PROFILE
Mark started playing darts in 1991 with a few of his workmates locally in Coventry. He joined his local pub team (The Devonshire Arms in Wyken, Coventry). He used to go and watch his mates Nick Gedney, and Pete Allen play for Warwickshire County. They both encouraged Mark to join a Super League team to give him a chance to be selected for the county. He finally made his senior county debut in 1993, and after playing for four consecutive years at this level, he stopped playing in 1997.
In 2010, after a thirteen-year break from the sport, Mark returned to the county darts circuit. In 2011, after was his most successful year at the county level, he was selected to play for England.
Mark made his England international debut at the British Internationals in Cardiff in April 2012. He has been a regular member of the international team Until he joined the PDC in 2019
However, the floodgates didn’t open, and Mark had to wait another four years for his second tournament victory, the England Classic, in which he upset Dutchman Wesley Harms in the final.
The following year was a fruitful one for Mark, for he won the Lincolnshire Open and the British Open. He qualified for his first World Championship in 2016, losing to defending champion Scott Mitchell in the second round, and it was another Scott - Waites, this time - who ended his journey last year.
Mark’s greatest success to date is the back-to-back Dutch Open champion titles in 2017/2018. The Dutch open is the biggest darts event in the world and attracted entrance levels of 4000 in 2017 and over 5,000 in 2018
Mark is also back-to-back Winmau World Master runner up for 2016/2017 and the 2018 Isle of Man Classic Champion. He beat the then-current World Champion Glen Durrant in the final 5-4.
In January 2019, Mark attended the PDC Q School and won a two-year PDC Tour Card to compete on the more lucrative PDC darts circuit. Mark retained his tour card for the 2021 season. However, he will return to Q-School in 2022 & 2023. Unfortunately, Mark didn’t a tour card and is currently playing on the PDC Challenge Tour & Modus Super Series.
Mark’s best mates in darts are Wesley Harms, Richard Veenstra and Daryl Fitton. He is an engineer by trade, plays golf in his spare time, and his darting hero is the great Phil Taylor.
'Mark’s Walk-on Entrance Music is taken from Metalingus by Alter Bridge. You can purchase the track from iTunes and play a sample quality here.’
Mark made his debut to the England International Squad in April 2012. He first represented England in the British internationals in Cardiff in April 2012. Mark has since been a regular member in the international team since this time.
To date (Six Nations Cup 2018) Mark has earned 29 England caps and won 25 matches before moveing to the PDC
PDC Qualifying School / Unicorn Challenge Tour
In January 2019, Mark attended the PDC Q School and won a two-year PDC Tour Card to compete on the more lucrative PDC darts circuit. Mark held his card until the end of 2021 before returning to Q-School in 2022 & 2023. Unfortunately, Mark didn’t a tour card and is currently playing on the PDC Challenge Tour & Modus Super Series.
Mark narrowly missed out taking the BDO Lakeside World Championship title in January 2018. Mark missed match darts to take the title however, it was not to be. His good friend and Lakeside opponent Glen Durrant was the 7-6 victor. Mark managed to get his revenge the following month but beating Glen in the Dutch Open Final to claim his second and back-to-back Dutch Open title.
Mark would like to thank the following professional photographers for use of photos on this website:
David Gill, Evert Zomer
