John Michael (darts player)

John Michael (born Yannis Michail, 20 March 1974) is a Cypriot-born Greek darts player playing in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.

John Michael
Personal information
Full name	Yannis Michail
Nickname	"Deadly Rose"
Born	(1974-03-20) 20 March 1974 Cyprus
Home town	Athens, Greece
Darts information
Playing darts since	1989
Darts	23g Cuesoul
Laterality	Right-handed
Walk-on music	"Zorbas" by Mikis Theodorakis
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO	1999–2009, 2012–2015, 2018
PDC	2009–2011, 2015–2017, 2019–
WDF major events – best performances
World Ch'ship	Last 40: 2014
World Masters	Last 32: 2013
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'ship	Last 64: 2015, 2016, 2017
UK Open	Last 32: 2017
European Ch'ship	Last 32: 2011
Other tournament wins
Austrian Open 2009 Cyprus Open 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014 GDO Open 2012 Greek Ch'ship 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2023, 2024 Greek Open 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014 Hellinikon Open 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 Malta Open 2004, 2007, 2012, 2018 Mediterranean Cup 2009 PDC South European Qualifier 2014, 2015, 2016, 2021

Career

PDC

He joined the PDC in 2009, and began competing in PDC Europe events a year later. He qualified for the 2011 European Championship, therefore becoming the first Greek player to qualify for a major PDC tournament. He was beaten 3-6 by defending champion Phil Taylor in the first round, with Taylor averaging 107.83.

BDO

He joined the BDO in 2012. Michael has won numerous WDF-ranked darts tournaments, including the Cyprus Open (four times), the Greek Open (four times) and the Hellinikon Open (three times). He qualified for the 2015 PDC World Darts Championship while still playing in British Darts Organisation events. He played Jani Haavisto in the preliminary round winning 4–1 in legs, in the first round he played Ian White losing 3–1 in sets.

Return to the PDC

Michael rejoined the PDC in 2015. After beating South Africa's Warrick Scheffer 2-0 in sets in the preliminary round of the 2016 PDC World Darts Championship, he was whitewashed by seventh-seed James Wade, 0-3 in sets. He entered the PDC's qualifying school that year, and his performance was good enough for second place on the Q School Order of Merit, earning him a Tour Card.

Being unable to enter all the events meant that Michael was unable to retain his Tour Card, but he went to European Q-School in January 2019 and was able to regain his card, finishing fifth on the Order of Merit.

After ending 2020 ranked 106th, Michael had to attend Qualifying School but successfully regained his Tour Card at the first time of asking.

World Championship results

BDO

• 2014: Preliminary round (lost to Madars Razma 2–3)

PDC

• 2015: First round (lost to Ian White 1–3)
• 2016: First round (lost to James Wade 0–3)
• 2017: First round (lost to Alan Norris 2–3)
• 2022: First round (lost to Martijn Kleermaker 1–3)

Personal life

Michael works as a farrier in Athens.

External links

• John Michael player profile at Darts Orakel