On October 13th, 1984, John Lowe, a decorated World Champion and one of the best to ever set foot on the oche, rewrote darts history.
During a quarter-final match against Kieth Deller at the MFI World Matchplay, Lowe stunned audiences (live and televised) with a darting feat that would become legendary.
He hit the first ever televised nine-darter.
Players were more than capable of doing this in practice, exhibitions, and minor tournaments at that time but no one had done it on the biggest stage. That was until a true gentleman of the game stepped up…
Lowe’s history unfolded with a series of perfect throws.
Two consecutive 180 scores (with the commentator excitedly proclaiming ‘yes’ after every shot) were followed by clinical throws – treble 17, treble 18, and finally, a double 18 to check out on 141.
The crowd erupted, Lowe and Deller exchanged smiles and a then-record prize of £102,000 was being written on a cheque!
While not the first nine-darter ever (others occurred in non-televised matches), Lowe’s televised feat was a watershed moment.
It brought the possibility of the impossible to a wider audience and while it’s seen much more frequently these days, it was unheard of at the time.
SEE MORE ON DECENT DARTS
👉 9 most MEMORABLE 9-dart finishes
👉 The UNLUCKIEST bounce-outs in darts
Having said that, to this day, this is still the most popular darts video on YouTube with an astonishing 15 million views.
That might not seem like a lot of views compared against more viral videos from other genres but for darts, it’s an unbelievable number 🤯
It may not have been viewed live but the feat was so groundbreaking for darts that it’s possibly the most seen moment in darting history – ironically.
To relieve this epic moment in darts history, check out the video below provided by the Unicorn Darts YouTube channel.
READ NEXT
👉 6 times Gerwyn Price SHOCKED darts fans
👉 Watch the best darts players enter a pub competition UNDERCOVER