José de Sousa
De Sousa in 2021
Personal information
Full nameJosé Augusto Oliveira de Sousa[1]
Nickname"The Special One"
Born (1974-02-12) 12 February 1974
Azambuja, Lisbon, Portugal
Home townTorrejón de Ardoz, Spain
Darts information
Playing darts since1994
Darts20 Gram Trinidad Signautre
LateralityRight-handed
Walk-on music"I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" by Pitbull
Organisation (see split in darts)
PDC2011–
WDF2011
Current world ranking25 Steady (3 January 2024)[2]
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'shipLast 16: 2023
World MatchplayQuarter Final: 2022
World Grand PrixLast 16: 2021
UK OpenLast 16: 2021
Grand SlamWinner (1): 2020
European Ch'shipQuarter Final: 2021
Premier LeagueRunner Up: 2021
PC FinalsQuarter Final: 2021
MastersSemi Final: 2022
World Series FinalsLast 16: 2021
Other tournament wins
Catalonia Ch'ship 2009, 2012
Catalonia Open 2012
FCD Anniversary Open 2016
Spanish Federation Cup 2017
Vizcaya Open 2017
Bullshooter European Ch'ship 2013

European Tour Events

European Darts Grand Prix 2020

Players Championships

Players Championship (BAR) 2019
Players Championship (DUB) 2019
Players Championship (MK) 2021 (x2)
Players Championship (NIE) 2021
Medal record
Men's Darts
Representing  Portugal
EDF European Ch'ship
Silver medal – second place 2013 Podčetrtek Men's cricket
Silver medal – second place 2015 Santa Susanna Men's singles
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Podčetrtek Men's cricket

José Augusto Oliveira de Sousa (born 12 February 1974) is a Portuguese professional darts player. He is based in Tarragona and represented Spain at the 2011 WDF World Cup, but played for the Portuguese team afterwards at the PDC. He won his first televised major title at the 2020 Grand Slam of Darts. He is known among darts fans for his maverick-like scoring, relatively frequent miscounts and unorthodox checkouts in matches. He frequently helps out at local hotels and restaurants during the summer. [3]

Career

De Sousa qualified for the 2012 PDC World Darts Championship by winning the Western European qualifier, beating Eduardo Lopes in the final. He became the first Portuguese player to bunnt for either version of the World Darts Championship. He lost 4–3 in the preliminary round to South Africa's Devon Petersen.[4] In the rest of the year, he won the Catalonia National Championship and the Catalan Open by beating Antonio Jimenez in the final.[5][6] De Sousa claimed the 2013 Soft Tip Bullshooter European Championship with a win over Franck Guillermont.[7] He reached the final of the 2015 Catalan Open, but lost 6–1 to Carles Arola.[8]

De Sousa won the 2016 FCD Anniversary Open by overcoming Willem Mandigers 6–1 in the final.[9] In 2017 on the second day of Q School he came close to winning a two-year PDC Tour Card, but lost 5–2 to Royden Lam in the final round.[10]

2019

After a first round defeat at the 2019 PDC World Darts Championship to Michael Barnard, De Sousa went to PDC European Q-School in January 2019 and won a Tour Card for the first time, finishing sixth on the Order of Merit to seal at least two years on the PDC ProTour.[11]

He made gradual improvements throughout his first year on tour, and made his maiden PDC final at Players Championship 18, but lost 8–5 to James Wade. De Sousa then became the first Portuguese player to win a PDC title at Players Championship 23. He beat Peter Wright 7–3 in the semi-finals and Gerwyn Price 8–1 in the final.

2020

At the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship he lost 3–0 to Damon Heta in the first round.

In March, De Sousa made his debut at the 2020 UK Open, but lost to Welsh youngster Lewy Williams 6–4 in the third round.

In 2020, De Sousa won his first PDC European Tour title, beating the number 1 ranked player Michael Van Gerwen in the final 8–4, averaging 105,79. His winning checkout was an unorthodox 88 finish of treble 8, double 14, double 18, and with that victory followed the winners prize of £25,000. Two weeks later in the 2020 European Championship, De Sousa managed to hit his first ever televised nine-darter, in a 6–3 win over Jeffrey de Zwaan.[12] Portugal was not on the entry list for 2020 PDC World Cup of Darts, but Singapore withdrew from the competition as Harith Lim couldn't fly to Austria. They were replaced by Portugal (represented by de Sousa and José Marquês) and together they defeated team Hungary in the first round 5–0, however, in the second round they lost to team Austria.

Continuing a good run of form, De Sousa won his first major title in the 2020 Grand Slam of Darts. After beating Krzysztof Ratajski and Lisa Ashton in the group stages, he then defeated Dave Chisnall, avenged a group stage defeat to Michael Smith in the quarter-finals, beat Simon Whitlock in the semi-finals, then he defeated James Wade in the final 16–12, winning with a 158 checkout. De Sousa became the first ever Portuguese winner of a major tournament, and broke into the world's Top 16 by winning the event.

2021

De Sousa qualified for 2021 PDC World Darts Championship via PDC Order of Merit as 14th seed. He defeated Ross Smith in the second round 3–1, but lost 0–4 to Mervyn King in the third round, despite averaging 103.62. He finished the year in 15th place in the PDC Order of Merit and secured his tour card, and was named as one of the 10 competitors in the 2021 Premier League Darts.

2022

At the 2022 PDC World Darts Championship De Sousa lost 3–4 to Alan Soutar in the third round.

World Championship results

PDC

Career finals

PDC major finals: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score[N 1]
Winner 1. 2020 Grand Slam of Darts England James Wade 16–12 (l)
Runner-up 1. 2021 Premier League Wales Jonny Clayton 5–11 (l)

Performance timeline

Tournament2012201920202021202220232024
PDC World Championship PR 1R 1R 3R 3R 4R 2R
UK Open DNP 2R 3R 6R 5R 5R
World Matchplay DNP DNQ 1R 2R QF 1R
World Grand Prix DNP DNQ 1R 2R 1R 1R
European Championship DNP DNQ 2R QF 2R 2R
Grand Slam of Darts DNP DNQ W 2R DNQ
Players Championship Finals DNP 2R 3R QF 2R 1R
Non-major televised events
Premier League Darts DNP F DNP
Masters DNP DNQ 1R SF 2R
PDC World Cup of Darts DNP 2R 2R 2R RR
World Series of Darts Finals NH DNQ 2R DNQ DNP
Career statistics
Year-end ranking - 61 15 7 14


PDC European Tour

Season12345678910111213
2019 EDO
DNQ		 GDC
DNQ		 GDG
DNQ		 GDO
DNQ		 ADO
DNQ		 EDG
DNQ		 DDM
DNQ		 DDO
QF		 CDO
DNQ		 ADC
DNQ		 EDM
DNQ		 IDO
DNQ		 GDT
2R
2020 BDC
DNQ		 GDC
DNQ		 EDG
W		 IDO
2R
2021 HDT
SF		 GDT
3R
2022 IDO
2R		 GDC
3R		 GDG
2R		 ADO
2R		 EDO
3R		 CDO
SF		 EDG
2R		 DDC
2R		 EDM
2R		 HDT
QF		 GDO
SF		 BDO
QF		 GDT
3R
2023 BSD
DNQ		 EDO
1R		 IDO
3R		 GDG
3R		 ADO
DNQ		 DDC
DNQ		 BDO
2R		 CDO
2R		 EDG
2R		 EDM
1R		 GDO
3R		 HDT
2R		 GDC
DNQ


Performance Table Legend
W Won the tournament F Finalist SF Semifinalist QF Quarterfinalist #R
RR
Prel.		 Lost in # round
Round-robin
Preliminary round		 DQ Disqualified
DNQ Did not qualify DNP Did not participate WD Withdrew NH Tournament not held NYF Not yet founded

Nine-dart finishes

José de Sousa televised nine-dart finishes
Date Opponent Tournament Method ref
29 October 2020 Netherlands Jeffrey de Zwaan European Championship 3 x T20; 2 x T20, T19; 2 x T20, D12 [12]
8 April 2021  Nathan Aspinall Premier League Darts 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T20, T19, D12 [13]

Notes

  1. ↑ (l) = score in legs, (s) = score in sets.

References

  1. ↑ Dardos en Tarragona: José Augusto Oliveira de Sousa (V): profile (Spanish)
  2. ↑ "PDC Order of Merit". PDPA. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  3. ↑ Prenderville, Paul (14 July 2020). "World Matchplay: Jose De Sousa keeps on surprising 18 months into PDC life". Sky Sports.
  4. ↑ World Championship - Night Seven Archived 7 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine PDC.tv
  5. ↑ "2012 Catalonia National Championships Player Prize Money". Darts Database. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  6. ↑ "2012 Catalan Open Player Prize Money". Darts Database. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  7. ↑ "2013 Soft Tip Bullshooter European Championship Player Prize Money". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "2015 Catalan Open Results". Darts Database. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "2016 FCD Anniversary Open Results". Darts Database. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  10. ↑ "2017 PDC Qualifying School Day Two". PDC. Archived from the original on 22 January 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  11. ↑ "European Q School Tour Card Winners Confirmed". PDC. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  12. 1 2 Allen, Dave (29 October 2020). "De Sousa hits perfection as Unibet European Championship begins". PDC. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  13. ↑ Phillips, Josh (8 April 2021). "De Sousa hits nine-darter & equals 180s record on Night Four". PDC. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.