Darts Career
Dudbridge uses the nickname "Flash". He started playing in his very early teens, citing Dennis Priestley as one of his heroes. Dudbridge made a name for himself in the British Darts Organisation by winning the Winmau World Masters in 2002, defeating Tony West in the final – in his first televised tournament. He never competed in the BDO version of the World Championship and switched instead to compete in the Professional Darts Corporation.
In 2003, he won a regional final of the UK Open and also the Ireland Open Classic and knocked out John Part, who was defending champion at the time, in his first appearance at the World Championship in 2004. His success continued in Blackpool at the World Matchplay in 2004 going on to reach the final before losing to Phil Taylor. He would meet Taylor again at the 2005 PDC World Championship in the final – possibly Dudbridge's best achievement to date. This achievement saw him qualify for the inaugural Premier League and he also took the decision to become a full-time professional player.
Since 2005, his ranking has slipped and he hasn't made the major impact on the game that his earlier results might have suggested. He started 2007 ranked 20 in the world rankings and his best result of the year to date was reaching the quarter finals of the new US Open in May.
Read more about this topic: Mark Dudbridge
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