Colin Lloyd

Colin Lloyd

Published: Tuesday, 30 October 2007, 2:33PM


Name: Colin Lloyd
Nickname: Jaws
Walk-On Music: Monster - The Automatic
Date of Birth: 7 August 1973
Place of Birth: Colchester, Essex
Home Town: Chelmsford, Essex
Darts Used: 18g Target Colin Lloyd
TV Debut: 1999

Colin broke onto the professional scene with victory in the 1999 Eastbourne Open, and qualified for that year's World Matchplay.

He reached the quarter-finals on his debut in a televised tournament, including a 13-2 win over Alan Warriner in round two before losing to Peter Manley.

His emergence on the PDC circuit continued over the next two years, although he was twice a first round loser in the World Championship before reaching the semi-finals of the 2002 event.

That tournament, which included wins over Alex Roy, Alan Warriner and Richie Burnett before Manley was again his conqueror, proved to be a major breakthrough for Lloyd.

He won the Antwerp Open and the Vauxhall Holiday Park 128 Pro Classic that year to confirm his development into a leading contender.

Colin retained the Antwerp Open in 2003 and went on to become the only player to complete the 'treble' in the event 12 months later.

He also added the Holland Open, Le Skratch Montreal Open, West Tyrone Open, Primus Masters and the Irish Players Championship titles after becoming a full-time professional darts player.

His crowning moment was to come in October 2004 at the CityWest Hotel in Dublin, when he saw off Denis Ovens, Dennis Smith, Gary Welding, Ronnie Baxter and Alan Warriner to finally triumph in a major at the World Grand Prix.

He also claimed six non-televised tournament wins during the year, including three in a month at the Open Holland, Antwerp Open and Montreal Open.

The following year saw Lloyd compete in the inaugural Premier League Darts, finishing second in the league phase before losing in the final to Phil Taylor.

A second major title followed at the 2005 World Matchplay, when he hit a 170 finish to seal an 18-12 win over John Part in the final, and that victory was the highlight of another superb 12 months for Lloyd, who won seven tournaments for the second successive year.

Retaining the West Tyrone Open, he also won the PDPA Players Championship on the Isle of Wight, the Irish Regional Final for the Budweiser UK Open, the Bob Anderson Classic and two JR 128 Plus Classic events at Great Yarmouth.

The year did end on a sour note for Lloyd, who went down 3-2 to Gary Welding in the first round of the World Championship, a major shock given his status as second favourite for the tournament.

That was followed by three further first round losses in 2006 as Colin endured a tough run in the major PDC tournaments.

However, his form on the circuit remained strong, with victories in the Irish Masters - where he hit a nine-dart leg to win the title against Dennis Priestley - and two Players Championship tournaments keeping him at the top of the world rankings.

He also reached the semi-finals of the Premier League during 2006, finishing fourth in the league table but going down to Taylor in the last four, and the final of the International Darts League in Holland, where he lost to Raymond van Barneveld.

Colin ended 2006 with a narrow second round exit to eventual winner van Barneveld at the World Championship, and he was a point short of reaching the Premier League play-offs for a third successive year in early 2007, despite recording the event's first-ever whitewash when he defeated Terry Jenkins 8-0.

A run to the semi-finals of the UK Open, before he eventually lost to van Barneveld, was followed by more first round exits, to Wes Newton in the Desert Classic and Mervyn King in the World Matchplay.

James Wade ended his World Grand Prix challenge in the quarter-finals, and Lloyd then reached round two at the inaugural Grand Slam of Darts.

However, Jan van der Rassel would condemn Lloyd to another first round loss in the 2008 World Championship.

The spring of 2008, though, saw Lloyd end two years without a ranking title when he took victory in back-to-back UK Open Regional Finals in Taunton and Brentwood to move back into the world's top ten, and were accompanied by a nine-darter in a Players Championship in Germany.

He also reached the final of the PDC US Open in May 2008, losing to Taylor, but the summer proved less successful with first-game losses to Vincent van der Voort, Sam Rooney and Mark Walsh in the UK Open, Desert Classic and World Matchplay.

However, he bounced back to form by winning the Windy City Open in September 2008 and the quarter-finals of October's World Grand Prix, although disappointment in the World Championship continued with a first round loss to Jelle Klaasen.

His 2009 campaign began well with victory in the UK Open North-East Regional Final in January and another major quarter-final, this time in the Players Championship Finals.

Three further PDC Pro Tour finals were accompanied by a last 16 appearance in the UK Open and second round defeats in the Las Vegas Desert Classic and World Matchplay.

The summer saw a second PDC Pro Tour win of the year, coming with a defeat of James Wade in the final of the Atlanta Players Championship.