Larry Butler, Scott Waites and the moments which have shocked darts

Mike De Decker shocked the world darts on Sunday night by winning the Grand Prix with a sensational victory over world number one Luke Humphries. The Belgian came into the tournament as a 200-1 outsider but surprised everyone by beating some high profile names on his way to the final, including James Wade and former two time World Champion Gary Anderson. In the final itself, De Decker raced into a 4-1 lead before being pegged back by defending champion Humphries who levelled the score at four all.

However, the underdog bounced back to claim the final two sets and win the match 6-4. This is not the first time a major darts competition has had a surprising winner. Since the PDC was founded 30 years ago, there have been a few players who have dramatically upset the odds.



American Butler wrote his name into darts history when he won the inaugural World Matchplay despite being a 200-1 outsider pre-tournament. The now 67-year-old never made it past the quarter final stage of any other major and he remains the only American to win a PDC major. During his famous run Butler beat legendary two time World Champion Jocky Wilson on his way to the final where he faced off against Dennis Priestley, who had won the World Championship earlier in 1994.

In the final Butler averaged over 92 on his way to a 16-12 victory to claim the title and £10,000 in prize money. After the PDC broke away from the BDO in the early 1990s, the two organisations didn’t exactly got on well. However, that didn’t prevent players from the BDO competing in the Grand Slam before the BDO went bust in 2020.

In 2009, Waites qualified for the Grand Slam and in a stellar run, reached the final where he was beaten by Phil Taylor, who had won every edition of the Grand Slam until this point. The following year would prove to be even more successful for Waites as he once again qualified for the Grand Slam. This time he would go one better than his previous year’s effort, winning the title.

After winning his group, the Englishman beat five times world champion Raymond van Barneveld, Co Stompe and Steve Beaton, who had previously knocked Taylor out of the tournament. In the final against world number two James Wade it looked bleak for Waites as he fell to eight nil down. However an incredible come back saw Waites win 16-12 to become the first player other than Taylor to win the tournament and claim the £100,000 prize money.

Known as a pantomime villain in the darts world, Nicholson was notable for the signature tie and sunglasses he wore during his walk on. The Australian shot to fame in 2009 when he reached the World Championship quarter final, which saw him climb into the top 50 of the PDC Order of Merit for the first time. Nicholson’s form earned qualification for the Player’s Championship the following year.

After reching the last eight, he had to play three games in one day. He beat Adrian Lewis in the quarter final before overcoming Taylor in the semi final to set up a final against Mervyn King, who was also searching for his first major title. In the final Nicholson won a close fought encounter 13-11 to lift his maiden PDC title and his maiden TV title.

A relative unknown before breaking onto the PDC scene in 2019, de Sousa qualified for the Grand Slam in 2020, a tournament that was played behind closed doors. Well known for his frequent miscounts and unorthodox style of finishes, de Sousa is something of a maverick, making him very popular amongst darts fans. After qualifying second from his group, the Portuguese faced some high profile names in the knockout rounds, including Dave Chisnall and Michael Smith, who had defeated him in the group stage.

In the final he defeated Wade 16-12, checking out 158 in the final leg to win the tournament and propel himself into the world’s top 16. Ranked 41st in the world before the tournament, Gilding came into the 2023 UK Open as a big outsider. His run to the final came as an even bigger surprise as just two years earlier he had struggled to regain his tour card after he lost it in 2018.

In the final he faced off against three time world champion Michael van Gerwen, who had a dart to win the match. Despite this Gilding came through a tense encounter to win his maiden TV title 11-10 and claim £110,000 in prize money which catapulted him to 25th in the Order of Merit..