Denis Ovens

Not to be confused with Denisovans, humans of an extinct species.

Denis Ovens (born 1 July 1957) is an English former professional darts player. He is nicknamed "The Heat" and is now based in Stevenage. Ovens is regarded as one of the most consistent players in the circuit, though he has as yet failed to convert his form from the circuit to the big stages on television. His constant second-round exits in numerous televised tournaments have led him to be called by commentators as "The Nearly Man".

Denis Ovens
Personal information
Nickname	"The Heat"
Born	(1957-07-01) 1 July 1957 Enfield, England
Home town	Stevenage, England
Darts information
Playing darts since	1976
Darts	20g LazerDarts
Laterality	Right-handed
Walk-on music	"The Heat Is On" by Glenn Frey
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO	1984–2000
PDC	2000–2015
WDF major events – best performances
World Ch'ship	Last 32: 2000
World Masters	Quarter Final: 1999
World Trophy	First Round: 2007
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'ship	Quarter Final: 2005
World Matchplay	Last 16: 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2011
World Grand Prix	Last 16: 2001, 2003, 2011
UK Open	Semi Final: 2010, 2011, 2012
Grand Slam	Last 16: 2008
European Ch'ship	Last 16: 2008
Ch'ship League	Semi Final: 2008
Desert Classic	Quarter Final: 2002
US Open/WSoD	Quarter Final: 2006
PC Finals	Last 32: 2009, 2010, 2011
Other tournament wins
Claims Solutions Classic 2001 Ireland Open Autumn Classic 2007 Irish Masters 2001, 2002 Jersey Festival of Darts 2001 Open Holland 2003 PDC Eastbourne Open 2005 Scottish Open 1999 Players Championships Players Championship (GIB) 2010 UK Open Regionals/Qualifiers UK Open Regional (SOU) 2005

Career

His one good run came in the 2005 PDC World Darts Championship, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to former World Masters champion Mark Dudbridge. He has since suffered six successive second round exits in the World Championship – against Steve Alker in 2006, against Alan Tabern in 2007 (in a thriller that went to a sudden death deciding leg, with Ovens narrowly missing a double 12 for a perfect nine dart finish and a £15,000 bonus), in 2008 against Dutchman Jan van der Rassel, after defeating Colin Monk in the first round, in 2009 to Ronnie Baxter having defeated Steve Maish 3–0 in the first round, in 2010 to Colin Lloyd and in 2011 to Simon Whitlock.

He reached the semi-final of the UK Open in three consecutive years from 2010 to 2012, where he was defeated by Phil Taylor (twice) and Wes Newton and reached the final of the inaugural German Darts Championship in 2007.

BDO

Ovens retired in 2015. Almost two years to the day since his last appearance, at the BDO Swedish Open in 2016, the 61-year-old made a comeback at the same event. He lost 2–4 to Veine Hagen in the last 256 of the Swedish Open Men's Singles, lost 0–3 to Willem Mandigers in the last 32 of the Gents Classic and lost alongside Keith Wetton against Mauri Tuutijärvi and Ari Nevalainen in the last 16 of the Men's Pairs.

World Championship results

BDO

• 2000: 1st Round (lost to Bobby George 1–3)

PDC

• 2001: 1st round (lost to Les Fitton 1–3)
• 2002: 2nd round (lost to Richie Burnett 4–6)
• 2003: 3rd round (lost to Dennis Smith 1–5)
• 2004: 3rd round (lost to Alex Roy 3–4)
• 2005: Quarter-finals (lost to Mark Dudbridge 3–5)
• 2006: 2nd round (lost to Steve Alker 1–4)
• 2007: 2nd round (lost to Alan Tabern 3–4)
• 2008: 2nd round (lost to Jan van der Rassel 1–4)
• 2009: 2nd round (lost to Ronnie Baxter 1–4)
• 2010: 2nd round (lost to Colin Lloyd 3–4)
• 2011: 2nd round (lost to Simon Whitlock 0–4)
• 2012: 1st round (retired due to injury while trailing Kevin Münch 1–0)
• 2013: 2nd round (lost to Adrian Lewis 1–4)

Career statistics

Key

W

F

SF

QF

#R

RR

Prel.

DNQ

DNP

NH

(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Prel.) Preliminary round; (DNQ) Did not qualify; (DNP) Did not participate; (NH) Not held

Performance timeline

Tournament	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011		2012	2013
PDC World Championship	NYF								DNP							1R	2R	3R	3R	QF	2R	2R	2R	2R	2R	2R		1R	2R
UK Open	Not held																	4R	5R	4R	5R	5R	3R	3R	SF	SF		SF	DNQ
World Matchplay	Not held								DNP						2R	1R	2R	2R	2R	2R	1R	1R	1R	2R	1R	2R		DNQ
World Grand Prix	Not held												DNP			2R	1R	2R	1R	1R	1R	1R	1R	1R	1R	2R		DNQ
European Championship	Not held																						2R	DNQ	1R	DNQ
Grand Slam of Darts	Not held																					DNQ	2R	RR	DNQ
Players Championship Finals	Not held																							1R	1R	1R	1R	DNQ
Las Vegas Desert Classic	Not held																QF	RR	2R	1R	1R	DNQ			Not held
BDO World Championship	DNP														1R	No longer a BDO Member
World Masters	4R	DNP		2R	DNP				3R	1R	DNP	2R	DNP	QF	2R	No longer a BDO Member
British Professional	2R	1R	1R	Not held
World Darts Trophy	Not held																DNP					1R	Not held
News of the World	DNP			RR	DNP	Not held						DNP	Not held

Trivia

• Ovens is known for his trademark unshaven looks. Ovens stated on ESPN's World Series of Darts that he kept shaving before a darts match and always lost, so he thought "OK, don't shave".
• Ovens is well known to darts fans as "Captain Hobo", in reference to his unkempt appearance.
• Ovens has said he enjoys playing in German tournaments as Germany "do good beer."

External links

• Interview with Denis Ovens
• Profile and stats on Darts Database