Marko Pusa
Encyclopedia
Marko Pusa is a Finnish
darts
player.
Pusa made his televised debut at the 1999 Winmau World Masters
, reaching the semi-finals with wins over Andy Gudgeon, former World Champion Steve Beaton
and Andy Jenkins
before losing to Wayne Jones
. In 2000, Pusa reached the final of the Finnish Open, losing to Mervyn King. In 2001, he made his debut at the BDO World Darts Championship
, beating Colin Monk
in the first round and then saw off Jez Porter in round two, averaging 101.40. He then faced then-Masters champion John Walton
in the quarter-finals, where he lost 14 straight legs against the Englishman
, a Lakeside record. Pusa went on to win just two legs as Walton won the match 5-0 and eventually became World Champion.
Pusa bounced back by winning the 2001 Norway Open, beating Kevin Painter
in the final. He returned to Lakeside the next year, beating Matt Clark
in the first round, but lost to Australia
n Tony David
who like Walton the previous year, went on to win the tournament. Pusa won the 2005 Finnish Open, beating Sweden
's Kenneth Hogwall in the semis before beating King in the final. Pusa has since not played on the circuit very often and is no longer ranked by the BDO
or the WDF
.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
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.
Pusa made his televised debut at the 1999 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...
, reaching the semi-finals with wins over Andy Gudgeon, former World Champion Steve Beaton
Steve Beaton
Steve Beaton is an English professional darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation...
and Andy Jenkins
Andy Jenkins
Andy Jenkins is an English darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events. Jenkins had trials for Southampton Football Club while at school.-BDO career:...
before losing to Wayne Jones
Wayne Jones (darts player)
Wayne Alan Jones is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments. He uses the nickname The Wanderer for his matches....
. In 2000, Pusa reached the final of the Finnish Open, losing to Mervyn King. In 2001, he made his debut at the BDO World Darts Championship
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...
, beating Colin Monk
Colin Monk
Colin Monk is an English darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events and formerly played in British Darts Organisation events. He is turning full time professional in January 2010....
in the first round and then saw off Jez Porter in round two, averaging 101.40. He then faced then-Masters champion John Walton
John Walton (darts player)
John Michael Walton is an English darts player who is a former World Champion. He has adopted the nickname The Boy and uses the song Cotton Eye Joe by Rednex as his walk-on theme.-Darts career:...
in the quarter-finals, where he lost 14 straight legs against the Englishman
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, a Lakeside record. Pusa went on to win just two legs as Walton won the match 5-0 and eventually became World Champion.
Pusa bounced back by winning the 2001 Norway Open, beating Kevin Painter
Kevin Painter
Kevin Painter is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments, where he is known as "The Artist"...
in the final. He returned to Lakeside the next year, beating Matt Clark
Matt Clark (darts player)
Matt Clark is an English darts player who competes for the Professional Darts Corporation and formerly played for the British Darts Organisation. He uses the nickname Superman for his matches.-Darting history:...
in the first round, but lost to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n Tony David
Tony David
Tony David is a darts player and is the only Australian player to have been a senior singles world champion. David won the 2002 Embassy World Championship. He plays under the nickname The Deadly Boomerang.-Career:David started playing darts at the age of 25 and progressed into the Queensland State...
who like Walton the previous year, went on to win the tournament. Pusa won the 2005 Finnish Open, beating Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
's Kenneth Hogwall in the semis before beating King in the final. Pusa has since not played on the circuit very often and is no longer ranked by the BDO
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....
or the WDF
World Darts Federation
The World Darts Federation Is a sport governing body and tournament organiser for the game of darts. It was formed in 1976, by representatives of fifteen nations. Membership is open to the official National organizing body for Darts in all nations...
.