Ronnie Baxter

Darts player infobox
playername = Ronnie Baxter


fullname =
nickname = The Rocket
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1961|05|02
cityofbirth = Blackpool
countryofbirth = England
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
hometown = Swindon
homecountry = England
since = 1980s
darts = 22g Nickel Tungsten
music = Don't Stop Me Now (1979) by Queen
BDO = 1991 to 2002
PDC = since 2002
currentrank = 13 (June 2008)
BDO World = Runner-up 1999, 2000
World Masters = Runner-up 1997
World Darts Trophy = SF 2006
Int. Darts League = Group Stage 2006
PDC World = QF 2002
Matchplay = Runner-up 1998
Grand Prix = SF 2004
UK Open = Last 16, 2004, 2006
Vegas = Runner-up 2002
Premier League = 5th, 2006
US Open = QF 2007
Championship League = Initial groups, 7th place, 2008
tournament = Welsh Open
German Open
Denmark Open
Swiss Open
Finnish Open
UK Open Regional flagicon|IRL
Players Ch'ship flagicon|Isle of Man
Windy City Open
Cheshire Open
Players Ch'ship flagicon|WAL
resultyears = 1991, 1993
1995
1996
1997
1998
2003
2005
2007
2008
2008
achievement =
updated =

Ronnie Baxter (born May 2, 1961 in Blackpool, Lancashire) is an English darts player. He uses the nickname The Rocket for his matches. Baxter is known for his fast, robotic throwing action. Originally from Church in Lancashire, he currently resides in Cirencester, Gloucestershire and has been known to play in the Forester's Arms.

Baxter played on the North American circuit during the 1980s and when he participated in the British Darts Organisation he had a consistent record for reaching the final stages of their Open events. As well as winning the Welsh Open twice, German Open, Denmark, Swiss and Finnish Opens he also reached the final of the Opens in England, Wales, Finland, Denmark (twice) and the semi-finals of the Scottish Open four times, British Open three times, England Open twice and the British Classic in 2001.

He made his World Championship debut in 1991 - before the split in the game and lost in the second round to Jocky Wilson. A first round defeat in 1992 to Bob Anderson was followed by failure to qualify for the 1993 event. When the top players left the BDO to form the WDC after the 1993 World Championship, Baxter had risen in the rankings to be seeded number two for the 1994 World Championship, but he was beaten in the first round - this time by eventual champion John Part.

He missed out on the 1995 Championship, but the reached the quarter-finals for the first time in 1996 when he was beaten by Richie Burnett. Baxter was seeded seventh for the 1997 World Championship but lost in the second round to Mervyn King. In 1998 he had again risen in the rankings to be seeded number two - but just as in 1994 he failed to live up his ranking and went out in the first round to Scotland's Peter Johnstone.

In 1999, he finally showed some of the form that saw him ranked second in the world by reaching the World Final for the first time. He beat Richie Burnett, Kevin Painter, Roland Scholten and Andy Fordham before losing 5-6 in the final to Raymond van Barneveld. Still ranked second in the world, he went back to the final in 2000 but lost 0-6 to Ted Hankey in just 46 minutes - the quickest final in the tournament's history.

His last appearance at the Lakeside Country Club came in 2001, he beat Martin Adams in the second round but lost to Wayne Mardle in the quarter-final. After this appearance he switched to join the other darts organisation, the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC)

He hasn't produced the form in the PDC that he showed in the BDO - his best run at the PDC World Championship came on his debut in 2002 when he reached the quarter-finals. In 2006 and 2007, Baxter has been surprisingly beaten in the first round.

He did reach the final of 2002 Las Vegas Desert Classic and also the final of 1998 PDC World Matchplay (whilst still a BDO player) against Rod Harrington. Qualifying for the Premier League is seen as a feat in itself - and Baxter's high world ranking saw him qualify for the 2006 tournament, where he finished fifth. He also won a regional final of the UK Open and a PDPA Players Championship but despite a career which has shown great potential - he has yet to clinch a major televised tournament success and has slipped outside the top ten in the world rankings at the start of 2007. However, he enjoyed something of a resurgence at the World Matchplay, defeating Bob Anderson and Dutch wonderkid Michael van Gerwen before losing narrowly in the quarter finals to Terry Jenkins.

In 2008 Las Vegas Desert Classic Baxter threw his first ever 9 darter in qualifying round but was not televised.

References

Baxter now lives in Blackpool.

External links

* [http://www.planetdarts.tv/page/atoddetail/0,,10180~727739,00.html Baxter profile] Planetdarts.tv
* [http://www.teessidesoftware.no-ip.com/DartsDatabase/PlayerDetails.aspx?playerKey=14 Baxter's darts database]