Wayne Mardle: 2008 World Darts Championship

Wayne Mardle had done the tough bit: he'd beaten Phil Taylor. In a dramatic quarter-final, Hawaii 501 had overturned a 3-0 deficit to claim the biggest win of his career, and knock The Power out of the World Darts Championship before the final: something no one had managed in the 15-year history of the event. All that stood between Mardle and a shot at the sport's biggest prize on January 1st was Kirk Shepherd, a 21-year-old qualifier who'd enjoyed a remarkable run so far. The mismatch was enormous; there could only be one winner here. However, as Mardle realised over the course of an agonising evening on the oche, the game really isn’t played on paper, and you underestimate your opponent at your peril. Alongside Rod Studd, he recounts his 'One That Got Away'.