Denis Ovens

Denis Ovens (born 1 July 1957 in Enfield) is an English retired professional darts player. He is nicknamed The Heat and is now based in Stevenage.[1] Ovens is widely regarded as one of the most consistent players in the circuit, though he has as yet failed to convert his form from the circuit to the big stages on television. His constant second round exits in numerous televised tournaments has led him to be called by commentators as 'The Nearly Man'.

Denis Ovens
Personal information
NicknameThe Heat
Born (1957-07-01) 1 July 1957
Enfield, England
Home townStevenage
Darts information
Playing darts since1976
Darts20g LazerDarts
LateralityRight-handed
Walk-on musicThe Heat Is On by Glenn Frey
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO1984–2000
PDC2000–2015
BDO majors – best performances
World Ch'shipLast 32: 2000
World MastersQuarter Final: 1999
World Darts TrophyFirst Round: 2007
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'shipQuarter Final: 2005
World MatchplayLast 16: 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 2005, 2009, 2011
World Grand PrixLast 16: 2001, 2003, 2011
Grand SlamLast 16: 2008
Ch'ship LeagueSemi Final: 2008
Desert ClassicQuarter Final: 2002
European Ch'shipLast 16: 2008
UK OpenSemi Final: 2010, 2011, 2012
US Open/WSoDQuarter Final: 2006
Players Ch'ship FinalsFirst Round: 2009, 2010, 2011
Other tournament wins
Claims Solutions Classic 2001
Ireland Open Autumn Classic 2007
Irish Masters 2001, 2002
Jersey Festival of Darts 2001
Open Holland 2003
PDC Eastbourne Open 2005
Scottish Open 1999

Players Championships

Players Championship (GIB) 2010

UK Open Regionals/Qualifiers

UK Open Regional (SOU) 2005

Career


His one good run came in the 2005 PDC World Darts Championship, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to former World Masters champion Mark Dudbridge. He has since suffered six successive second round exits in the World Championship – against Steve Alker in 2006, against Alan Tabern in 2007 (in a thriller that went to a sudden death deciding leg, with Ovens narrowly missing a double 12 for a perfect nine dart finish and a £15,000 bonus), in 2008 against Dutchman Jan van der Rassel, after defeating Colin Monk in the first round, in 2009 to Ronnie Baxter having defeated Steve Maish 3–0 in the first round, in 2010 to Colin Lloyd and in 2011 to Simon Whitlock.

He reached the semi-final of the UK Open in three consecutive years from 2010 to 2012, where he was defeated by Phil Taylor, Wayne Mardle and Matt Jacobs respectively and reached the final of the inaugural German Darts Championship in 2007.

BDO

Ovens retired in 2015. Almost two years to the day since his last appearance, at the BDO Swedish Open in 2016, the 61-year-old made a comeback at the same event. He lost 2–4 to Veine Hagen in the last 256 of the Swedish Open Men's Singles, lost 0–3 to Willem Mandigers in the last 32 of the Gents Classic and lost alongside Keith Wetton against Mauri Tuutijärvi and Ari Nevalainen in the last 16 of the Mens Pairs.

World Championship results

BDO

PDC

Career statistics

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Prel. DNQ DNP NH
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Prel.) Preliminary round; (DNQ) Did not qualify; (DNP) Did not participate; (NH) Not held

Performance timeline

Tournament1986198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013
BDO World Championship DNP 1R No longer a BDO Member
World Masters 4R DNP 2R DNP 3R 1R DNP 2R DNP QF 2R No longer a BDO Member
British Professional 2R 1R 1R Not held
World Darts Trophy Not held DNP 1R Not held
PDC World Championship NYF DNP 1R 2R 3R 3R QF 2R 2R 2R 2R 2R 2R 1R 2R
World Matchplay Not held DNP 2R 1R 2R 2R 2R 2R 1R 1R 1R 2R 1R 2R DNQ
World Grand Prix Not held DNP 2R 1R 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R DNQ
Las Vegas Desert Classic Not held QF RR 2R 1R 1R DNQ Not held
UK Open Not held 4R 5R 4R 5R 5R 3R 3R SF SF SF DNQ
Grand Slam of Darts Not held DNQ 2R RR DNQ
European Championship Not held 2R DNQ 1R DNQ
Players Championship Finals Not held 1R 1R 1R 1R DNQ
News of the World DNP RR DNP Not held DNP Not held

Trivia

  • Ovens is known for his trademark unshaven looks. Ovens stated on ESPN's World Series of Darts that he kept shaving before a darts match and always lost, so he thought "OK, don't shave".
  • Ovens is well known to darts fans as "Captain Hobo", in reference to his unkempt appearance.

References

  1. "Denis Ovens (ENG)". ITV. Archived from the original on 3 February 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
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