Erik Clarys is a Belgian

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 former darts

Darts

Darts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target fixed to a wall. Though various boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules...

 player. He competed for the British Darts Organisation

British Darts Organisation

The British Darts Organisation, or the BDO for short, is a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft, OBE. The BDO is a founder member of the World Darts Federation which was formed in 1976....

 and the Professional Darts Corporation

Professional Darts Corporation

The Professional Darts Corporation is a professional darts organization, established in the United Kingdom during 1992, when a group of leading professional players split from the British Darts Organisation to form what was initially called the World Darts Council...

. He is nicknamed "The Sheriff". Clarys was known for his unorthodox way of scoring and finishing which made him popular with fans.

BDO career

Clarys caused a major upset by winning the 1995 Winmau World Masters

Winmau World Masters

The Winmau World Masters is one of the longest running and most prestigious professional darts tournaments, which began in 1974 - even before the current World Professional Championship...

. Amongst his victims were future World and Masters champions Andy Fordham

Andy Fordham

Andy "The Viking" Fordham is an English darts player. He won the 2004 BDO World Darts Championship, beating Mervyn King in the final...

 and Martin Adams

Martin Adams

Martin Adams is an English international darts player. Nicknamed Wolfie or Mr BDO, he is BDO world ranked number one, three-time and reigning BDO World Champion and three-time World Masters champion...

 before beating reigning Masters and World champion Richie Burnett

Richie Burnett

Richie Burnett is a Welsh darts player who was the 1995 Embassy World Darts Champion and currently plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. His nickname is The Prince of Wales.-BDO career:...

 in the final. Clarys continued to do well in tournaments, winning the Belgium National Championship four times, the Belgium Gold Cup three times, the Dortmund Open three times as well as the 1999 Swedish Open. Despite this however, he wasn't able to match these performances in other major tournaments. He played in six BDO World Championships

BDO World Darts Championship

The BDO World Darts Championship is a world championship competition in darts, organised by the British Darts Organisation . It began in 1978, and was the only world championship tournament until 1994...

, losing in the first round in his first four visits. He finally won a match at the Lakeside in the fifth time of asking in 2002, beating Andree Welge

Andree Welge

Andree Welge is a German darts player.He made his World Championship debut in the 2002 BDO World Darts Championship where he lost in the first round 3-2 to Eric Clarys. Welge made his PDC debut in the 2006 PDC World Darts Championship, where he was defeated 3-0 by Alan Warriner-Little in the first...

 before losing in the second round to Raymond van Barneveld

Raymond van Barneveld

Raymond van Barneveld , nickname Barney is a professional darts player. He is a five time World Darts Champion, and two time UK Open Champion. From January to June 2008, he was the PDC world number one ranked player...

. In 2003, Clarys beat Tony Eccles

Tony Eccles

Tony Eccles is a Winmau sponsored darts player currently residing in Hartlepool. He uses the nickname The Viper.-BDO career:...

 and Robert Wagner

Robert Wagner (darts player)

Robert Wagner is an Austrian-born Norwegian darts player, nicknamed The Magician. He currently plays on the BDO circuit.-Darts career:...

 en route to the quarter finals, eventually losing again to Barneveld.

PDC career

In 2004, Clarys switched to the PDC, after qualifying for their World Championship

PDC World Darts Championship

The PDC World Darts Championship is a world championship competition for the sport of darts, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation . It was introduced following a dispute in 1994 with the British Darts Organisation, which has run its own world championship since 1978...

, beating Dan Lauby and Mark Walsh to reach the third round, losing to Ronnie Baxter

Ronnie Baxter

Ronnie Baxter is an English darts player. He uses the nickname The Rocket for his matches. Baxter is known for his fast, robotic throwing action...

. Though Clarys was unable to win any titles, he had good showings in major tournaments including a quarter final place in the 2005 UK Open. He made another appearance in the PDC World Championship, beating Winston Cadogan in round one before losing to Wayne Mardle

Wayne Mardle

Wayne Mardle is a darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation, and former player in the BDO. He now lives in Romford...

. He then went on to win the WDF German Gold Cup.

Injury and retirement

In June 2006, Clarys shattered his right elbow after falling from a ladder while at work, forcing him to withdraw from the 2006 UK Open. He was ranked 26th in the PDC world rankings at the time of his accident and was in the running for qualification for the World Matchplay. After eleven operations, Clarys has now given up all hope of returning to darts as a right-handed player. He has though begun practising throwing left-handed and stated he hoped to return to the game some day. He does however remain inactive.

External links

• Profile and stats on Darts Database