Darts legend and Sky Sports commentator, Wayne 'Hawaii 501' Mardle, will visit Midsomer Norton Cricket Club for an exhibition darts night which will give fans an opportunity to see one of sport's most entertaining and engaging characters. Some lucky punters will even have the chance to go head-to-head with Wayne on the oche themselves.
MNCC's Withies Lane clubhouse is the venue for an event that will showcase the talents of one of the most charismatic players in the world of professional darts. A number of leading local players will play Wayne on the night, but the names of everyone attending will be entered into a prize draw – and the winners will also have the opportunity to play against one of the sport's top stars.
Wayne started playing darts with his father and joined the BDO circuit in 1993. The 'Hawaii 501' nickname stuck after he wore Hawaiian shirts for a bet. He made his first appearance at the BDO World Championships in 2000 and the next year he reached the semi-final, losing to the eventual winner, and in 2003 he reached the last eight.
In 2008, Wayne gained a Sky Sports wildcard entry into the Premier League and just missed out on reaching the play-offs.
However, in 2009, his season was undermined when he was struck down with mumps and had to be rushed to hospital when he tried to resume his schedule prematurely. This illness forced him to retire from the Premier League and to miss many more ranking tournaments, making it impossible to defend his highest world ranking position of No. Five.
Wayne is now a regular member of the Sky TV team that provides coverage of darts. He has won praise for his easy delivery and for his analysis and insights, both of the action on the oche and of the characters performing in front of the cameras. Wayne is a larger-than-life character, full of energy and always willing to engage with the fans.
The event takes place on Saturday, 19th January and starts at 7.30 p.m. Tickets from Andy Cox: 07921 130871 email: [email protected]">[email protected]