Chris Mason (darts player)
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| Chris Mason | ||
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| Personal information | ||
| Full name | Christopher John Mason | |
| Nickname | Mace the Ace | |
| Date of birth | December 17, 1969 | |
| Place of birth | Bristol, South West England, | |
| Home town | Stoke-on-Trent,  |
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| Darts information | ||
| Playing darts since | 1995 | |
| Darts | 23g Unicorn | |
| Walk-on music | Ace of Spades (1980) by Motörhead | |
| Organisation (see split in darts) | ||
| BDO | 1995 to 2002 | |
| PDC | 2000 to present | |
| Current World Ranking | 20 (Feb 2008) | |
| BDO Grand Slam Events - Best Performances | ||
| World Ch'ship | SF 1999, 2000 | |
| World Masters | SF 2000 | |
| PDC Majors - Best Performances | ||
| World Ch'ship | QF 2003 | |
| World Matchplay | SF 1998 | |
| World Grand Prix | QF 2004 | |
| UK Open | QF 2005 | |
| Desert Classic | QF 2006 | |
| Other Televised PDC events - Best Performances | ||
| Other Tournament Wins | ||
| Tournament | Years | |
| Scottish Open Irish Masters |
1995 2000 |
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Christopher John "Chris" Mason (born December 17, 1969 in Bristol, South West England) is an English darts player who currently resides in Stoke-on-Trent.[3]. He starts 2007 ranked 17 in the PDC world rankings, but he has yet to win a major title. He uses the nickname Mace the Ace for his matches.
Contents |
[edit] BDO career
He began his career in the British Darts Organisation making his World Championship debut in 1996. He lost 0-3 to Andy Fordham. After failing to qualify in 1997 and a second round defeat in 1998 he enjoyed his best achievement in the 1999 World Championship when he recovered from 1-4 down in his best-of-nine quarter-final match against Martin Adams to win 6-4 in the deciding set, this match is regarded as one of the best matches on television. He lost the semi-final 2-5 to Raymond van Barneveld losing 3 sets 3 legs to 2.
He avenged the defeat to van Barneveld the following year beating him 3-1 in the first round and averaged over 100 with each visit to the board. Mason also beat Andy Fordham in the quarter-finals before losing 4-5 to Ted Hankey in the semi-finals, after leading 4-2, this match holds the 180 record for a 9 set match with 38 180's hit in the match, 16 of them from Mason, marking the second consecutive year that he had lost to the eventual champion in the semi-finals.
Mason's last appearance at Lakeside was a first round defeat to Mervyn King in 2001. He also reached the semi final of the BDO's other major tournament, the Winmau World Masters in 2000 and shortly after the BDO/PDC agreed Tomlin Order, some BDO players participated in the World Matchplay event between 1998 and 2001. Mason reached the 1998 semi-final losing 11-13 to Ronnie Baxter and the 1999 quarter-finals before losing 11-16 to Phil Taylor Mason also hit the perfect 9 dart game in the last 32 stage of the Winmau World Masters, watched by good friend Bobby George who said "it was ok apart from the treble 19 wasnt quite in the middle"
[edit] PDC career
He decided to switch from the BDO to the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) in time to make his PDC World Championship debut in 2002, but he lost in the first round to Dave Askew. He reached the quarter finals in 2003 - losing to eventual champion John Part. He took time out from the game to deal with his personal issues and his enforced absence caused him to miss most tournaments in 2003 and 2004 - but he returned to play in the 2004 World Grand Prix in October and reached the quarter finals.
Mason has many titles to his name including the Irish Masters and the Vauxhall Pro Open on 3 occasions although neither event was televised. Mason won the Irish Masters which was screened by Sky and also has lifted the Scottish Open and the English Open titles to his impressive resume Mason was Phil Taylor's opposition at the 2002 World Matchplay when Taylor hit the first nine-dart finish to be televised live on British screens. Mason reached the final of the Sky Sports World Pairs partnered by Steve Raw, narrowly eaten in the final by Phil Taylor and Bob Anderson
Mason has reached the quarter-finals of most major PDC events, including the 2005 UK Open, 2006 Las Vegas Desert Classic and 2006 World Matchplay
[edit] Personal life
Chris's personal life has been under much scrutiny. Mason was convicted of assault and assault with intent to resist arrest in March 1990 and sentenced to 180 hours' community service. This was followed by a three-month jail sentence suspended for 12 months for actual bodily harm and, in August 1993, by three years' probation for assault causing actual bodily harm.
On April 14, 2003, Mason and two friends Mark and Simon Gibson, were found guilty of aggravated burglary with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The victim of the attack was Poole scaffolder Neal Harley, was left with a broken nose, scalp cuts, facial swelling and bruising. The attack, which was sparked by a Yorkshire terrier dog named Doris which Mark Gibson had bought for Harley's fiancee Jane Graham while they were having a relationship some years earlier and had been "hostile" towards her new boyfriends. On April 3, 2002, Ms Graham had agreed to care for the dog but later returned it as it behaved too aggressively. Prosecutor, Mark Worsley, said that because of this Mark Gibson decided to confront Mr Harley and turned up that night with a hammer and his accomplices, saying: "Come on boys, let's do him".[4] The Gibson brothers received five and six year sentences and Mason received a three-year sentence on June 2, 2003, but he served just over a year. The judge made reference to the fact Mason had no intent and no weapon but was part of a group that carried out these offences thus giving Mason the minimal sentence for the offence which was 3 years, during his time in prison Mason was commended by Stamford Hill prison where he saved a prison officers life after he suffered an epileptic fit.[5][6]
Mason hit the headlines for criticising Phil Taylor in the newspapers before their last 16 match at the 2007 World Championships and allegedly swearing at him during the post-match handshake on-stage after Taylor beat him 4-0.[7] He did apologise to Taylor after the tournament ended,[8] but received a £750 fine and a four-month ban (suspended for 12 months) from the Darts Regulation Authority.[9]
Mason took the decision to move from Kilkenny, Ireland to Stoke-on-Trent late in 2006.[10] A few top players had made Stoke their home and Mason made the move partly so he could practice with Andy Hamilton.[11] However, shortly after the World Championship Hamilton switched to practising with Phil Taylor - who broke off from mentoring Adrian Lewis.
He is married to Lorna and has three children.
[edit] References
- ^ WDF tournament archive
- ^ PDC tournament archive
- ^ Planet Darts profile
- ^ Report on Mason's conviction
- ^ Mason's sentence
- ^ Mason's return after one-year absence
- ^ Mason v Taylor controversy 2006/07
- ^ Mason apologises to Taylor
- ^ Mason receives suspended ban from Darts Regulation Authority (DRA)
- ^ Mason moves to Stoke-on-Trent
- ^ Hamilton gives credit to practice partner Mason
