William O'Connor (darts player)

William O'Connor
O'Connor in 2019
Personal information
Full name	William James O'Connor
Nickname	"The Magpie"
Born	(1986-07-15) 15 July 1986 (age 38) Limerick, Ireland
Home town	Cappamore, County Limerick, Ireland
Darts information
Playing darts since	2005
Darts	23 Gram Winmau Signature
Laterality	Right-handed
Walk-on music	"Zombie" by The Cranberries
Organisation (see split in darts)
PDC	2009– (Tour Card: 2011–)
Current world ranking	48 (24 November 2024)[1]
WDF major events – best performances
World Masters	Last 264: 2009
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'ship	Last 32: 2019, 2022
World Grand Prix	Last 32: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015
UK Open	Semi Final: 2022
Grand Slam	Group Stage: 2019
European Ch'ship	Quarter Final: 2020
Premier League	Challenger: 2020
PC Finals	Quarter Final: 2019
World Series Finals	Last 16: 2023
Other tournament wins
Ireland Regional Players Championship 2011 John O'Loughlin Memorial Open 2010 Tom Kirby Memorial Irish Matchplay 2017 Players Championships Players Championship (BAR) 2019

William James O'Connor (born 15 July 1986) is an Irish professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He won his maiden PDC title in 2019 and reached the semi-finals at the 2022 UK Open.

Career

O'Connor first came to prominence at the 2010 UK Open when he whitewashed Stuart Monaghan in the first round 6–0 in legs. He then defeated Mark Frost and Peter Wright to reach the fourth round, where he played world number 3 James Wade on the main board and lost 9–3. He qualified for the 2010 World Grand Prix, where he lost to Barrie Bates in the first round 2–0 in sets.

O'Connor along with Mick McGowan represented Ireland at the inaugural PDC World Cup of Darts in 2010. The pair defeated Slovakia in the first round 6–3 in legs. However, they were narrowly beaten in the second round by the Australian duo of Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson 6–5, who were number 4 and 16 in the world rankings respectively.

He played in his second World Cup for Ireland in 2012, again paired with McGowan and, as in 2010, they reached the second round this time by defeating Malaysia 5–2.^[2] They played the same Australian pair as in 2010 next and were whitewashed 0–4.^[3] The next week he reached the quarter-finals of the first UK Open Qualifier, but was defeated by Kevin Painter 4–6.^[4] This would later prove to be O'Connor's deepest run in a tournament in 2012.^[5] During the year he qualified for three of the five European Tour events. He was knocked out in the first round of the first two, but at the German Darts Masters he saw off Painter 6–5, before losing 3–6 to Wayne Jones.^[6] O'Connor was one of the two Irish qualifiers for the World Grand Prix and missed a dart for the match in the first round against Vincent van der Voort, losing 1–2 in sets.^[7]

O'Connor began 2013 ranked world number 54,^[8] and played in his third World Cup of Darts and first with Connie Finnan in February.^[9] The pair beat Denmark 5–0 in their first match and despite losing to South Africa 4–5 they finished top of Group B on leg difference to reach the last 16.^[10] They faced Japan and were defeated 3–5.^[11] O'Connor was beaten 9–4 by Dave Chisnall in the third round of the UK Open having earlier seen off Robbie Singleton and Johnny Haines.^[12] He struggled for form after this until the first weekend of November when he lost in the last 16 to Mensur Suljović and Gary Anderson in two Players Championships, earning himself £2,000 in the process.^[13]

O'Connor entered 2014 ranked world number 68, just outside the top 64 who had full playing privileges for the year ahead.^[14] He entered Q School and had his best result on the third day when he was defeated 5–0 by Pete Dyos in the last 16.^[15] The result helped him finish 24th on the Q School Order of Merit to claim the final place on offer for a two-year tour card.^[16] He was edged out in the third round of the UK Open 9–8 by Jamie Lewis.^[17] O'Connor and Finnan lost five successive legs in the first round of the World Cup of Darts to be beaten 5–3 by Singapore.^[18] He was knocked out in the first round of two European Tour events, before picking up his first victory of the season at the European Darts Trophy by averaging 104.36 in a 6–4 win over Mensur Suljović.^[19][20] In the second round, O'Connor was 5–4 ahead of Justin Pipe but bust his score when on 70 and missed one match dart at double six to be beaten 6–5.^[21]

At the 2015 UK Open, O'Connor overcame Dean Winstanley 5–3, Mark Webster 9–5 and Ian White 9–6 to reach the fifth round of the event for the first time where he played Stephen Bunting.^[22] The opening eight legs were shared, before Bunting took four of the next five and he went on to eliminate O'Connor 9–6.^[23] He saw off Ian White 6–1 and Vincent van der Voort 6–3 to reach his first quarter-final in three years and first in a European Tour event at the German Darts Masters. O'Connor led world number one Michael van Gerwen 3–1, but went on to lose 6–4 despite taking out three 100 plus finishes.^[24] O'Connor and Finnan's World Cup second round match with Hong Kong went to a doubles match which they lost 4–3.^[25] O'Connor was unable to advance past the first round of the World Grand Prix for the fourth time as he missed two match darts against Jamie Lewis.^[26]

In 2016, O'Connor was beaten 6–5 by Jeffrey de Graaf in the second round of the UK Open.^[27] He ousted Tomas Seyler 6–3 and Kim Huybrechts 6–1 at the German Darts Masters, before losing 6–2 to Gary Anderson in the third round.^[28] O'Connor did not get past the last 64 of any individual event in the rest of the year.^[29] At the World Cup he and Mick McGowan squeezed past Hong Kong 5–4 in the first round, but they exited the tournament in the next round after they lost their singles matches to the Northern Irish team of Daryl Gurney and Brendan Dolan.^[30]

O'Connor just avoided having to enter PDC Q-School in 2017 as he was ranked 64th on the Order of Merit, keeping his PDC Tour Card.^[31] He kicked off 2017 when he defeated Max Hopp, Christian Kist, Keegan Brown, Ritchie Edhouse and Devon Peterson on the way to a quarter final in UK Open Qualifier 1.^[32] He eventually lost to Ricky Evans, but coupled with a run to the Last 32 in Qualifier 5,^[33] he did enough to make his way into the 2017 UK Open. O'Connor entered the UK Open in the second round, where he took on fellow Irishman Steve Lennon.^[34] O'Connor got the better of Lennon 6–2 to book a spot in the Last 64. Here, he played Mick Todd,^[35] who O'Connor beat 10–3 over the longer format. In the Last 32, he played Ronnie Baxter,^[36] with O'Connor claiming a super 10–6 win to reach his second ever UK Open Last 16. Simon Whitlock was his opponent, and the Aussie proved just too much, defeating O'Connor 10–7,^[37] although the Limerick man picked up £6,500 for his run. O'Connor continued his form in Barnsley the following weekend, reaching the Last 16 of Players Championship 3,^[38] and the Last 32 of Players Championship 4.^[39] He defeated Zoran Lerchbacher and Christian Kist to set up a tie with the world champion Michael van Gerwen in the Last 32. O'Connor beat van Gerwen 6–4, but lost to Ritchie Edhouse in the following round. In Players Championship 4 the next day, he beat Jermaine Wattimena and Mick Todd, but was beaten by Mensur Suljović in the Last 32. O'Connor then had a couple of bad months, with his best result being a Last 32 in Players Championship 12,^[40] where he defeated Ronnie Baxter and Paul Harvey before a 6–5 loss to Steve Lennon. He once again teamed up with Mick McGowan at the World Cup of Darts.

O'Connor reached his first PDC final at the 2018 European Darts Matchplay, losing to Michael van Gerwen by a scoreline of 8–2.^[41] He then won a first PDC title at Players Championship 13 on 30 April 2019, beating Nathan Aspinall 8–4 in the final.

In June 2019, O'Connor alongside Steve Lennon made it all the way to the final of the 2019 PDC World Cup of Darts where they eventually lost to Scotland 3–1.^[42]

In the 2020 PDC World Championship, O'Connor made an apparent calculation blunder in losing his second round match against Gerwyn Price.^[43]

O'Connor was selected as a 'challenger' for the 2020 Premier League night in Dublin, Ireland.^[44]

In March 2022, O'Connor reached the semi-finals of the 2022 UK Open, recording wins over Connor Scutt, Stephen Bunting, Sebastian Białecki and recent world champion Peter Wright before losing 9-11 to eventual champion Danny Noppert. ^[45] O'Connor was again joined by Steve Lennon for the World Cup of Darts, beating Canada 5-2 in the first round before losing 2-0 to the Netherlands.^[46] In September 2022, O'Connor reached his second European Tour final, losing 8-3 to Joe Cullen in the 2022 Hungarian Darts Trophy, after beating the likes of Nathan Aspinall, Michael Smith and Dimitri Van den Bergh in earlier rounds.^[47] He won his opening game at the World Championship with 3-0 whitwewash win over Beau Greaves. O'Connor exited the tournament at the second round stage losing to Gabriel Clemens 3–0.^[48]

O'Connor was joined by a new playing partner for the Republic of Ireland for the 2023 PDC World Cup of Darts with Keane Barry replacing Steve Lennon.^[49]

World Championship results

PDC

• 2018: First round (lost to Steve Beaton 1–3)
• 2019: Third round (lost to Ryan Searle 1–4)
• 2020: Second round (lost to Gerwyn Price 2–3)
• 2021: Second round (lost to Daryl Gurney 2–3)
• 2022: Third round (lost to Michael Smith 2–4)
• 2023: Second round (lost to Gabriel Clemens 0–3)
• 2024: Second round (lost to Chris Dobey 2–3)
• 2025: First round (lost to Dylan Slevin 1–3)

Career finals

PDC team finals: 1 (1 runner-up)

Outcome	No.	Year	Championship	Country	Teammate	Opponents in the final	Score[N 1]
Runner-up	1.	2019	World Cup of Darts	Ireland	Steve Lennon	Scotland – Peter Wright and Gary Anderson	1–3 (m)

1. (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets, (m) = score in matches.

Performance timeline

Tournament	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
PDC World Championship	DNQ								1R	3R	2R	2R	3R	2R	2R	1R
UK Open	4R	2R	3R	3R	3R	5R	2R	5R	DNQ	3R	5R	3R	SF	6R	3R
World Grand Prix	1R	1R	1R	DNQ		1R	DNQ
European Championship	DNQ								1R	1R	QF	DNQ
Grand Slam of Darts	DNQ									RR	DNQ
Players Championship Finals	DNQ							3R	DNQ	QF	1R	3R	1R	1R	1R
Non-major televised events
Premier League Darts	DNP										C	DNP
PDC World Cup of Darts	2R	NH	2R	2R	1R	2R	2R	2R	1R	F	1R	1R	2R	RR	RR
World Series of Darts Finals	DNQ													2R	DNQ
Career statistics
Year-end ranking	79	57	55	71	-	62	64	58	45	37	36	37	37	42

PDC European Tour

Season	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
2012	ADO 1R	GDC 1R	EDO DNQ	GDM 2R	DDM DNQ
2013	UKM DNQ	EDT DNQ	EDO DNQ	ADO DNQ	GDT DNQ	GDC DNQ	GDM 1R	DDM DNQ
2014	GDC DNQ	DDM DNQ	GDM DNQ	ADO 1R	GDT DNQ	EDO 1R	EDG DNQ	EDT 2R
2015	GDC DNP	GDT DNP	GDM QF	DDM 2R	IDO 2R	EDO DNQ	EDT DNQ	EDM 2R	EDG DNQ
2016	DDM DNQ	GDM 3R	GDT DNP	EDM DNQ	ADO DNQ	EDO DNQ	IDO DNQ	EDT DNQ	EDG DNQ	GDC DNQ
2017	GDC DNQ	GDM DNQ	GDO DNQ	EDG DNQ	GDT DNQ	EDM DNQ	ADO DNQ	EDO DNQ	DDM DNQ	GDG DNQ	IDO 2R	EDT DNQ
2018	EDO DNQ	GDG 1R	GDO 1R	ADO DNQ	EDG DNP	DDM 3R	GDT DNQ	DDO 1R	EDM F	GDC DNQ	DDC 3R	IDO DNQ	EDT DNQ
2019	EDO DNQ	GDC DNQ	GDG DNQ	GDO DNQ	ADO DNQ	EDG DNQ	DDM 2R	DDO 2R	CDO 2R	ADC 1R	EDM 3R	IDO 2R	GDT 1R
2020	BDC DNQ	GDC 2R	EDG 2R	IDO DNQ
2021	HDT 2R	GDT DNQ
2022	IDO DNQ	GDC DNQ	GDG DNQ	ADO DNQ	EDO DNQ	CDO DNQ	EDG DNQ	DDC DNQ	EDM DNQ	HDT F	GDO DNQ	BDO DNQ	GDT 2R
2023	BSD 1R	EDO 3R	IDO DNQ	GDG DNQ	ADO 1R	DDC DNQ	BDO DNQ	CDO DNQ	EDG DNQ	EDM 1R	GDO DNQ	HDT 1R	GDC DNQ
2024	BDO DNQ	GDG DNQ	IDO 2R	EDG DNQ	ADO DNQ	BSD DNQ	DDC 1R	EDO DNQ	GDC DNQ	FDT DNQ	HDT DNQ	SDT DNQ	CDO DNQ

Performance Table Legend
DNP	Did not play at the event	DNQ	Did not qualify for the event	NYF	Not yet founded	#R	lost in the early rounds of the tournament (WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)
QF	lost in the quarter-finals	SF	lost in the semi-finals	F	lost in the final	W	won the tournament

References

1. "PDC Order of Merit". PDPA. 24 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
2. "Cash Converters World Cup RD1". PDC. 3 February 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
3. "Cash Converters World Cup Round Two Doubles Round-Up". PDC. 4 February 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
4. "2012 UK Open Qualifier Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
5. "Willie O'Connor 2012". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
6. "2012 PDC German Darts Masters Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
7. "PartyPoker.com WGP – Monday". PDC. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
8. "Order of Merit on 1 January 2013". PDC. Archived from the original on 6 January 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
9. "Betfair World Cup of Darts Groups". PDC. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
10. "Betfair World Cup of Darts – Saturday Afternoon". PDC. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
11. "Betfair World Cup of Darts – Last 16". PDC. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
12. "Speedy Services UK Open – Friday". PDC. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
13. "Willie O'Connor 2013". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 29 November 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
14. "Order of Merit on 2 January 2014". PDC. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
15. "2014 PDC Tour Card Qualifying School Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
16. "2014 PDC Qualifying School Day Four". PDC. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
17. "Coral UK Open – Friday Evening". PDC. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
18. "bwin World Cup of Darts First Round". PDC. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
19. "William O'Connor 2014". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 29 October 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
20. "European Darts Trophy Day One". PDC. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
21. "European Darts Trophy Day Two". PDC. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
22. "Coral UK Open Fourth Round". PDC. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
23. "Coral UK Open Fifth Round". PDC. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
24. "Million Pound van Gerwen's Munich Triumph!". PDC. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
25. "bwin World Cup of Darts Second Round". PDC. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
26. "partypoker.com World Grand Prix – Sunday". PDC. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
27. "2016 Coral UK Open Day One". PDC. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
28. "2016 PDC German Darts Masters Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
29. "Willie O'Connor 2016". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 12 November 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
30. "2016 PDC World Cup of Darts Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
31. "Order of Merit on 3 January 2017". PDC. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
32. "Coral UK Open Qualifier 1 | PDC". www.pdc.tv. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
33. "Coral UK Open Qualifier 5 | PDC". www.pdc.tv. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
34. "Coral UK Open Day One | PDC". www.pdc.tv. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
35. "Coral UK Open Day One | PDC". www.pdc.tv. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
36. "Coral UK Open Day Two | PDC". www.pdc.tv. 4 March 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
37. "Coral UK Open Day Two | PDC". www.pdc.tv. 4 March 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
38. "Players Championship 3 | PDC". www.pdc.tv. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
39. "Players Championship 4 | PDC". www.pdc.tv. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
40. "Players Championship 12 | PDC". www.pdc.tv. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
41. "'I was going to give darts up or get laser eye surgery and fight' – The Limerick carpenter who stunned Van Gerwen". The 42. 16 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
42. "Scotland beat Republic of Ireland to win the 2019 World Cup of Darts". Sky Sports. 9 June 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
43. "Willie O'Connor counts cost of error as Price prevails". RTÉ.ie. 19 December 2019.
44. "Challengers confirmed for 2020 Unibet Premier League". PDC. 7 January 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
45. "O'Connor and Barry bow out in UK Open semis". RTÉ.ie. 6 March 2022.
46. "Wales, Netherlands & Germany advance on opening night at Cazoo World Cup". 16 June 2022.
47. "Sensational Price Scoops Hungarian Darts Trophy Title". PDC. 5 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
48. "History-maker Greaves beaten by O'Connor on debut". RTÉ.ie. 17 December 2022.
49. Glennon, Michael (9 June 2023). "Ireland drawn with Croatia and Thailand in World Cup". RTÉ.ie.

External links

• William O'Connor player profile at Darts Orakel