Chris Johns (darts player)
| Chris Johns | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Christopher Johns |
| Born |
29 December 1962 Aberdare, Wales |
| Home town |
Cardiff Wales |
| Darts information | |
| Playing darts since | 1986 |
| Laterality | Right-handed |
| Organisation (see split in darts) | |
| BDO | 1986-1993 |
| PDC | 1993 (Founding Member) |
| BDO majors - best performances | |
| World Ch'ship | Last 16: 1988, 1992 |
| World Masters | Semi-Final: 1986 |
| Other tournament wins | |
| Tournament | Years |
| British Gold Cup | 1989 |
Christopher "Chris" Johns (born 29 December 1962) is a former Welsh retired darts player. He played county darts for Glamorgan and played in the BDO World Darts Championship on five occasions, but is best remembered as a controversial figure in an acrimonious split in the game between 1992 and 1994.
Career
Johns made his debut at the 1988 Embassy World Championship, reaching the second round. He made four further appearances at the championships, losing in the first round in 1989, 1991 and 1993 and the second round in 1992. His only two wins at Lakeside were against Mike Gregory in 1988 and Steve Beaton in 1992.
He had only moderate success in British Darts Organisation (BDO) Open tournaments. As early as 1986, he reached the semi-finals of the Winmau World Masters – beating Eric Bristow in the last 16 before falling to Bob Anderson in the last four. He later reached the semi-finals of the Swiss Open in 1991 and the Denmark Open the same year.
He was one of the 16 players who decided to leave the BDO and form a new organisation – the World Darts Council (WDC), which later became the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Following the 1993 Embassy World Championship, the BDO suspended the "rebel" players from all tournaments. This also meant that their exhibition work would be restricted – which may have contributed to Johns having a change of heart, and deciding to return to the BDO. Mike Gregory followed suit shortly afterwards; both players were ostracised by the remaining 14 WDC players, who felt they had been let down.
Following the split, Johns never made another appearance at the BDO World Championship and never featured in the later rounds of any BDO Open events again.
World Championship Performances
BDO
- 1988: 2nd Round (lost to Rick Ney 2-3)
- 1989: 1st Round (lost to Paul Lim 0-3)
- 1991: 1st Round (lost to Tony Payne 1-3)
- 1992: 2nd Round (lost to Mike Gregory 0-3)
- 1993: 1st Round (lost to John Lowe 1-3)