Tabern was initially sponsored by Unicorn, who were later joined by sponsors, Red Dragon Darts, where he developed his personal set of 22g Red Dragon Darts, which he used in the 2008 Match-Play.

The year 2008 has been the best one so far for Tabern who went on to win his second Pro-Title in the Peach Tree Open at Atlanta where he knocked out Andy Hamilton 3-1 in the grand final.

Tabern scored another championship victory in Wales the very next month and entered the top ten list of PDC players.

Alan Tabern was also a part of the inaugural Grand Slam of Darts 2008 ceremony, where he competed in the first ever televised nine-dart shootout. It was a very interesting match as Hamilton and Tabern finished off with the score tied, but Tabern lost 169-265 in the shootout as he missed out the treble 20 on nine occasions, while Hamilton missed only six times. This year has been quite ordinary for Tabern as he was beaten by Co Stompé in the second round of the 2009 PDC World Darts Championship. Tabern is nicknamed the Saint, due to his shyness and he happens to be a die-hard fan of Liverpool F.C. as well as local club St Helens RLFC.

Gary Welding, who is a rival of Tabern in the PDC, happens to be a close friend in private as they we seen together in many home show events. Tabern has been teaching darts to his son Alan Tabern Jr. Tabern leads a happily married life and is settled in Merseyside.

NAME: Alan Tabern

Nickname: The Saint, Tabby

Date of birth: 29th September 1966

Place of birth: St. Helens, Merseyside, England

RESIDES: St. Helens, Merseyside, England

HEIGHT: 5’9”

MARITAL STATUS: Married

SPONSORS: Unicorn, Red Dragon Darts

PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATION: BDO until 2004 and PDC from 2005 until date

TYPE OF DARTS USED: 22g Red Dragon Darts

HOBBIES AND INTERESTS: Tabern enjoys soccer a great deal and his favourite club is Liverpool. He is also into music and one of main supporter for Lung Cancer Foundation.

TITLES: Tabern received his first award in 2006 after winning the Players Championship NW then followed that win by taking the Players Championship title and the Midlands Open in 2008.

OTHER INFO: Tabern is a left-handed player and currently ranked No. 11 in the world. He has been playing darts since 1985.

Alan Tabern is a talented English darts player, who currently plays in the PDC. His all time high ranking is No. 9 in the world. Tabern made his debut in the PDC World Darts Championship during the year 2005, coming in as the under-dog though he managed to beat Alex Roy in his very first match. Tabern lost to Mark Dubridge in the second round, but he came back strongly in the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship, making his way to the quarter-finals.

Colin Lloyd may have lost his bid for the 2010 Players Championship to surprise winner Paul Nicholson, but he is not coming home empty handed.

That's because Lloyd beat Wayne Jones with a 6-2 display in the finals of the StanJames.com Eddie Cox Memorial Trophy, a £6,000 tournament held in Gibraltar in the opening Players Championship of 2010.

"Jaws'" quest for the trophy started in a match with Dave Ahmet and Julian Sanchez, whom he both defeated while dropping just one leg, followed by a close call against Tony Eccles in a 6-5 show. Peter Wright faltered in the last 16.

The quarter-final round saw a showdown between two Colins as Colin Lloyd and Colin Osborne traded arrows in what turned out to be a 6-3 victory for Lloyd. Osborne earlier took down Andy Hamilton in a sudden death leg.

Mervyn King deprived Lloyd of two legs in their semi-finals match, but it was not enough to beat his 5-0 lead.

The King's run to the last four included a defeat of Jamie Caven, who earlier edged out Wes Newton in his trophy bid, and of world number seven Adrian Lewis.

Canadian John Part lost 6-4 to Marko Puls and is struggling to find his place among the sports' best after tumbling to world number 26 in the PDC rankings.

Other notable encounters were those of Germany's Jyhan Artut against Paul Nicholson, who crashed in his first match since winning the Players Championship finals over the weekend.

After defeating Robinson in the British Teenage Open's quarterfinals, Bailey went on to successfully defend his title and secure a spot in the senior division of Winmau World Masters, which will be held in Bridlington on the 4th September.

The prodigy's abilities did not escape the attention of World number two, Scott Waites, who was competing in an exhibition game at Hull's Brownies Bar for the Thursday Trebles League.

“We chatted for about 10 minutes afterwards and he gave me some good advice, he said I rushed the last dart a bit but he said he was not as good as me at that age," said Robinson on his encounter with the BDO champ. “I think it helped me a lot, my scoring was good and my finishing was ace too at the British Masters and I averaged around 30 per dart in each match. It meant quite a lot to me to win, because I wanted the British Teenage title and missed out, but I’ve won a bigger one now.”

Meanwhile, Frank Burnison, chairman of the Humberside youth darts organisation anticipates the rise of new talent from Humberside and hopes that Robinson's win is just the beginning. He said, "Considering that he is winning senior opens at the age of only 17 it is just phenomenal he is following in the dart prints of people like James Wade.

Reece Robinson fell off the quarterfinals in the British Teenage Open in July, a defeat that shattered his dreams for the title after facing defending champion Leon Bailey.

However, the Reece Robinson that returned to the BDO British Masters just a month later turned out to be an altogether better sportsman, as he demonstrated his ability to take home the prestigious title by derailing more experienced players in the game.

His performance puts a finishing touch to Humberside's junior team, with Robinson prevailing against fellow Humberside player, Jason Applegate, in the finals.

“At the time it was the best I had ever played on a stage besides my favorite salsa dance” said the 17-year-old player on his recent victory. Adding, “I was well chuffed, because I played really well to win 3-0 and had 14,15 and 16 dart finishes in the three legs. I was in good form and had a good feeling about it (British Teenage Open in Kettering). I was gutted to lose to Leon (in the quarters), because if I had won I’d have been on the stage. I was angry but Leon was the better player on the day and I was glad my friend went on to win it. “I’m at his level, he just played a little bit better on the day, if I had played better in the last leg I would have won. I have three years left and I’ll try my best to take it (the British Teenage title), but there’s other stuff before that.”

He has the distinction of being one of the first few players who appeared on the televised darts matches and reaching the finals of the 1972 News of the World Championship, the first ever event that was shown in UK. The first televised event on the BBC, the 1975 British Open, was also won by Evans. Again, in the 1979 World Championship, Evans was defeated by Rees, but this time in the semi-finals. Evans also won the 1975 Winmau World Masters, which was one of the most prestigious darts titles of the time, before the World Championship was started in the year 1978.

The Welsh team that comprised Evans, David Jones and Leighton Rees won the Team Championship as well as the Overall Championship at the inaugural Darts World Cup in 1977. Evans was not able to win the Embassy title, which his contemporary, Leighton Rees, believes is in part due to the 12-month ban imposed on him in the early 1980s from all BDO events for some matter concerning an official. In addition, he developed some kidney problems, which meant that his general health was not in a good state in his last years. However, he did come out of his semi-retirement, some years before his death, to play against Bristow for the cameras of Sky TV. He was supported by his wife and his children as there was an evident spark in his eyes and this magic lasted him for about six legs.

NAME:  Alan Evans

NICKNAME:  "Evans the Arrow"

DATE OF BIRTH:  14th June 1949 – 11th April 1999

PLACE OF BIRTH: Rhondda, Wales

RESIDES: N/A

HEIGHT:  N/A

MARITAL STATUS: Survived by wife Jean and kids Mark and Claire

SPONSORS: None

PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATION: None      

TYPE OF DARTS USED: None

HOBBIES AND INTERESTS: July 1977 saw Evans facing boxer Muhammad Ali in an exhibition match that was held at the Gipsy Hill Stadium in England. The handicap rules of the match required that Evans hit trebles for scoring points. Ali was able to win the match by hitting the bullseye. Ali immediately proclaimed himself as the Darts Champion of the World.

TITLES: His significant wins include his 1975 stint at the World Masters that he won. He reached the semi-finals in1979 and 1987. His other tournament wins include the 1975 British Cup and the 1977 Team and overall competition.

OTHER INFO: David Alan Evans, a professional darts player of Welsh origins, competed in professional darts in the 1970s and 1980s. He was one the early darts players who played for the televised darts matches and had a few successes in the 1970s. However, by the 1980s when the game actually started gaining popularity, his form had faded and he could not prosper from as much limelight for himself as his contemporaries like Eric Bristow, Jocky Wilson and John Lowe did.

Hankey said, "Playing in the John Smith's People's Darts Championship was a wonderful experience. The Lakeside stage was such an exhilarating arena to play darts in and the memories of walking on stage to the sound of Prince of the Universe by Queen will live with me forever."

Jones’ win has automatically qualified him for three of this year's BDO Tournaments, among them the Torremolinos Open and the Winmau World Masters. His victory also brought an additional £15,000 prize for his chosen charity, Arthritis Care, as well as £1,000 worth of darts equipment for The Rose and Crown pub in Neath.

To enter the competition, players must participate in matches to be held in select John Smith's establishments during September and October 2009. From there, each outlet will nominate a house champion to take part in a regional final, which will be held in October and November.

The regional finalists will come from eight different areas of Britain; Scotland, Wales, Central England, South East England, South West England, Yorkshire, North East England and North West England, before proceeding to the tournament's finals in January next year. More details are available by visiting the sponsor’s website, www.johnsmiths.co.uk/peoplesdarts or checking out posters in participating outlets.

Rookies and amateur darts hopefuls will finally get a shot at sporting success when the 2009 John Smith's People's Darts Championships rolls into town later this year.

The competition, which is once again expected to be telecast to millions this year, gives amateur darts players the opportunity to display their best form and get noticed on the BDO World Darts stage.

Last year, over ten thousand worldwide players from more than 800 pubs and clubs trooped to the competition venues to try their hand at the title.

As a bonus, Stockport thrower and 2009 Lakeside BDO World Darts Champion, Tony O'Shea, will serve as professional mentor, along with three others for the four regional winners.

"I am excited to be on board this year," said O'Shea, "When I was an amateur I would have given my non-throwing arm to play on that stage at Lakeside so it's an honour to be involved in a process that will indeed lead to a pub or club player having that opportunity."

Last year's competition winner, Tim "Teapot" Jones, today continues his reign as champion of the John Smith's People's Darts. As a full-time caretaker for his mother, in Neath, South Wales, the 31-year-old thrower describes his dramatic experience as a major turning point in his life, which he describes as "living the dream."

Similar to this year's tourney, last year's regional hopefuls were given professional players as mentors.

NAME: Adrian Lewis

Nickname: Jackpot

Date of birth: 21st January 1985

Place of birth: Stoke-on-Trent, England

Resides: Stoke-on-Trent, England

Height: 5’8”

Marital Status: Single

Sponsors: Unicorn

Professional Organisation: PDC since 2003

Type of darts used: 22g Unicorn Maestro 'Adrian Lewis'

Hobbies and Interests: Lewis states music as his biggest hobby. The group “Wombats” is his favourite.

Titles: Lewis was awarded first place in the British Teenage Champs competition in 2002 and in 2004 won Chris de Roo Open in Holland. He also won the PDPA Players Championship in 2005 and 2006 as well as the UK Open Scottish Regional Final in 2005.

Other Info: Lewis is a right-handed player and currently ranked No. 8. Lewis had climbed to the No. 6 spot in 2008, but his poor form in 2009 made him slip down to the No. 8 spot.

Adrian Lewis is a young and dynamic darts player who currently plays for the Professional Darts Corporation. He is known as ‘the Jackpot’ because during his trip to Las Vegas, in 2005, he happened to pull off a stunning £75,000 jackpot in a casino, but was declared under-aged to claim the money according to the laws of US government.

Lewis entered the world of professional darts in the UK Open, in 2004, when he was just 19 years old. He lost to Dennis Harbour in a close fight in his first major tournament.