Inside Darts - UniFlip.com

INTERVIEW
IMAGES FROM LAWRENCE LUSTIG/PDC
IF AT FIRST
YOU DON'T
SUCCEED,
TRY AND TRY
AGAIN.
IT’S not be more apt
an age old saying
and one that could
when describing the mentality
of Kevin Painter, throughout his
twenty year career as a professional
darts player.
‘The Artist’ is well known for his
never-say-die attitude on stage but
was also carrying a reputation as
darts’ nearly man. That changed in
December 2011 when Painter fi nally
won his fi rst televised tournament,
claiming victory at the Players
Championship Finals in Doncaster.
“It was great to win my fi rst
major,” he said. “You could go
through your whole career and
never win one, and there will be
better players than me that never
do. Nobody can take that away
from me now. Everything just fell
into place that weekend and I
played better and better as the
tournament went on. I was really
pleased to win it.”
Before that triumph, the closest
that the Daventry based player
had come to clinching a major
title was in the famous 2004 World
Championship fi nal, where he lost
a dramatic last leg decider against
the great Phil Taylor. Despite being
condemned to defeat on the day,
Painter looks back on that moment
with a great sense of pride.
He said: “The world fi nal defeat
against Taylor was, and still is one
of the greatest moments of my
career. I know I lost the match but
how many people can say they have
played in a World Championship
fi nal? And it was not just any fi nal;
it was one of the greatest ever. Phil
has told me since that he thinks our
fi nal was the best one. What made
it more special was that nobody
had given me a chance. Everyone
expected Phil to win 7-1 or 7-2
so to run him so close was a big
achievement. I wanted to win it,
obviously, but it was still a great day
and a great moment for me.”
‘Everything just fell into place
that weekend and I played
better and better as the
tournament went on’
IMAGES FROM LAWRENCE LUSTIG/PDC
Painter wasn’t about to let that
fi nal eight years ago defi ne his
career however, and remained
typically determined to prove his
doubters wrong.
He said: “I don’t think I ever
doubted that my day would come.
I’ve always believed that I have
got the ability. The only doubt you
might have these days is whether
your ability is going to be enough.
There are so many good players
around now and we can’t all be Phil
8 9
KEvIN pAINTEr | INTERvIEW
Taylor. He’s a different animal to the
rest of us and while he’s around you
are always going to need to have
luck on your side.
“In the past I’ve been accused
of trying too hard but I don’t agree.
How can you try too hard? I’m
trying to win and I would never give
up in any game. I wear my heart on
my sleeve and I always have done.
It is natural for me to play with
aggression. That’s my game. I’m
passionate and I want to win every
time I play.”
So where does Painter go from
here? He is in the World’s top ten,
has sealed a place in the McCoy’s
Premier League, and has fi nally
won a major title. What next for the
Artist, now that he has succeeded?
For the 44-year old it’s simple.
Even when you do succeed, try and
try again. “It’s all about doing it
again now,” he added. “I want to
keep playing the best I can and try
and do it again. If it doesn’t happen
again then so be it, I’ve done it
once and while I don’t just want
to sit back and say “I’ve won one,
that’s it for me thanks”, but in reality
nobody knows what they are going
to win in the future. I just want to
keep playing well and see what
more I can achieve.” •
BY CHRIS mURPHY