| Robbie
Green
2008 will see Robbie Green take a new path in his darting career….a return to the ranks of the British Darts Organisation but one thing’s sure, wherever ‘Kong’ plays his darts, people will notice!
He admits he is colourful and controversial and he is certainly never afraid to speak his mind and a fine darts player as well - that is the recipe that makes ‘Kong’!
It looked like he was on the verge of making a big success at his PDC career when disaster struck... Green has played in most of the big TV tournaments and his best performance came at the 2006 UK Open Finals in Bolton and ironically, that’s where his problems started.
He had a great run to the Quarter-Finals at The Reebok - beating the likes of Jamie Harvey, Chris Mason, Mark Walsh and Terry Jenkins, before he lost out to an in-form John Magowan.
However, Green was picked out to take a random drugs test and subsequently tested positive for a banned substance. As well as receiving a suspension from the Darts Regulation Authority, he was fined £3,000 and had to pay back his £4,000 prize money from the UK Open.
And it was purely financial constraints that have forced Green back to the BDO.
“I know it is all my fault,” he admitted. “But with paying the fine and giving back that prize money, I was wiped out. I just couldn’t afford to pay my membership fees and competition entry fees. My decision was purely financial and nothing else,” Green explained.
“I only have myself to blame but like I’ve always done, I will dust myself down and get on with it,” he added.
The likeable Scouser has always been one of the most dangerous players on the circuit and he is now determined to put a difficult couple of years behind him.
“My target now must be to reach the Lakeside World Championship. If I can beat the best in the PDC, there is no reason why I can’t beat the best in the BDO!”
In the PDC days, after Green returned to the circuit, he was still making an impression and did superbly to qualify for the 2007 International Darts League in Holland and also went back to Bolton and reached the 4th Round of the UK Open a month later.
Robbie hails from Wallasey on The Wirral. He is married to Paula, with two young children. He works as a courier and is a passionate Liverpool supporter.
As a teenager, Green was desperate to become a footballer. He was due for trials at Everton, Tranmere and Chester, when disaster struck. He ruptured the cruciate ligament in his knee and his career was over before it really started……that is how he got into darts... as one door slammed in Green’s face, another opened.
In the space of three years, he was playing county darts for Merseyside - and a new career was under way... he once famously beat the legend that is John Lowe at a tournament in Ireland.
His first big darting occasion came in front of the Sky Sports TV cameras. He qualified for the World Matchplay Championships in Blackpool. He lost a close match 10-7 to Unicorn’s Bob Anderson but it gave him the taste for the big stage and it gave him a tattoo!
Robbie was given the nickname ‘Kong’ by one of the women Merseyside County players and he had it tattooed on the back of his neck in Blackpool, after that match with Anderson.
He takes up the story: “It was funny really, because I was out with Peter Evison, who is really scared of needles. He came with me, when I had the ‘Kong’ tattoo done and he nearly fainted at the sight of blood! But he said that if he beat Ronnie Baxter, he would be brave and get a tiger tattoo (Evison’s nickname is The Fen Tiger) on his arm….guess what?! He lost 10-0 to Baxter and I said to him afterwards - ‘You must be really scared of needles mate to play like that!!’
Green wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to darts. He was forced to have nearly a year out of the sport after breaking his throwing hand in an accident at work, then he was rushed in hospital to have his appendix removed.
He has gone through a lot and suffered more than most but his love of darts keeps him going... that is Robbie Green
Read Robbie's
Lifelines and Achievements Here
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