BBC SPORT | Other Sport | World Darts 2004 | All in the name of darts All in the name of darts Ted 'The Count' Hankey gets to grips with the world title trophy Ted 'The Count' Hankey and Andy 'The Viking' Fordham - they are figures that seem to have been lifted straight from the pages of history. But darts are their only weapons of choice and it seems you have not arrived on the oche until you have acquired a nickname. Two-time finalist Hankey's tag only starts to make sense when you see him and realise he is the spitting image of a Hammer House of Horror Dracula - a younger version of snooker's Ray Reardon. The 2000 champion suffered in 2001 when he lost in the final to John 'Boy' Walton, named after the popular 1970s TV character. A triumph of good over evil if ever there was one. All three will be in action when the biggest names in darts reconvene at the Lakeside in 2004, as will the man with the shortest name in darts, Co Stompe.

In a world stereotyped by big-bellied beer guzzlers, the Dutchman also happens to be the thinnest player and not surprisingly goes by the names 'Pencil' or 'Matchstick' due to his thin-as-a-rake appearance. Orange-clad fans will be hoping he is feeling sharp and lights up his first round meeting against Norway's Austrian-born Robert Wagner, a magician in his spare time who is known as 'The Meat Eater'. If Wagner comes up against England captain Martin 'Wolfie' Adams, there can be but one winner - at least in the name steaks - sorry, stakes. But as well as the inspired, there is the predictable. Triple world champion and number one seed Raymond van Barneveld clearly spent more time on the practice board than the chalkboard in coming up with 'Barney'. Steve Beaton - The Bronze Adonis - sports his golden mullett And Mervyn 'The King' King liked his name so much he used it twice. At least they are not just plain awful, a dubious list that must be topped by kilt-wearing 1997 champion Les Wallace, transformed into 'McDanger', while Richie Burnett is the 'Prince of Wales'.

Check out the world title honours board and you can see darts has always been a name game, the list of former champions including the likes of Phil 'The Power' Taylor, Dennis 'The Menace' Priestley and the legend that is 'The Crafty Cockney', five-time winner Eric Bristow. They played with the likes of Rod 'Prince of Style' Harrington and, most bizarrely, Bob 'Limestone Cowboy' Anderson - a reference to his vaguely country-and-western get-up and roots. Anderson's 1988 win shows darts is no follower of fashion, a fact confirmed by Steve Beaton - 'The Bronze Adonis'. Beaton was anything but when he took the title in 1996 sporting the footballers' favourite 1980s haircut, the mullett, long past its sell-by date. Whatever you think of the tags, it all adds to the fun.

Player Profiles | PDC Player Profiles Follow Steve Beaton on Twitter Watch Steve Beaton Highlights in LIVEPDC.TV * The PDC are not responsible for the content of external websites Steve is a former Lakeside Champion and in 2016 tournament played his 15th consecutive PDC World Championship. Steve is also a former winner of the World Masters. Beaton, otherwise known as the ‘Bronzed Adonis’ is recognised for his consistentcy throughtout his long career and his year round tan. World Darts Championship: Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld in action | Darts News | Sky Sports World Darts Championship: Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld in action By Raz Mirza Last Updated: 27/12/15 7:32pm Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld headline Sunday's action With the second round at the World Darts Championship now into full swing, Sunday's action has a strong Dutch feel to it. World No 1 Michael van Gerwen and five-time champion of the world Raymond van Barneveld headline the action at Alexandra Palace.

The afternoon session sees 'The Bronzed Adonis' Steve Beaton kick things off against world No 8 Michael Smith. The 51-year-old Beaton, 1996 Lakeside champion, will be looking to reach the quarter-finals of the PDC version for the first time. But 25-year-old dark horse Smith, playing in his fifth world championship, will be favourite, although he is not looking too far ahead. He told the Daily Star: "They had me in the quarter-finals. They are thinking too far ahead. Every game is a tough one. You cannot think too far ahead." Belgian ace Dimitri Van den Bergh, currently ranked 86 in the PDC Order of Merit, will be showing off his dancing moves when he walks out to 'Happy' by Pharrell Williams. He goes up against 22-year-old Dutchman Benito van de Pas in a tie which will offer a glimpse into the future of darts. Dimitri Van den Bergh got the crowd going at Ally Pally with this superb walk-on The final match of the afternoon session pits rapid-fire Vincent van der Voort against powerful Australian scorer Kyle Anderson.

In the evening session, Van Barneveld takes on Stephen Bunting in a repeat of their quarter-final clash last year which ended in tears for the man from St Helens. 2007 PDC champion Van Barneveld hailed the former BDO champion as an amazing player live on-stage after their encounter. "I have looked up to Raymond for a long time," 40-year-old Bunting told the Daily Mail. "He is one of them who made the switch from Lakeside as well and has been successful. I know I'm going to have to produce my best darts to beat Barney but they are there in the locker. I'm sure it will be a great game." Raymond van Barneveld wasn't satisfied with his his first round performance, despite a routine win Simon Whitlock, Ian White and Robert Thornton were among the top 10 seeds to fall by the wayside in the first round and James Wade is not keen on joining them ahead of his battle with the 'Warrior', Wes Newton. Van Gerwen rounds off the entertainment in north London as he continues his bid to add to the title his won two years ago when he takes on Norwich-based thrower Darren Webster.

Michael van Gerwen was pushed to the limit by qualifier Rene Eidams The flying Dutchman needed a final set tie-break to edge rookie Rene Eidams 3-2 and the 'Demolition Man' Webster, who beat John Henderson 3-1, believes he can cause a major upset. "I'm sure Michael is a mega odds-on favourite and I'm an outsider who has been given no hope," he told the Eastern Daily Press. "But if a German qualifier, who people would have said wasn't even on the same planet as Michael, nearly beat him it shows it's all about what happens on the day." Van Gerwen admits he was worried when he allowed Eidams to force a tie-break Sunday December 27 Michael Smith v Steve Beaton Dimitri Van den Bergh v Benito van de Pas Vincent van der Voort v Kyle Anderson Evening Session (7pm-11pm) Raymond van Barneveld v Stephen Bunting James Wade v Wes Newton Michael van Gerwen v Darren Webster Find out your nickname and pick your shirt! You can watch the PDC World Darts Championship live on the Sky Sports Darts Channel.

Non-subscribers can also enjoy daily, weekly or monthly access to Sky Sports Darts and Sky Sports other six channels contract-free with NOW TV. Justin Pipe | Josh's Dartistry Josh's Dartistry Reply Former world champion Mark Webster missed just two darts at double as he stormed through to the second-round of the 2017 PDC World Championship, as Ian White and Chris Dobey also tasted victory on Sunday afternoon at the Alexandra Palace. Webster produced a masterclass in finishing as he overcame Joe Murnan in straight sets. The former world champion converted nine of his eleven double attempts at an astonishing 82% success rate to record a 3-0 victory, despite averaging 87.78 to Murnan’s 88.84. The opening two legs of the contest were shared, before Webster took out 65 via D4 to break throw. The Welshman then clinched the first set with a clinical 70 finish to maintain his 100% checkout percentage, before holding throw in the opening leg of set two with a majestic 129 finish (T19, T16, D12) as Murnan was sat poised on tops.

Webster was yet to post a score of over 140 but continued his stunning sequence of finishing to break Murnan’s throw with a quality two-dart 88 checkout. ‘Shaggy’ stayed alive in set two by taking out 56 to break, but Webby fired in his first maximum before rounding-off a 14-darter to maintain his flawless finishing and double his lead. Continue reading → Reply Benito van de Pas clinched his third Players Championship title of the year with a comprehensive 6-1 victory over Dave Chisnall in the final Pro Tour event of 2016 at the Barnsley Metrodome on Saturday afternoon. The 23-year-old Dutchman, who broke into the world’s top 16 earlier this year, capitalised on an error-strewn display from Chisnall to scoop the £10,000 winner’s cheque, whilst also securing second spot on the final Players Championship Order of Merit.

Van de Pas opened his account in Saturday’s final with a solid 16-dart hold on tops, but Chisnall fired back by pinning D10, having missed tops for a 160 checkout in the preceding visit. However, the Dutchman regained his lead in leg three, kicking off the leg with a magnificent 177, before converting D16 for a classy 13-dart leg. Nevertheless, the fourth leg saw farcical finishing from both players. Chizzy spurned an incredible ELEVEN darts at double to restore parity, and after missing 8 darts at double, Van de Pas eventually hit D1 to secure an important break. Continue reading → 2 Peter Wright produced one of the finest European Tour performances in recent memory, averaging almost 114 on day-two at the German Darts Championship, as Michael van Gerwen overcame a battling Robbie Green in Hildesheim on Saturday evening. Van Gerwen began his assault for a seventh European Tour title of the year with a hard-fought 6-4 victory over Robbie Green.

The world number one averaged 99.83 and hit 46% of his double attempts to overcome ‘Kong’, who narrowly misses out on a qualification spot for the European Championships in Hasselt. However, it was Peter Wright who produced the performance of the tournament thus far, averaging 113.77 as he recorded a comprehensive 6-1 victory over St Helens’ Eddie Dootson. Snakebite registered four maximums and hit six of his ten attempts at double, as Dootson claimed just the solitary leg, despite averaging a respectable 94.74. International Darts Open winner Mensur Suljovic delivered a stunning performance as he swept aside Darren Johnson in round-two. The Austrian averaged a mightily impressive 106.22 and converted 55% of his attempts at double to set up a third-round clash with David Pallett. Third seed Dave Chisnall breezed into the last 16 with a whitewash victory over ‘The Rock’ Peter Hudson.

Chisnall averaged 102.48, landed three maximums and hit 43% of his doubles, as Hudson was afforded just the solitary dart at double in the entire contest. Continue reading → Reply Steve West produced one of the best performances ever seen on the European Tour as he whitewashed his brother Tony in round-one of the German Darts Championship, as Robbie Green, Mark Webster and Rowby-John Rodriguez also impressed on day one in Hildesheim. Yet, it was Steve West who stole the show, producing an incredible display of scoring as he dismantled his brother in the opening match of Friday’s evening session. Steve defeated Phil Taylor in the World Grand Prix earlier this month, and continued his fine run of form with a sparkling display against the former World Masters winner. Steve fired in SEVEN maximums and finished with an average of 109.98. Nevertheless, his first nine-dart average was an astonishing 400.33- the second highest recorded in PDC history. This keeps alive West’s hopes of qualifying for the European Championships, and he takes on former world champion Stephen Bunting on Saturday.

Former world champion Mark Webster enjoyed a welcome return to form after breezing past the veteran Mervyn King. The Welshman averaged 99.48, landed four maximums and hit 66% of his attempts at double to record a 6-2 victory, despite King averaging a very respectable 96.29. Robbie Green produced the performance of the afternoon session as he stormed past former world champion Christian Kist 6-2. ‘Kong’ averaged 99.40 and fired in three maximums to set up a clash with Kist’s compatriot Michael van Gerwen; a clash which Green must win to remain on course to qualify for the European Championships. Continue reading → Reply Photo: Lawrence Lustig/PDC World champion Gary Anderson began his bid for a maiden World Matchplay crown with a comprehensive win over Alan Norris, whilst Adrian Lewis and Peter Wright also eased through to round-two. However, former winner James Wade suffered a surprise first-round exit at the Winter Gardens on Sunday. Wade was beaten by an inspired Mervyn King in the opening match of Sunday’s evening session.

‘The King’ averaged 99.45, hit three maximums and converted an impressive 67% of his attempts at double, to dethrone ‘The Machine’ by a 10-5 scoreline. Wade was uncharacteristically profligate on the doubles, as King stormed into a commanding 6-1 advantage. The left-hander missed three darts at double in the opening leg, and King capitalised on his opponent’s wastefulness, taking out finishes of 82, 100 and 120 to put one foot into the last 16. Wade scored strongly in the latter stages of the contest, but it was to no avail. King missed D8 for a match-winning 136 outshot, and he was almost punished as Wade wired the bullseye for a 161 finish. However, King, a semi-finalist at the Winter Gardens in 2009, returned to post D4 and seal his second-round spot.

1 Photo: Lawrence Lustig/PDC Michael van Gerwen will begin the defence of his World Matchplay title against Jamie Caven, whilst world champion Gary Anderson takes on former Lakeside world finalist Alan Norris, after the draw was made live on Sky Sports News on Thursday morning. The prestigious 32-player event, televised by Sky Sports, will be held at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens from July 16-24. Van Gerwen, who defeated James Wade in last year’s final, is faced with a tough assignment against Caven, a winner of seven Pro Tour titles. Arguably the tie of the round sees world champion Gary Anderson take on Alan Norris. Norris has been in tremendous form over the last twelve months, which saw him reach the quarter-finals of the PDC World Championship on debut. Anderson has never gone beyond the last four in Blackpool, and this promises to be a quick-fire contest. Phil Taylor will begin his bid for an unprecedented 16th World Matchplay title against Robbie Green, who just managed to secure his spot on the final day of qualifying.’Kong’ is making his first Matchplay appearance since 2004, but Taylor will be hoping to win his eighth Blackpool title in just nine years.

2 Photo: Lawrence Lustig/PDC World number one Michael van Gerwen will begin his quest for a fourth European Tour title of 2016 against either Jonny Clayton or a home-nation qualifier, when the Austrian Darts Open begins in Vienna on Friday. The £115,000 PDC European Tour event will see 48 players competing from Friday June 10th to Sunday June 12th at the Multiversum in Schwechat, Vienna. Van Gerwen, a two-time champion here, will be hoping to continue his unblemished European Tour record in Austria this weekend. Phil Taylor will also be making his first European Tour appearance of the year, and he’ll face a tough tie against either Mervyn King or Steve West in round-two. Meanwhile, second seed Peter Wright will meet either quick-fire Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena, or recent World Cup semi-finalist Brendan Dolan. Three-time European Tour winner, Michael Smith, will lock horns against Mike Zuydwijk or Mark Frost, whilst fourth seed Dave Chisnall will play Jamie Caven or 2012 Austrian Darts Open winner Justin Pipe.

Reply Photo: Lawrence Lustig/PDC Daryl Gurney, Joe Cullen, Stephen Bunting and Alan Norris all booked their places in the second-round of the Gibraltar Darts Trophy, after a busy double-session of action at the Victoria Stadium on Friday. The performance of the day was delivered by Daryl Gurney, who averaged over 102 in defeating David Pallett 6-3, to set up a second-round tie against world number five Peter Wright. German Darts Masters semi-finalist Joe Cullen also impressed at The Rock, coming from 5-3 down to edge out former major winner Kevin Painter in a high-quality contest. Cullen averaged over 96 and converted finishes of 113 and 119 to seal a fine comeback victory against ‘The Artist’. Stephen Bunting and Alan Norris both breezed into the last 32 with convincing 6-1 victories. Bunting defeated former UK Open finalist Mark Walsh, whilst Norris saw off Gibraltar’s George Federico by the same scoreline. Former Austrian Open winner Justin Pipe cruised into round-two with a comprehensive whitewash victory over an out-of-sorts Jamie Lewis.

However, it was a role-reversal for Lewis’ Welsh compatriot Gerwyn Price, still fresh from his Players Championship seven victory. Price whitewashed Gibraltar’s David Francis 6-0, despite averaging a poultry 77. Former world champion Christian Kist stormed into the second-round with a comprehensive 6-1 victory against Spain’s Cristo Reyes, and Kist’s Dutch compatriot Jermaine Wattimena also secured a spot in the last 32 by virtue of an impressive 6-2 triumph against Rowby-John Rodriguez. World-Youth champion Max Hopp confirmed his spot in Sunday’s last 16 with victory over former world-finalist Andy Hamilton. Hopp recorded 3 maximums and completed a 121 checkout to secure victory, and he will receive a bye to round-three after Adrian Lewis pulled out this morning through illness. Steve Beaton suffered a surprise 6-4 defeat to Austria’s Michael Rasztovits in the second game of Friday’s double session. Missed doubles ultimately cost ‘The Adonis’ and Rasztovits took full advantage, to set up a last 32 clash against Kim Huybrechts.

Former European Tour finalist John Henderson came through an extremely scrappy tussle against veteran Wayne Jones, who incredibly spurned 11 match darts to defeat the Scotsman. ‘Big John’ will now meet his fellow Scot; World Grand-Prix champion Robert Thornton. Home favourite Dyson Parody also capitalised on profligacy from his opponent, as he defeated Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-3. Van Duijvenbode trailed 3-0 having astonishingly missed his first 22 attempts at double, and he was unable to rectify matters as Parody claimed a morale-boosting win. Elsewhere, Antonio Alcinas will lock horns with Ian White in round-two, after the Spaniard thrashed Stuart Kellett 6-1. Nick Fulwell and Joe Murnan also secured their places in Saturday’s second-round, with routine 6-2 wins against Antony Lopez and Ross Smith respectively.

The full list of results and the schedule of play for Saturday’s double-session can be found below: Peperami Gibraltar Darts Trophy Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST) Ross Smith 2-6 Joe Murnan Michael Rasztovits 6-4 Steve Beaton Nick Fullwell 6-2 Antony Lopez Justin Pipe 6-0 Jamie Lewis Antonio Alcinas 6-1 Stuart Kellett John Henderson 6-5 Wayne Jones Dirk van Duijvenbode 3-6 Dyson Parody Daryl Gurney 6-3 David Pallett Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST) Andy Hamilton 4-6 Max Hopp Christian Kist 6-1 Cristo Reyes Gerwyn Price 6-0 David Francis Rowby-John Rodriguez 2-6 Jermaine Wattimena Joe Cullen 6-5 Kevin Painter Mark Walsh 1-6 Stephen Bunting George Federico 1-6 Alan Norris Kyle Anderson v Steve West Saturday May 7 Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)

 Robert Thornton v John Henderson Mervyn King v Christian Kist Simon Whitlock v Gerwyn Price Terry Jenkins v Joe Murnan Mensur Suljovic v Jermaine Wattimena Jelle Klaasen v Dyson Parody Ian White v Antonio Alcinas Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST) Kim Huybrechts v Michael Rasztovits James Wade v Justin Pipe Benito van de Pas v Stephen Bunting Gary Anderson v Alan Norris Michael van Gerwen v Nick Fullwell Dave Chisnall v K Anderson/West Peter Wright v Daryl Gurney Michael Smith v Joe Cullen 1 Photo: Lawrence Lustig/PDC It was an afternoon of shocks at the German Darts Masters, as James Wade, Robert Thornton, Kim Huybrechts and Terry Jenkins were all dumped out in round-two at the Ballhausforum, Dolce Hotel, Munich.

Only two seeds from eight made it through, as the under-dogs prospered on Sunday afternoon. Joe Cullen continued his fine run of form as he edged out eight-time major winner James Wade in a topsy-turvy contest. Cullen dominated the scoring stakes but only registered 27% on the doubles. ‘The Machine’ delivered a fine 141 finish to draw level at 4-4, but ‘The Rockstar’ won the final two legs to reach the third-round. Chris Dobey produced the performance of the afternoon to defeat Robert Thornton 6-4 and reach the last 16. Dobey, mentored by world champion Gary Anderson, averaged 100.64 and fired in five maximums to dump out the World Grand-Prix champion. The youngster also registered 50% on the doubles to complete the upset. Kim Huybrechts was another seed to tumble in round-two, as he was dismantled 6-1 by William O’Connor, who will be looking to replicate his run to the quarters here 12 months ago.

The Belgian averaged a miserly 85 and hit just 16% on the doubles, and whilst the Irishman wasn’t at his best, he did enough to blow away ‘The Hurricane’. 1 Photo: Lawrence Lustig/PDC Mervyn King sent world champion Gary Anderson packing in the second-round of the Dutch Darts Masters, with a fantastic performance on Saturday evening. King was in tremendous form, averaging 100.54 and posting four maximums to Anderson’s three, to set up a last 16 tie against Devon Petersen on Sunday afternoon in Venray. King led 2-0 in the early stages, but Anderson fought back strongly to level up proceedings. Yet, Mervyn produced a fantastic 11-darter to steal a march, before eventually completing a memorable 6-4 victory over ‘The Flying Scotsman’. Michael van Gerwen began the defence of his Dutch Darts Masters title with a routine 6-3 victory over John Henderson. Van Gerwen stormed into a 5-0 advantage, but the Scot avoided the dreaded whitewash with a fine 13-darter.

MvG then missed five match darts in the seventh leg, allowing Henderson to double his tally, before ‘Big Hendo’ clinched his third leg in succession with a fine 14-dart hold culminating on D12. However, van Gerwen eventually sealed the triumph in the ninth leg, posting his third maximum and converting an 81 checkout on the bullseye for a 12-darter. BBC SPORT | Sports Talk | The best sporting nicknames? Monday, 6 January, 2003, 12:32 GMT The best sporting nicknames? The World Darts Championships showcased not only the world's finest darts athletes, but also some of sport's greatest nicknames. But who has the greatest moniker of all? John "Darth Maple" Part may have been the top darts player of the week, but the names of some of his rivals will live even longer in the memory. If prizes were given out for nicknames alone, surely the likes of Steve 'The Bronze Adonis' Beaton and Les 'McDanger' Wallace would be challenging for honours.

Feature: All in the name of darts A stonking nickname can often hide a lack of sporting ability (think Eric 'The Eel' and Eddie 'The Eagle'), making it a crucial asset for pub darts players everywhere. It begs the suggestion that every sportsperson should have a moniker; what about Niall 'Mother Teresa' Quinn or Alan 'Interesting' Shearer? Tell us about the best pub darts nicknames you've heard, and send us your moniker suggestions for other sportspeople. This debate is now closed. A selection of your e-mails appear below. Thought I heard Tony Green comment upon the likeness between Embassy rookie Robert Wagner and Rambo. If we extended this to another Stallone tough-guy, could we possibly have, wait for it, "The Rocky of the Oche"? Alastair Duncan, UK Has to be the nickname of the retired Wallabies captain, John Eales. NIcknamed "Nobody" - because Nobody's perfect! Cormac Thompson, England When Neil Pointon was at Everton he was known as 'Dissa Pointon', somewhat harshly! Steve P, UK Appollo Creed was also known as 'The Dancing Destroyer'.

Papa Lazarou, UK A fave of mine that has applied to many a striker over the years is the Jigsaw - always goes to pieces in the box. GB, Eng (Scot in exile) I've heard Paul 'Bagpuss' Durkin Tom D, UK Cricket nicknames spring to mind. Firstly Mark Waugh who was not considered for the Australian team until three years after his brother Steve. He was called Afghanistan (the forgotten Waugh)! David Pearce, England While travelling it is easy to see a theme appearing here in NZ as regards their national teams: All Blacks (rugby), All Whites (football), Small Blacks (youth), Crawl Blacks (swimming), Black Caps (cricket), and my personal favourite...the Tall Blacks (basketball). Malcolm Webbon, New Zealand (Originally UK) Robbo once pointed out the stupidity of snooker player Anthony Hamiton's nickname. He is the Robin Hood of Snooker; why? Because he is from Nottingham. Great. Scott, England Don't forget the officials here...referee Collina is also known as Uncle Fester, and I've also heard Paul 'Bagpuss' Durkin.

Tom D, UK Try these: Phil 'The Cat' Tufnell - when he's not playing he's always asleep in the locker room. Martin 'Chariots' Offiah the rugby league player. Harbinger Singh - the 'Turbanator'. The most boring snooker match ever - Eddie 'the Snail' Charlton v Cliff 'the Grinder' Thorburn. Cliff's comments after losing in the early hours - "he just ground me down"! Phil L., England In an interview Kieron Dyer was asked if he had a nickname at Newcastle. He sheepishly looked at the floor and said "Pinhead. The boys call me pinhead. Alan started it." So funny. He was obviously hurting inside. Neil, UK Ben "The Peanut" Binnersley and Sam "Twelve Pint Messiah" Williams Kevin Vaughan, England Some of the better nicknames have come from the footy terraces. Robbie "Toxteth Terrier" Fowler, Jan "The Great Dane" Molby but the favourite has to be for the rotund keeper, Ray Clemence - "The Flying Pig". Chris Peddie, Liverpool, UK Heartbreak Kid Luke Chadwick?

Kev, England There are some top nicknames in the pro darting area but names like Ben "The Peanut" Binnersley and Sam "Twelve Pint Messiah" Williams in the amateur arena are of a higher quality than the pro's, even if the dart playing is not quite as good!! Kevin Vaughan, England "Azza the Indian Gazza", guess who's that for? Yeah, the former Indian captain Azharudin! Even "Gangs" for Ganguly and "The Car" for Tendulkar are cool! Sandeep Kutty, India I'm sure the old boxer Jimmy Wilde was known as...wait for it..."The Ghost with a hammer in his hand"!! Whatever happened to short and sweet. Chris Gray, England Steve "Tugger" Waugh or "Shrek" for Darren Lehmann. Lumpy, Australia One of my favourites is Australian rugby player John Eales' nickname - Nobody. He's called that because nobody's perfect. And Phil Neville should also be called Albert Steptoe from now on.

Tom Heywood, Britain "One Size", the nickname for Fitz Hall, is a cracking nickname Jla, England There are some sporting musicians like Duke Ellington of Wigan FC and an australian bowler named Dizzy Gillespie, as Shane Warne calls him. Len, uk How about the boxer Robert "Lobster" Thermidor? That one always made me crack up. Graham, Denmark Colin Monk should have the nickname 'the Goldfish'. Just watch his mouth as he throws. All the best, (sorry Colin). Pete Rogers, The Netherlands Roonaldo has to be up there, ROOOOOOOOOONEY!!! Rob, England "One Size", the nickname for Fitz Hall, is a cracking nickname, shame he doesn't play for someone else other than Oldham. Jla, England Ex-Rangers midfielder Jorg Albertz had a belter: The Hammer, because he could hit the ball so hard it was like a hammer. Richard, Scotland Bryan 'Pop' Robson, also known as "Captain Marvel"... (you have to follow it with a "woo woo" when you say it though). Or Cantona - Le Enfant Terrible.

Surely without doubt, even better than darts, best nicknames are in WWF wrestling...Stone Cold, The Rock, The Undertaker, Big Poppa Pump, Genetic Freak...don't get better than that. Irish The Bogger, Planet Neptar Mark Waugh was the second twin to be picked and was known as Afghanistan, the forgotten Waugh. His brother had so many clothes he was known as Drobe. Colin, UK Massimo Taibi whilst at Utd had the best nickname - "the blind Venecian" Tony, Canada John Eales the legendary Aussie second row was called "Nobody" as in "Nobody's perfect". Our rugby team has a centre called "Cilla" because he always "steps inside". Steve Perry, UK Ronny 'The Rocket' Rosenthal!! That hat-trick for Spurs v Southampton (yes they have beaten them before) in the Cup will always secure him as the Rocket in my mind! Chris Lunn, England Massimo Taibi whilst at Utd had the best nickname - "the blind Venecian". His blunders made Seaman look like the pinnacle of professionalism.

Tony, Canada Apparently, the New Zealand national basketball team (who, by the way, did exceptionally well in the last World Cup), call themselves "the Tall Blacks"! To me, that wins the biscuit by a distance! Harilaos, Greek (living in the UK) The best sporting nicknames at the moment are Juan 'the little witch' Veron and Javier 'the rabbit' Saviola! Pat, Uk How about Ernest "M16" Mateen, the US boxer, another Apollo Creed nickname, "the Master of Disaster", and the old US boxer of the eighties James "The Heat" Kinchen. But the ridiculous ones have to be from rugby league's Superleague. Has anyone ever seen a Rhino in Leeds, a Wolf in Warrington or a Bull in Bradford? Get real. Shaun B, UK Bergkamp's "The Non-Flying Dutchman" has to be up there. Dennis Rodman's nickname "The Worm", or simply "Worm" is very descriptive and insightful as well.

Stephen, USA Gilbert Brown of the Green Bay Packers.......he is called 'biscuit' as he is a biscuit shy of 300lbs Dave, USA Cowdenbeath's nickname of the Blue Brazil just for the sheer irony of it all. Ollie, Belfast Beefers Fan, Ireland It's got to be Phil 'Basking Shark' Neville - his mouth is exactly the same as one of them Tom, UK Solksjaer is known as The Baby-faced Assassin which is fairly bizarre. Furthermore, his father was a professional wrestler! Dave, UK What with Hurricane Higgins, Whirlwind White and even the Rocket, Ronnie O'Sullivan, how can Steve "The Nugget" Davis really compete? Jas, Wales It's got to be Phil 'Basking Shark' Neville - his mouth is exactly the same as one of them. Fact. Tom, UK Another great is Paul "The Okey Cokey" Okey. What a scary nickname for a boxer! Mind you, it's better the Audley "A force" Harrison!! Luke, UK It has to be the names the Aussies give their sporting teams.

A few gems are: Socceroos, Hockeyroos, Joeys (youth team I think), Olyroos, Young Socceroos, Matilda's. What the hell is going on down there...??? Simon, England Roy 'The Saint' Keane Allen, UK What about one for David Seaman - David 'Aeroplane' Seaman - although that one might go over his head!! Simon, UK 'Butter Finger' Barthez. Critics have now been silenced with his truly world class saves, but the name was hilarious. 'Wheeler Dealer' to Harry Redknapp who, although he makes some very good purchases, can be known for his buying blunders such as Marco Boogers at West Ham. James, UK David James - 'Calamity James'. So true! Andy , England On the darts theme, the one that always creases me up is the Dracula-obsessed Ted 'The Count' Hankey. Mo Baig, UK Surely The Fridge has to be one of the strangest nicknames.

Luke, UK 'Right Angle' Ray Wilkins (or Ray 'The Crab' Wilkins), thus named due to his inability to pass the ball anywhere other than sideways. Delme Jones, UK I remember Apollo Creed in Rocky being called "The Count of Monte Fisto". Quite amusing. From the NBA you have Karl "The Mailman" Malone, and the now retired Charles Barkley aka "The round mound of rebound". Jonthan Michaud, UK Tim "Sex Machine" Henman Alisdair, Scotland I'd heard that Steve Beaton was the 'Adonis of darts'! By the same argument should Martin Keown be the 'Adonis of football'? Brownie, UK PDC Betting: The Boxing Day matches digested : Darts : Other sports Free Bet David Croft runs through the festive fixtures at Alexandra Palace... Right then, after a few days off for Christmas it's back to the action at Ally Pally this afternoon as the PDC World Darts Championship continues. So far Phil Taylor has looked anything but a 13-time world champion whilst Barney as expected had little problem disposing of Anthony Forde without dropping a set.

The Power can count himself a little lucky to still be in the hunt having survived match darts against him, but hopefully the time spent back home will have done him the world of good, if not then the [2.74] to lay him in the Betfair winners market, needs to be taken. Phil is back on the oche on Thursday 27th December, so in the meantime here are three second round matches that I've picked to have a punt on. First up the 2004 runner-up Kevin Painter against Chris Mason, a man who has been at the top level of world darts for some time now without ever truly realising his potential. That said he's a dangerous opponent, especially in the short early stages of a tournament so could ask a question or two of Painter. Looking through the predictions of a handful of correspondents on the Superstars of Darts website it seems that the fans in the main fancy Painter who is the odds-on favourite with Betfair at [1.63], and with an average from the first round of 10 points more than Mason, he's the man with the form.

Mason though is good to win at least two sets so I'll take the price of [5.4] for Painter to win 4 sets to 2. Next up is Vincent van der Voort, the man who beat the 2006 Lakeside Champion Yelle Klassen in the first round against Adrian 'Jackpot' Lewis. Proving that averages don't always tell the whole story, Vincent threw only an 86.94 against Klassen's 90.27 to take their match in the final leg of the final set. The fast throwing Dutchman did however hit 12 180s so there was little wrong with his scoring, only his doubles and that to me is where Lewis could nick this one. I've said it in the past that the speed of Van der Voort is both a powerful weapon and a weakness. In no time at all an opponent can find himself a long way behind, but when it gets down to the business end, often Vincent by throwing too quickly can miss the double by a long way.

I see Lewis; the [1.32] shot to win a close game 4 sets to 3 and Betfair punters can back this scoreline at [6.4] James Wade was just 12-years-old when Steve Beaton won the Embassy World Title but after a stellar year during which the Hampshire youngster has won both the World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix I can see him showing more of his class against the 'Bronze Adonis' later today. The Betfair price reflects the confidence punters have in Wade with his price a very short [1.12] against Beaton's [9.6]. Steve had a poor first round match but punished his opponent's mistakes. He might not get much chance to do that this afternoon but the price of [7.4] for Wade to win by four sets to two is worth backing as I can see Beaton raising his game enough to make a match of it. One thing I will be watching is how the big boys cope with the surroundings now they've had one match to acclimatise. Some have looked decidedly uncomfortable so far, which is understandable given that Ally Pally is far removed from the sticky carpet intimacy of the Circus Tavern.

And if they shows signs of struggling from here on in, they may be worth opposing in the later rounds, so watch closely because the championship from here gets serious for players and punters alike.

Question: Which former World Darts Champion was given the nickname 'The Bronze Adonis'?
Answer: Steve Beaton