Leo Laurens
Leo Laurens (born 30 July 1952) is a Belgian retired darts player who competed in British Darts Organisation events. At the end of 1993, Laurens was number one in the WDF world rankings after all of the BDO's top players broke away to form the World Darts Council (now the Professional Darts Corporation). Despite his new accolade, Laurens never won a major title.
| Leo Laurens | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Nickname | The Lion of Antwerp |
| Born | 30 July 1952 Antwerp, Belgium |
| Home town | Itegem Belgium |
| Darts information | |
| Playing darts since | 1972 |
| Laterality | Right-handed |
| Organisation (see split in darts) | |
| BDO | 1988–1999 |
| BDO majors – best performances | |
| World Ch'ship | Quarter Final 1997 |
| World Masters | Last 32 1988, 1993, 1995 |
| Other tournament wins | |
| Tournament | Years |
| Belgium Gold Cup Belgium National Championship Antwerp Open Dutch Open French Open North Holland Open | 1988, 1993, 1996 1989, 1990, 1992 1990 1990, 1992 1992 1995 |
| Updated on 21 June 2008. | |
Career
Laurens made his World Championship debut in 1989, losing in the first round to American Rick Ney. He returned a year later, beating Canada's Bob Sinnaeve,[1] before losing to Mike Gregory. His best performance came in 1997, where he reached the quarter finals after beating Ritchie Davies and Richie Burnett. He lost to reigning champion Steve Beaton. Laurens also holds the record for most 180's scored in a first round match at the World Championship, with nine, although John Henderson holds the record for a best of five sets match with 12.
He also played in the Winmau World Masters in 1988, 1993, and 1995, losing in the first round on each occasion.
World Championship performances
BDO
- 1989: 1st Round (lost to Rick Ney 1–3)
- 1990: 2nd Round (lost to Mike Gregory 1–3)
- 1994: 2nd Round (lost to Magnus Caris 0–3)
- 1996: 1st Round (lost to Raymond van Barneveld 0–3)
- 1997: Quarter-Finals (lost to Steve Beaton 3–4)
References
- "Embassy World Professional Darts Championship 1990". Dartnet.nl. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2009.