Moray darts star Craig Quinn celebrates return to Scotland international squad by throwing nine-dart finish in Lossiemouth league
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A NINE-dart finish and a Scotland call-up made it a memorable month for Elgin darts star Craig Quinn.
Quinn (43) landed his sport’s holy grail last Monday evening in the Lossiemouth singles league, playing at the Comrades Community and Veterans Social Club.
In his victory over Sean Adams, the Johnston’s woollen mill worker threw two maximum 180 scores then landed a 141 finish on treble 20, treble 19, double 12 to achieve the nine darter.
“I’ve missed it a few times in practice, so to do it for the first time in a competition was great,” he said.
“It definitely helps when it is in among people. It is so easy to talk about it when no-one else has seen it.
“I’m quite a humble guy, but I can’t hide the fact that it was a fantastic thing and I am absolutely delighted.”
Quinn’s performances for Moray in their debut season in the county league have also caught the eye of the Scotland selectors who have recalled him to the international team to play in the Home Nations tournament in Wales next month.
A native of Falkirk, Quinn moved to Moray over a decade ago and admits he has taken spells away from his sport, particularly when his daughter Conni was born.
“A few years back I decided I would have another go at this, so I put in some effort and I was picked to play for Scotland in 2016 and 2017, and was lucky enough to play for Scotland in the home internationals against England and Wales,” said Quinn.
“I played in the Six Nations over in Sligo in Ireland and in that same year I played in the Europe Cup over in Holland, again representing Scotland. So I have been very lucky.”
In 2018, Quinn also narrowly missed out on a place on the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tour, home of stars like Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright and Michael van Gerwen, when he just failed to get through the qualifying school.
The pandemic confined play to online tournaments and only just returned to the pubs and clubs this year.
Quinn, who plays for the Lossiemouth Football Club team and captains the Moray county squad, says he has been told he could be the first player in Moray to achieve the ultimate feat.
"You pick your darts up and always hope that something special is going to happen, and it did for me," he said.
"I’ve missed a few and you get to the point where you think it is never going to happen.
"Then you see these boys on TV doing it and it almost feels like it happens every 15 minutes.
“My first leg I checked out on 17 darts and the second one was the nine darter.
“You have a double take to make sure it is in. I turned to shake Sean’s hand and he was falling out of the sky at the time. He obviously jumped up and was more excited about it than I was.
“There were other games going on at the time and everyone stopped to clap and congratulate me and that was a great feeling, something that will live with me forever. It was just one of these crazy moments.
"When you play darts it is the ultimate feat and to do it in a competition as well......ideally you want to do it in a final or something but as long as it is in a competition against someone else in the room and with people witnessing it, it is a great feeling.
"I think there was an Elgin-based guy who hit one in Inverness quite a few years ago but I don’t think it has been done in Moray, not to my knowledge anyway.
"My father-in-law Steve Falconer who has played darts in this area for a long time said he doesn't think it has ever been done here - so I might be the first."
Quinn has played most of world darts top names in exhibition matches and once beat former world champion Gary Anderson in Elgin Town Hall.
"I am lucky to call Gary a friend," he said. "I played Peter Wright in exhibition, I’ve played them all to be honest and known so many of the top names all of my life through darts, and a lot of them have become friends.
"There is big money at the top end of darts but the majority of the guys keep their feet on the ground.
"They came from working backgrounds and started off in the pubs ;like everyone else. Now they are making lucrative money but most of them stay level-headed and get on with it.
"Hopefully that will be me one day."
Quinn says his wife Siobhan and daughter Conni (10) are his greatest fans. “Their continued support is invaluable to me and without that I wouldn’t be the player I am.
“They make a lot of sacrifices that allows me to play darts and I’m extremely grateful to them both
“Conni is like a fourth dart to me,” he added.
