In this column, we regularly look back at a darts player from the past. Today it is the turn of Englishman Mike Gregory, who lost a legendary World Championship final to Phil Taylor in 1992 after missing no fewer than six match darts.
Gregory first made his mark in 1983 when he lost the final of the Winmau World Masters to Eric Bristow. A year later, he qualified for the BDO World Championship for the first time, reaching the quarter finals before losing 5-0 to Jocky Wilson. During that period, Gregory was one of the best players in the world. In 1984 he won three major titles that no longer exist today: the British Matchplay, Butlins Grand Masters, and British Professional. In the following years he added the MFI World Matchplay and two News of the World titles to his résumé. Internationally, “The Quiet Man of Darts,” as he was nicknamed, was also highly successful, winning tournaments in Finland, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, and Switzerland. However, at the World Championship he struggled for years to improve on the quarter final finish he achieved on debut. That changed in 1990. Gregory again reached the quarter finals and this time defeated Jocky Wilson. In the semi finals, however, Eric Bristow proved too strong, winning 5-2.
In 1992, Gregory entered the World Championship as the second seed. After victories over Wayne Weening, Chris Johns, Rod Harrington, and Kevin Kenny, he finally reached the World Championship final, where he faced top seed Phil Taylor. The final became one of the greatest, most exciting, and most dramatic matches in BDO history. After missing six match darts, two each at double 20, double 8, and double 10, later jokingly referred to by Gregory as the “Bermuda Triangle,” the match went to a sudden death leg. This occurred because both players were tied 5-5 in both sets and legs. It was the first time in the tournament’s fourteen year history that a final had to be decided in this way. The match is still regularly mentioned in discussions about the greatest darts match of all time. Phil Taylor himself later described it as the finest match he ever played. Gregory won the bull off and had the advantage of throwing first in the deciding leg, but suffered a bounce out with his opening throw. Taylor capitalized fully and eventually claimed the world title. Gregory thus became the first player ever to lose a World Championship final after having match darts at a double. This remained unique until Mark McGeeney experienced the same fate in 2018.
Later that year, Gregory lost his second Winmau World Masters final, this time to Dennis Priestley. As a result, despite winning several other major titles, Gregory gained a reputation as the man who came “so close.” He never managed to win either of the BDO’s two biggest tournaments, the World Championship and the Winmau World Masters. Mike Gregory played a notable and controversial role in the split within professional darts in the early 1990s. The split occurred between the established British Darts Organisation (BDO) and a group of top players who believed the sport was not being modernized quickly enough. With fewer televised tournaments and declining prize money, it was becoming increasingly difficult for players to earn a living from darts. In response, players, including Eric Bristow, Phil Taylor, and Dennis Priestley, along with managers and darts manufacturers, founded the World Darts Council, the predecessor of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). The organization began running its own tournaments independent of the BDO. Gregory joined this movement and won the Lada UK Masters, one of the first major WDC tournaments to be televised. Tensions escalated during the 1993 Embassy World Darts Championship when WDC players were instructed to remove their WDC badges. Shortly afterward, sixteen players, including Gregory, announced that they would only compete in a world championship organized by the WDC. The BDO responded by banning these “rebel” players, a decision later supported by the World Darts Federation (WDF), leading to an international suspension.
However, Gregory did not remain with the new organization for long. Shortly before the first WDC World Championship, he unexpectedly returned to the BDO. This decision caused outrage within the WDC, where he had been viewed as an important figure. His departure came at a critical moment, just before a major television deal with Sky Sports, which depended on the participation of all WDC players. Former friend and fellow star Eric Bristow later wrote in his autobiography: "Mike's decision to leave hurt us badly because he was a good player and the good players really did need to show solidarity. When he defected back to the BDO we were down to fourteen and panic was setting in." Commentator John Gwynne was also critical: "I think even he [Mike] would admit that it's the worst thing he ever did, because he was accepted then by neither side." Gregory later acknowledged in interviews that the decision had been a mistake. Years afterward, Phil Taylor even remarked after a victory: "I'm sure he's watching so, to Mike, look at what you could have won, buddy!" His return to the BDO marked a turning point in his career. Once seen as an important figure in the rise of modern professional darts, he also became a symbol of the division and uncertainty that characterized the sport during that era. In 1995, Gregory won his final major title, the Unipart European Masters, which was broadcast by the BBC. With many top players moving to the PDC while Gregory remained in the BDO, it seemed his chances of becoming the dominant player in the organization would increase. The opposite happened. After the split, he quickly faded from the top level. In 1999 he made his fourteenth and final appearance at the BDO World Championship, losing in the opening round to Martin Adams. His final appearance in a major WDF event came at the Scottish Open in 2005, where he reached the last sixteen. In later years he played county darts for Somerset and represented Radstock in the Somerset Super League.
With four major titles, Gregory unquestionably earned his place in darts history. However, he is not generally considered among the very greatest players because he never won either the Winmau World Masters or the World Championship. Nevertheless, his achievements should not be underestimated. Three of his major titles came during a period when there was only one governing body in darts and all of the world’s top players competed in the same events. Moreover, he came within a whisker of defeating the legendary Phil Taylor in a World Championship final, something very few players can claim. Sadly, it is no longer possible to look back on his career with Gregory himself. On 19 April 2022, after a long battle with dementia, Mike Gregory passed away at the age of 65, leaving the darts world in mourning. Later, a darts academy was named in his honor in Radstock, Highbridge, Street, and Minehead, where children aged 7 to 17 can learn to play darts and compete in a safe and enjoyable environment.
