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Mike Gregory died age the age of 65

Mike Gregory the greatest player never to win a world title? Paul Nicholson pays tribute to the former Lakeside runner-up, who died aged 65

By Paul Nicholson

Darts

Wed April 20, 2022 · 3y ago

Darts legend Mike Gregory has sadly died at the age of 65 and Paul Nicholson pays tribute to one of the greatest players never to become world champion.

Gregory was a prominent player in the sport throughout the boom years of the 1980s, winning five majors including the prestigious News of the World darts titles in 1987 and 1988 - but his defining moment came at the Lakeside in 1992, where he missed six match darts in an unforgettable final before losing a sudden-death leg to Phil Taylor.

The Asset looks back at the career of 'The Quiet Man of Darts', who competed in both the BDO and PDC after the split.

When you look back through Mike’s career, does he get the credit he deserves? Nowhere near.

You think about the greatest players never to win a world title - such as James Wade, Terry Jenkins and Dave Chisnall - but Mike is right up there with the very best of them. And his peak years came in an era where there was just one organisation, which obviously makes it even tougher.

The period that defines his career is between 1992 and 1994 due to ‘that’ World Championship final with Phil Taylor and then the issues surrounding the split, when he won the first PDC major – the Lada Classic – before controversially coming back.

But there’s an inordinate amount of titles he won way before then during the 1980s when he was competing against the likes of Eric Bristow, John Lowe, Bobby George, Bob Anderson and many, many more legendary names.

This is why he was called the ‘Quiet Man of Darts’ because he didn’t blow his own trumpet. He won more in his career than most people ever will and he represented his country for 12 years between 1982 and 1994!

Mike played in 14 World Championships, including his last in 1999, but incredibly he never played in a PDC version – an amazing stat when you consider he played a pivotal role in the foundations of the WDC during the split.

It’s a shame that he was never able to test himself in the PDC because he would have been a real threat. But back then, you were under so much pressure to stick to your choice. If he’d have gone with the PDC permanently, he’d have never been able to come back.

In the Blood on the Carpet documentary about the split in darts, Mike said that going back to the BDO was the best way for him to provide for his family.

At the time he felt it was the right decision – and nobody can argue with that because that was his choice to make – although in hindsight we can say it didn't pay off for him, sadly.

Blood On The Carpet - The Split in Darts - The Full Documentary

Best player never to win a world title?

Some say if James Wade wins a world title then he’d suddenly be considered as one of the top four or five players ever to have played the game. That’s perhaps a bit too much but he’d certainly be in the top 10.

If Mike Gregory had done the same he’d be in my top 15 players ever, without a doubt. However, he’s not even in the conversation and that’s a shame because his successes are too easily forgotten.

He was such an incredible player in the 1980s during the boom period of darts and won some big titles, including many across the world such as the Australian Grand Masters twice!

How much do we talk about Bobby George winning two News of the World titles to emphasise his greatness despite never winning the big one?! How much do we talk about Mike Gregory winning two in a row? Never. Why?

It was such a hard tournament to win – every match was just best-of-three legs so you needed tremendous ability to play under pressure to get through the rounds, let alone the whole thing!

He did it in 1987 and 1988 and beat the likes of Peter Evison, Kevin Spiolek, Steve Beaton and Magnus Caris during both runs.

So don’t let what happened in his Lakeside final with Phil Taylor make you think he didn’t have bottle.

Phil Taylor v Mike Gregory: The greatest game?

At the time, there was no disputing that this was the greatest game ever played.

There may have been some since that people think are better, like Barney v Taylor in 2007 or Painter v Taylor in 2004, but this is still up there as the best in my eyes due to the rumblings in the background and the direction it helped send the sport.

The sheer quality of the match was mesmerising and Mike’s six missed match darts to become world champion in the deciding set added to the unforgettable drama.

But despite watching it many times, I’d only recently learned that he described those six missed match darts as the Bermuda Triangle. Two at tops, two at 10s and two at 8s.

It’s such a great analogy from Mike to describe arguably the most heart-breaking moments that’s ever happened in the game.

You could see in his eyes that he was hoping to hit one of his six match darts rather than expecting to do it and it was just so painfully dramatic to watch.

Darts World Championship 1992 Final Taylor vs Gregory

Mike was arguably the best player during that season and Taylor was fortunate to win his second world title in that manner but you have to give him credit for the incredible way he finished off that deciding leg.

The standard from both players was off the charts at the time, with both players not far off 100 averages, which were like gold dust back then, while it captivated the TV audience in the same way the 1985 World Snooker Championship did between Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor.

They both went late into the night, went right down to the wire and were the first ‘epic’ finals of their respective sports.

I don’t think there was any final in the previous stagings of the World Championship that were anywhere near to being that good.

During that final, Mike Gregory elevated his celebrations to a level that we’d never seen from him or anyone else before. Back then you didn’t really celebrate legs and sets at the drop of a hat like you do today, so for them to be doing that just further added to the drama, tension and meaning of the match.

Gregory was riding a wave of adrenaline he’d never felt before and the way he celebrated during his fightback from 2-0 down and his push towards the cusp of victory made people think “wow, this is how dramatic and exciting darts can be”.

As a 12-year-old kid I was like a zombie starring into the TV screen captivated by what I was watching and I could not leave it.

When Gregory was on the match darts you could sense he was edgy and throwing with hope rather than 100% belief it would go in.

But when Taylor eyed double top to win it, you knew from his face that it would go in. That was the difference.

I think most players have been in a situation when the title dart seems so hard to hit.

When I was confronted with one at the Players Championship Finals, I managed to do it at the first attempt because I was in a zone with no feeling of missing or any negative thoughts.

However, in the World Cup final when I hit single 16 to leave double top for the match – and consequently double 10 – I felt the importance of it all and was therefore more nervous than ever before. It also played on my mind that I’d missed a similar checkout a few years earlier to reach the World Cup final.

If you have positive reinforcement in those situations, like Phil Taylor did, it’ll help but the mental scaring for Mike Gregory will have stayed with him for the rest of his career.

I get the feeling had he managed to hit any of those six match darts, he could have gone on to win a couple more big ones.

The grandeur and belief he would have taken into future events would have been pivotal and maybe that status would have kept him in the PDC.

But that’s the beauty of sport’s sliding door moments.