| Barry
Jouannet
He has never shied away from a big challenge - on or
off the oche ... He is winning his personal battle against
cancer and continues to win on the dartboard Down Under.
Barry Jouannet is a remarkable man and he hopes to become
a remarkable darts player.
He is playing the Aussie circuit most weekends and is battling
away in the Australian Grand Prix series. Jouannet's
number one target at the moment is to qualify to play at the
Ladbrokes.com World Championship for a third time.
"It is a great honour to be involved with the biggest
and best darts company in the world. I saw my doctors recently
and I have been given the all-clear for now. It is a long
process but my scans have been moved from three months to
once a year, so it is all very promising," Barry said.
Affectionately known as 'China', he has already
played in two World Championships at the Circus Tavern. The
left-hander from Wollongong has twice won the prestigious
Oceanic Masters, he was crowned Australian champion in 2005
and in just nine years has won more 50 darts titles.
Jouannet also became the first Australian to throw the perfect
9-dart leg in a Darts Federation of Australia event.
But it is all a far cry from the teenager, who wanted to
play football but saw his career cut short by injury.
In just three years, he was playing for the New South Wales
state team and was named Australian Rookie of the Year in
2001. His darts career just continued to flourish and the
titles kept on coming.
In 2003, Jouannet really came of age. He hit that 9-darter
at the Southern Highlands Classic and went on to beat Tony
Fleet in the final. Then came that victory in the Oceanic
Masters, which earned him that prized place at Purfleet ... but
it was quite a culture shock for the young Aussie.
He explains: "I left Sydney in 32 degrees, stopped
off in Bali, which was 36 degrees and I then had a major shock ... arriving
in Britain, wearing just a tee-shirt to temperatures of minus
six! I stayed with Jamie Harvey in Scotland to prepare for
the World Championships and although I lost in the 1st Round,
it was just an amazing experience. I had breakfast with Phil
Taylor in London and also met the great Australian winger
David Campese for a newpaper article."
Away from darts, the Aussie enjoys poker and put his mathematical
skills to good use playing sudoku!
Jouannet has tasted the special Circus Tavern atmosphere
twice and is determined to come back to Britain for the World
Championship ... that's the message from Unicorn's
'Man Down Under'.
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