çıkan kavgaya bakın cidden kafayı yiyeceğim siz olsanız napardınız?