Two-time World Darts Champion Jocky Wilson passed away in Scotland last night at the age of 62.
Wilson won the World Championships in 1982 and 1989 and also won the British Professional Championships four times in the 1980s.
The Scot had been suffering from the lung disorder chronic pulmonary obstructive disease and emergency services in Fife were called to his home at approximately 9pm last night, but arrived to find that he was already deceased.
A Fife police spokesperson told the BBC: “The death is non-suspicious and due to a medical matter.”
Tributes have poured in from the world of darts since his death. Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor told The Sun: “We owe Jocky so much. Jocky really was a true legend,” while Raymond ‘Barney’van Barneveld tweeted the following message earlier today.
Wilson became something of a recluse following his retirement from darts in 1995 and was believed to have serious financial difficulties. His standing in the darts world was never affected, however, and in 2009, the PDC (Professional Darts Corporation) announced a new tournament called the Jocky Wilson Cup, which pitted the best players from Scotland against the best from England.
Wilson will be best remembered for his encounters with 1980s contemporaries such as John Lowe and Eric Bristow, whom he beat 6-4 in a memorable final in 1989, when Bristow had come back from 4-0 down to 5-4 and 2-2 in the tenth set.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ podcast – listen to the latest episode now!
