Thursday, January 2, 2025
Column CM141
Simon Whitlock
Birthday: March 3, 1969
Lives in: Cessnock, Australia
Born in: Hornsby, Australia
Nickname: The Wizard
Darts: 22-gram Red Dragon Eagles
Walk-on Music: Down Under (Men At Work)
The popular Australian Simon Whitlock entered the spotlight in 2002 when he won the Australian Masters and the Oceanic Masters (by which he qualified for the 2003 PDC World Championship 2003). He advanced to the third round where he lost to Richie Burnett.
Many were surprised that Whitlock decided after the World Championship he preferred to remain on the BDO/WDF Circuit as it offered many more events in Australia. He didn’t want to move to England because he had a young family.
In his first year on the BDO/WDF circuit Whitlock won several titles. For the 2004 World Masters he returned to England but lost his second match. As a result of his success in his home country he qualified for the 2005 BDO World Championship and reached the semifinals. One year later he was eliminated in the second round.
In 2007, Whitlock played as well on the PDC affiliated Pro Circuit in Australia and rumours were heard that he now would switch to the PDC. But again, Whitlock stayed in the BDO and in 2008 again qualified for the World Championship – and this time he reached the final where he lost to Mark Webster.
Due to this he was invited to the PDC Grand Slam of Darts – a new PDC tournament to which world champions and finalists from the BDO were invited. Whitlock accepted the invitation and reached the quarterfinals. Nevertheless, the Australian was among the participants of the 2009 BDO World Championship and after it finally switched to the PDC.
In 2010, he qualified via the affiliated Australian Tour as the first ever Australian player to compete in the PDC World Championship and played himself into the final where he lost – one has to say “of course” at this time – to Phil Taylor. Until 2024 Whitlock qualified for each PDC World Championship but never again reached the final.
Though for many years Whitlock remained a successful player in the PDC, except for the 2012 European Championship he never won a Major single TV tournament. In 2022, he (together with Damon Heta) won the PDC World Cup of Darts.
After that success good placings were rare for Whitlock on the PDC Circuit. He didn’t manage to qualify for the 2024/25 PDC and lost his Tour Card. Whitlock said he was much too nervous in the World Championship Qualifier and as well had some problems with his shoulders due to his workouts with weights.
In a recent interview Whitlock declared he will take part in Q School in 2025 and try to regain his Tour Card. He will also play in the World Seniors Championship in January 2025. He thinks it is time for a new chapter and to do something else to get his hunger back.
Whitlock will be teaching his son Mason the ropes. He practices with him and tries to put on all his experience and everything he himself learned from his father-in-law Ian who had an impact on his career. As Simon tells it, his son is quite talented but still too inconsistent in his performances. In the Modus Super Series Mason already threw a 9-darter.
During the 2010 Grand Slam of Darts I had the chance to get to know Whitlock – who was accompanied by his then manager, also named Simon (which was slightly confusing) – and do an interview for Darts1 with him…
Whitlock was friendly and affable, but his manager pushed all the time, which was not really good for the interview. At this time Whitlock had just separated from his second wife and was having a hard time privately. In particular he was bothered that his wife wouldn’t allow him to see or contact his children – among them the mentioned son Mason.
I learned that Whitlock was “almost” English – his parents came from Brighton and Eastbourne, both played darts and had emigrated to Australia. And somewhat unexpectedly Whitlock declared he was interested and keen about tropical fish and that he liked to grow his own vegetables.
Here is an almost forgotten video that the PDC produced in 2012 to advertise the Premier League. Simon Whitlock was one of the participants: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFBSwgOQJ3c
Link to Mason Whitlock’s 9-darter
Nine-Darter Mason Whitlock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m4TOZxANN0
