Thursday 5 May 2016 07:46, UK
After Leicester City's title heroics, Rod Studd looks back at when a 1000-1 outsider almost pulled off a similar fairytale triumph.
Kirk Shepherd was a 21-year-old sheet metal worker from Ramsgate that, frankly, no-one had ever heard of. Like Leicester, he had just been promoted up to the big league and was no way expected to challenge for the title at the 2008 PDC World Darts Championship. He was a 1000-1 outsider, which is literally the biggest odds for a player to have reached a world darts final.
You expected Shepherd to be a lamb to the slaughter when he faced world no 4 Terry Jenkins in the first round. Jenkins was wiping the floor with him, but then missed seven match darts and Shepherd somehow scrambled through 3-2, despite having an average of only 79. A little bit like Leicester, Kirk was up and running, but you doubted whether it would last much longer.
He played Mick McGowan next and it was a similar story, as the Irishman missed four darts to knock him out and Shepherd won 4-3. His third-round opponent was Barrie Bates, who also missed a raft of doubles as Shepherd snatched another 4-3 victory. Again similarly to Leicester, Shepherd had a lot of narrow victories and the ability to keep grinding out results.
At times, Shepherd was being outplayed but would mount a crucial counter attack. It would be the same against Peter Manley in the quarter-finals as 'One Dart' went 2-0 up in the final set, only to miss two match darts and Shepherd edged through 5-4.
When he reached the semi-finals, you thought 'hang on a minute, this could be possible'.
You kept thinking he will lose the next match, he will collapse in a minute, it cannot carry on. When he reached the semi-finals, you thought 'hang on a minute, this could be possible.' The least said about his semi-final with Mardle the better. Let's just write Shepherd 6-4 Mardle. No more salt needs to be rubbed into Mardle's wounds.
Raymond van Barneveld, like Chelsea, was out-of-sorts from the start and lost in the last-16. Phil Taylor would be Manchester City, the favourite for much of the race and then fell away. Whereas Mardle was much like Arsenal - he looked a million dollars and then flattered to deceive.
John Part in the final was cast in the role of Tottenham, except on this occasion Spurs would not throw it away. Some Jamie Vardy-style finishing kept Shepherd in the match as he hit a vital 160 checkout to win the second set. Part missed three or four match darts, but Shepherd this time could not conjure up any heroics and the Canadian won 7-2 to claim his third world title.
The fairytale did not quite end in the way that Leicester City's did, but if it had, it would have been the biggest upset in the history of individual professional sport.
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