Russ Bray
Encyclopedia
Russ Bray is a darts
referee
who works for the Professional Darts Corporation
. He is considered by some to be the best darts referee in the world. He is also known as The Voice, due to his unique style of calling and his raspy voice.
. He was the caller when Phil Taylor hit the PDC's first-ever televised 9-darter in 2002 at the same event. He is also a member of Team Unicorn.
Russ was a county player for Hertfordshire
and subsequently played on the pro circuit. He teamed up with Eric Bristow
to win the Norway and Finland pairs.
Russ also hit the bullseye on a standard dartboard from 10 feet, outdoors, on Blackpool's North Pier, thus achieving a Guinness world record in the process. Russ beat the days previous best of 9' 6" which was achieved by fellow PDC official, Scott Gibling.
and also became the voice of Feasters, a microwave food chain. He also does voiceovers for Nuts TV
.
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...
referee
Referee
A referee is the person of authority, in a variety of sports, who is responsible for presiding over the game from a neutral point of view and making on the fly decisions that enforce the rules of the sport...
who works for 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 considered by some to be the best darts referee in the world. He is also known as The Voice, due to his unique style of calling and his raspy voice.
Darts career
According to Bray himself, his calling career began one night when the regular caller failed to show for a county match. Russ was then contracted to call for the PDC in 1996 and was given his debut at the World Matchplay in BlackpoolBlackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
. He was the caller when Phil Taylor hit the PDC's first-ever televised 9-darter in 2002 at the same event. He is also a member of Team Unicorn.
Russ was a county player for Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
and subsequently played on the pro circuit. He teamed up with Eric Bristow
Eric Bristow
Eric Bristow MBE is a British darts player, whose skill at the game in the 1980s helped turn it into a worldwide spectator sport.- Early career :...
to win the Norway and Finland pairs.
Russ also hit the bullseye on a standard dartboard from 10 feet, outdoors, on Blackpool's North Pier, thus achieving a Guinness world record in the process. Russ beat the days previous best of 9' 6" which was achieved by fellow PDC official, Scott Gibling.
Other work
Bray has made use of his raspy voice in more commercial work in recent years. He was the referee in the PDC's first ever video game, PDC World Championship DartsPDC World Championship Darts
PDC World Championship Darts is a sports video game, published by Oxygen Interactive and developed and designed by Mere Mortals. It was released for the PlayStation 2 and PC. The game features ten professionals from the Professional Darts Corporation, and five tournaments from the PDC circuit...
and also became the voice of Feasters, a microwave food chain. He also does voiceovers for Nuts TV
Nuts TV
Nuts TV was a British television channel related to Nuts magazine. Nuts TV began broadcasting on Freeview channel 42 on 12 September 2007, and launched on Sky Digital on 21 January 2008....
.