Keegan Brown

Keegan Brown (born 5 November 1992) is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. He was the 2014 PDC World Youth Champion.

Keegan Brown
Brown in 2019
Personal information
NicknameThe Needle
Born (1992-11-05) 5 November 1992
Durham, England
Home townNewport, Isle of Wight
England
Darts information
Playing darts since2009
Darts22 Grams Unicorn Keegan Brown Contender
LateralityRight Handed
Walk-on music"Blitzkrieg Bop" by The Ramones
Organisation (see split in darts)
PDC2011–
Current world ranking30
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'shipLast 16: 2018
World MatchplayLast 16: 2015, 2019
World Grand PrixLast 32: 2015, 2019
Grand SlamQuarter Final: 2014
European Ch'shipLast 32: 2019
UK OpenLast 32: 2018, 2019
Players Ch'ship FinalsLast 32: 2015, 2018, 2019
Other tournament wins
PDC World Youth Championship 2014
PDC Youth Tour England 2012, 2014

Players Championships

Players Championship (COV) 2015
Other achievements
2014 PDC Young Player of the Year

2015 Breaks into the top 64 on the PDC Order of Merit for the first time

2019 Breaks into the top 32 on the Order of Merit for the first time

Career

Early career

Brown began playing darts at the age of nine and was playing in men's county league games for the Isle of Wight at the age of 13.[1] He qualified for the 2011 PDC Under-21 World Championship but lost to Michael van Gerwen 4–2 in the last 64.[2]

In January 2012, Brown entered the Professional Darts Corporation's Q-School event in an attempt to earn a two-year tour card. He achieved this by finishing seventh on the Order of Merit after the four days of play, comfortably inside the top 24 who won their places.[3] He mainly concentrated his 2012 season around Youth Tour tournaments, winning the 14th event in September.[4] However, he also posted some impressive results out of the handful of main tour events he did play, most notably in the fifth and sixth Players Championships.[5] In the former he lost to Justin Pipe 6–2 in the last 16 and in the latter he defeated the likes of James Wade, Andy Hamilton and Terry Jenkins, before losing in the semi-finals 6–1 to Dave Chisnall.[6][7]

Brown entered 2013 ranked world number 86.[8] He lost 5–3 to Joey Palfreyman in the second round of the UK Open having beaten Keith Rooney and Shaun Griffiths in prior rounds.[9] Brown played a combination of Challenge Tour and ProTour events during the year with his deepest run on the main tour coming at the ninth Players Championship in October, which was highlighted by a second round 6–1 victory over Phil Taylor, before he was beaten 6–2 in last 16 by Mark Dudbridge.[10][11]

2014

Brown's tour card expired at the start of 2014 and with him being ranked 102nd in the world, well outside of the top 64 who retain their places, he once again entered Q School.[12][13] Brown lost in the final round on the first day 5–3 to Kyle Anderson, but a further defeat in the last 16 on the third day saw him finish tied second on the Q School Order of Merit to earn a fresh two-year tour card.[14][15] Brown was beaten 5–3 by Austria's Mensur Suljović in the second round of the 2014 UK Open.[16] In the quarter-finals of the seventh Players Championship event, Brown averaged an incredible 112.32 to beat Ben Ward 6–1, sealing his win with a 10-darter. He then defeated Peter Wright 6–5 to make his first PDC final and missed four darts for the title against Robert Thornton in a 6–5 loss.[17]

In May, he won the World Youth Championship 6–4 against Rowby-John Rodriguez at the O2 Arena in London as part of the Premier League finals night.[18] The title secured Brown a place in the 2014 Grand Slam of Darts and 2015 World Championship.[1] At the Grand Slam he lost 5–1 to Dave Chisnall in his opening group game, but then averaged 100.60 in eliminating two-time world champion Adrian Lewis 5–1 and defeated Rodriguez 5–3 to reach the last 16.[19] He faced five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld and raced into a 9–3 lead to stand just one leg away from the quarter-finals in his first televised event. However, Brown missed a total of five match darts as Van Barneveld closed the gap to 9–7, before he missed three darts in the next leg to allow Brown in to take out 122 on the bull to seal a 10–7 win.[20] He also started exceptionally well in the last eight against Dave Chisnall as he held 8–2 and 12–6 leads. However, on this occasion Brown could not hold on when his opponent began fighting back as Chisnall levelled at 14–14 and ended Brown's tournament with a 16–14 win.[21][22]

2015

Brown was drawn to face John Part in the first round of the 2015 World Championship, with the match going into a final set after Brown had led 2–0. He took it without reply to win 3–2 and advance to the second round.[23] There, five of the six sets against Adrian Lewis went to deciding legs, with Lewis getting the better of Brown in a 4–2 win.[24] He entered the top 64 on the Order of Merit for the first time afterwards, as the world number 52.[25] Brown was named the PDC's Young Player of the Year at the annual awards dinner.[26] He lost 9–2 to Nathan Derry in the third round of the UK Open.[27] Brown reached the final of the eighth Players Championship and took out a pair of 130 finishes as he averaged 111.72 in defeating Lewis 6–3 to claim his first professional title.[28]

Brown made his debut in the World Matchplay and he started very well to be 5–1 ahead of Robert Thornton and went on to win 10–7.[29] He relinquished an 8–5 advantage over Dave Chisnall in the second round as he was beaten 13–11.[30] Brown also qualified for the World Grand Prix for the first time and lost 2–1 in sets to Michael van Gerwen in the opening round.[31] He needed a win over James Wade in his final group game at the Grand Slam to advance to the second round but lost 5–2, and from 4–4 in the first round of the Players Championship Finals he lost 6–4 to Michael van Gerwen having missed leg darts in both of the last two games.[32][33]

2016

Brown could only win two legs in the first round of the 2016 World Championship during a 3–0 defeat to Peter Wright.[34] He could not win enough matches to qualify for the UK Open. His only quarter-final on the Pro Tour in 2016 was at the fifth Players Championship and he lost 6–3 to Michael van Gerwen.[35] Brown was defeated 4−3 by Aden Kirk in the final of the 11th Development Tour event.[36] He qualified for the Players Championship Finals and lost 6–5 to Ian White in the first round, missing three match darts in the process.[37] Brown could not play in his third successive World Championship as he was knocked out in the fourth round of the qualifier 5–4 by Mark Frost.[38]

2018

Brown made it through the top 16 of the 2018 PDC World Darts Championship where he faced Phil Taylor. Brown stated he intended on ending Taylor's career in the match.[39] Taylor won the match comprehensively, 4–0.

2019

Brown's first major of 2019 was the UK Open, where he entered at the Last 96 because of his ranking. He defeated Nathan Derry 6-5, before beating William O'Connor 10-4 to move into the Last 32. In a tight game all the way, Keegan was eventually defeated 10-8 by Steve Beaton, who had gotten the better of Gary Anderson in the previous round.

In Players Championship 8 in March, 'The Needle' saw off Dave Chisnall, Christian Kist, Benito van de Pas, Cristo Reyes and Andy Boulton before he was defeated 7-6 by Raymond van Barneveld in his first semi-final since September 2018,

Brown qualified for the German Darts Championship by defeating Peter Hudson 6-1 and Bradley Brooks 6-5 in the UK Qualifier. In the first round, he opened up a 5-2 lead against Madars Razma, but was pegged back to 5-5. However, Brown pinned a 116 checkout in the decider to set up a tie with world number 1 Michael van Gerwen. Brown, then world number 36, produced the performance of a lifetime to defy a 108 average from the Dutch man and defeat him 6-4 with 100% on doubles. Keegan hammered James Wilson 6-0 in the Last 16 with a 98 average, before defeating Gerwyn Price 6-5 in a thriller to qualify for his first Euro Tour semi-final. His opponent was fellow unseeded player, Ricky Evans, who had gotten the better of Darren Webster in the quarter finals. This game was one step too far for Brown as he lost 7-3, but his run to the semi finals caused him to make the top 32 in the PDC Order of Merit for the first time.

Personal life

Brown is named after the footballer Kevin Keegan.[40] He works as a medical lab assistant in blood services on the Isle of Wight.[20] Brown is married to Roz.

World Championship results

PDC

Performance timeline
Tournament20132014201520162017201820192020
PDC World Championship DNP 2R 1R DNQ 3R 3R 2R
UK Open 2R 2R 3R DNQ 1R 4R 5R 4R
World Matchplay DNP 2R DNQ 1R 2R 1R
World Grand Prix DNP 1R DNQ 1R
European Championship DNQ 1R
Grand Slam of Darts DNP QF 1R DNQ 1R DNQ
Players Championship Finals DNP 1R 1R 1R 2R 2R
Performance timeline legend
DNP Did not play in the event #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(RR = Round robin)		 QF lost in the quarter-finals
SF lost in the semi-finals F lost in the final W won the tournament
gollark: SLC flash stores only one bit per cell, so it needs to distinguish two voltage levels.
gollark: No idea about how it actually gets read/written.
gollark: The flash cells are analog devices to some extent and can store a voltage rather than just on/off.
gollark: It's bits per cell, not layers.
gollark: I'm probably missing something. But I don't know what.

References
  1. "Keegan Brown claims world youth champion darts crown". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  2. "2011 PDC Under 21 World Championship Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  3. "PDC Qualifying Tour: The Final Qualifying Tour Order of Merit". County Darts. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  4. "2012 PDC Youth Tour England Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  5. "Keegan Brown 2012". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  6. "2012 PDPA Players Championship Crawley Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  7. "2012 PDPA Players Championship Crawley Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  8. "Order of Merit on 1 January 2013". PDC. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  9. "Speedy Services UK Open - Thursday". PDC. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  10. "Keegan Brown 2013". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 21 December 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  11. "First Blood To Lewis In Dublin". PDC. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  12. "Order of Merit on 2 January 2014". PDC. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  13. "2014 PDC Tour Card Qualifying School Entry List". Darts Database. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  14. "2014 PDC Tour Card Qualifying School Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  15. "2014 PDC Qualifying School Day Four". PDC. Archived from the original on 19 January 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  16. "Coral UK Open - Friday Afternoon". PDC. 7 March 2014.
  17. "Thornton Denies Brown In Wigan". PDC. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  18. "Brown & Rodriguez Reach Youth Decider". PDC. 5 April 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  19. "2014 Grand Slam of Darts Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  20. "SINGHA Beer Grand Slam - Wednesday". PDC. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  21. "SINGHA Beer Grand Slam - Friday". PDC. Archived from the original on 16 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  22. "Grand Slam of Darts: Kim Huybrechts hits nine-darter to beat Michael van Gerwen in Wolverhampton". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  23. "William Hill World Championship Day One". PDC. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  24. "William Hill World Championship Day Eight". PDC. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  25. "Order of Merit on 5 January 2015". PDC. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  26. "2015 PDC Awards - Anderson's Quartet!". PDC. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  27. "Coral UK Open Third Round". PDC. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  28. "Brilliant Brown Claims Maiden ProTour Win". PDC. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  29. "BetVictor World Matchplay Day Three". PDC. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  30. "BetVictor World Matchplay Day Five". PDC. Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  31. "Michael van Gerwen beats Keegan Brown at World Grand Prix". Sky Sports. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  32. "2015 Grand Slam Of Darts Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  33. "Cash Converters PCF - Day One". PDC. Archived from the original on 2 December 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  34. "William Hill World Championship Day One". PDC. Archived from the original on 19 December 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  35. "White's Whitewash Seals Barnsley Win". PDC. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  36. "2016 PDC Development Tour England Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  37. "Cash Converters PCF Day One". PDC. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  38. "World Championship PDPA Qualifier". PDC. Archived from the original on 28 November 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  39. https://www.express.co.uk/sport/othersport/897411/World-Darts-Championship-Phil-Taylor-Keegan-Brown
  40. "Keegan Brown shocks Raymond Van Barneveld at Grand Slam of Darts". Daily Star. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
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