Gary Anderson and Jocky Wilson feature on Rod Studd's list of favourite Scottish players
Thursday 25 February 2016 15:32, UK
The Premier League of Darts is north of the border on night four, so Rod Studd has selected his five favourite Scottish throwers.
Defending champion Gary Anderson heads back to his homeland for the Premier League on Thursday night, live on Sky Sports.
Live Premier League Darts
Studd has witnessed a string of successful Scotsman through the years and he picks out his top five...
Jocky Wilson
Jocky, you have to say, is the greatest Scottish arrow-smith of them all and part of the first golden era of darts. He was a member of the holy trinity of darts, along with Eric Bristow and John Lowe. The three of them went at it hammer and tongs between them.
Twice the world champion, Jocky firstly beat Lowe in 1982 and then he defeated Bristow in a tremendous final in 1989. Jocky raced off into a 5-0 lead and 'Brissy' came back, and then Jocky just about scrambled over the line. It was a classic final and probably the last hurrah for Wilson.
A smile comes across the lips of anyone that knew him, once they mention the name 'Jocky'.
He will always be fondly remembered for that period in the 80s. Eric quite aptly described Jocky as a one-off and that is exactly what he was. A smile comes across the lips of anyone that knew him, once they mention the name 'Jocky'. Some of the antics and great stories they could tell about him. Everyone remembers him so very fondly, that idiosyncratic throwing action, and he is of course sadly no longer with us.
Gary Anderson
A two-time Scottish world champion, Gary indeed may become the first Scotsman to win the tournament on three occasions to surpass the great Jocky Wilson. He of course has taken the title in 2015 and 2016 and we have witnessed the blossoming of Anderson in the last 12-18 months.
In the BDO, he never got beyond the Lakeside semi-finals, and fell short in the 2011 PDC final before finally ending his wait for a first World title in 2015. But now he is fulfilling that potential and has become one of the main players in the PDC world of darts.
Twice a Premier League winner as well and undoubtedly taking his place in the list of great Scottish dartists, but now among the greatest players to have ever played the game. He's gone from being 'Dream Boy' back in the early 2000s to 'The Flying Scotsman' and he really has been flying.
Les Wallace
'McDanger' Wallace is famously the first ever left-handed player to win the World Championship, beating Marshall James in 1997. Only Mark Webster has followed since then as a left-handed champion, and he remains the only darts player to this day to win the tournament while wearing a kilt.
To be honest, people look back at Les as a bit of a cartoon character. I think they forget that he beat Raymond van Barneveld and Mervyn King on the way to the final, the two aces in the BDO pack at that time. He won the 1998 World Masters too, beating Alan Warriner-Little, which was another big scalp. But after that, he didn't really have a lot of luck really. He only won two more matches at the Lakeside and disappeared off the darting scene.
Les just edged out Ronnie Sharp and that maginficent moustache, which earned him the 'Pancho' nickname.
Jamie Harvey
'Bravedart' Harvey was one of the founder members of the PDC when the split came in 1993-94 and really for many years was one of the most colourful, engaging characters. You would get 'The Bonnie Banks O' Loch Lomond' as he came on - and the fans loved it.
Jamie was just an entertaining player. His level of success never reached the heights of some of the players we've got on the list. In fact, the best he ever did was reach the semi-finals of the World Matchplay and the World Championship in 1996. But if you ask someone to name a player from the mid 90s then Jamie Harvey will come up quite a lot.
My favourite memory was a particular darts promo featuring Jamie. It was at the same time as the Mel Gibson film 'Braveheart' in 1995. They recreated the scene when Gibson sprinted towards the camera, screaming like a madman, with a Saltire painted onto his face. Jamie had his face painted exactly the same, but then the camera panned out to reveal Jamie running through a forest, armed only with a single dart. I still chuckle about that from time to time.
Peter Wright
I toyed with the idea of Robert Thornton, who of course defeated Michael van Gerwen in last year's World Grand Prix in Dublin. But I'm going to pick Wrighty as the final Scottish player and partly to emphasise that he is Scottish. He was born just outside Livingston to Scottish parents and this accusation of being a plastic Scot is grossly unfair, just because he moved south of the border when he was very young.
Let's not forget he partnered Gary Anderson to the final of the World Cup of Darts last summer when they were only beaten by Adrian Lewis and Phil Taylor, representing England. I know he was very proud to represent Scotland and was hoping to put one over the 'Auld Enemy.'
Peter Wright has not just become one of the great characters, but one of the great stars of the game in terms of his playing ability. He reinvented himself from 2010 onwards. That wild hair, which his wife Jo cultivated for him, then the flamboyant shirts and trousers to produce this character 'Snakebite.' The way he milks the crowd, it's great theatre.
Away from the oche, he's quite shy, and is quite literally all trousers and no mouth. But he's actually become a very serious darts player which people shouldn't forget as well.
Watch night four of the Premier League this Thursday, from 7pm on Sky Sports 1. Or watch for £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV.
