The Top Dart Players: Kevin "The Artist" Painter
Kevin "The Artist" Painter
 The good days are coming back for Kevin Painter….he can feel it and the darts world knows it!
The Unicorn star’s terrific run to the 2008 World Championship semi-finals signalled the renaissance of ‘The Artist’ who has overcome some tough times to stay at the very top of world darts. Now the aim for Painter is to reclaim his place in the world’s top 10 and win more tournaments over the next couple of years….with a little entertainment on the way!
Darts fans love Painter’s attitude and he has always worn his heart on his sleeve….he is a fighter….with Kevin Painter, you get what it says on the tin! It was in 2004 that Painter shot into the spotlight when he gave Phil Taylor a real run for his money in the World Championship Final at the Circus Tavern….and he so nearly got to his second World Final at the Alexandra Palace in 2008.
He enjoyed a terrific tournament. In the 1st Round, he lost only two legs against Gary Mawson, then came a whitewash of Chris Mason, followed by one of the best displays of his career against Raymond Van Barneveld. Painter slammed in nine 180s in ending Barney’s reign as World Champion and followed that up with a convincing quarter-final victory against Adrian Lewis... but by his own admission, he saved his worst performance for the biggest game - losing to World Champion in waiting John Part in the semi-finals.
But it’s all part of the master-plan as Painter’s game continues to improve all the time. After a real struggle for a couple of years, you can trace the change in fortunes back to September 2007, when he travelled to a Players Championship event in Chicago and reached the semi-finals. He then got through to the semi-finals of the German Darts Trophy a month later before losing to eventual winner Wayne Mardle….and in November, as a wildcard, he got through to the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam in Wolverhampton, where missed doubles cost him dearly against Gary Anderson.
Early in 2008, Kevin reached the quarter-finals of both Stan James Players Championship events in Gibraltar and the final of the West Tyrone Open, so the signs are there and the signs are good. Hugely talented, highly respected and ready to hit the heights again... Painter’s career path has also taken a turn for the better after he upped sticks and moved house - going from Cambridgeshire to Daventry in the West Midlands. He is practicing a lot with fellow Team Unicorn star Colin Osborne and is very much settled with partner Janine and daughter Madison.
We have already touched on the big highlight of his career so far - back in 2004, when Painter came agonisingly close to adding his name to Team Unicorn’s World Champions roll of honour. In one of the greatest finals ever seen, Painter lost 7-6 to Phil Taylor in a sudden-death shoot-out, after being 4 sets to 1 in front. Taylor was again his nemesis at the 2006 Ladbrokes.com World Championships - this time at the quarter-final stage.
He has suffered some injuries during his career and it seems that every time he is knocked down or knocked out, Painter dusts himself down and gets on with the job he loves - playing darts and there is no doubt that he will be a winner again very soon. Painter’s last tournament win came in January 2006, when he beat Colin Lloyd to claim the UK Open North East Regional but he is knocking on the door at most of the tournaments on the circuit. A deserved place in the 2007 International Darts League in Holland was a huge morale-booster for ‘The Artist’. He only missed out on a place in the 1st Round proper on leg difference - pipped at the post by Gary Robson.
“With the support of Team Unicorn, I know I can perform on the biggest stage when it really matters,” he said. Although Painter hasn’t yet hit the heights of that performance at the World Championships, he has the undoubted natural ability to succeed and a great run to the 6th Round of the 2007 UK Open at Bolton, will do him the world of good. He lost a tight match to Colin Lloyd on the main stage at the Reebok and was so unlucky to just miss double 12 for a 9-darter live on Sky Sports. “I just can’t wait to show everyone the real Kevin Painter once again!”
He burst onto the scene in 2001, not long after joining the ranks of the Professional Darts Corporation, when he caused a sensation by beating Phil Taylor in the 1st Round of the World Grand Prix in Dublin. And it wasn’t long before Unicorn came knocking at Painter’s door, recognising the huge potential. “It is great to be associated with such a prestigious company and I am determined to repay Unicorn’s loyalty with a major title,” he said.
It is all a far cry from humble beginnings in the wide world of darts, when he started playing competitively as a 15-year-old. By the age of 19, he was playing for Essex and the rest, as they say, is history. He uses customised 19 gm Unicorn Darts and has been putting in the hours on the practice board to achieve his goal. He is also one of the most popular players on the exhibition circuit, always in demand, performing between 50 and 60 exhibitions a year.
Painter’s other great passion in life is Ipswich Town Football Club, where he is a season-ticket holder, but it is darts that dominate his life and the desire to add to Team Unicorn’s ever growing list of darts ‘Major’ titles.
There are those who firmly believe that Kevin Painter is destined to win one of darts’ big tournaments and ‘The Artist’ believes his own personal darting masterpiece is close to being completed!
One thing’s for sure... with Kevin Painter, it won’t be for the lack of trying.
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