- Kirk Shepherd’s journey in the 2008 World Darts Championship is a thrilling tale
- At 21-years-old, Shepherd emerged from obscurity to lose narrowly in the final
- Now, Shepherd is qualifying as an electrician after walking away from darts
Kirk Shepherd, a name once synonymous with promise and potential in the world of darts, has experienced a career marked by both stunning highs and difficult lows.
Known for his breakthrough performance in the 2008 World Darts Championship, Shepherd’s journey is one that has left an indelible mark upon the sport.
At just 21-years-old – and with odds of 1000-1 – Shepherd stormed the competition 16 years ago and reached the final, before narrowly losing to John Part.
Despite the defeat, Shepherd pocketed a comfy £50,000 for his troubles and, self-admittedly, his life changed overnight.
However, 16 years on from the monumental success, Shepherd claimed that he’s since gone on to new endeavours and is now ‘just plain Kirk Shepherd’.
Speaking to the Daily Star, he said: ‘I went from being a normal lad working in a factory to back-page headlines and a nice big pay cheque. After that, the devil came for me.
Kirk Shepherd experienced a darts career marked by both stunning highs and difficult lows
Shepherd stormed to the 2008 World Darts Championship final but narrowly lost
‘I went a bit doo-lally and got carried away by it all. I thought everything was going to fall on a plate for me and it was the start of a new beginning, a bright new dawn, but I stopped putting in the effort. I got lazy.
‘From earning £50,000 as runner-up at the World Championship in 2008 and having some wealth, four years later I was living on my own in a flea-ridden one-bed flat.
’I’ve been qualifying as an electrician at a firm called Bilfinger in Haydock. I don’t think they knew who they were taking on at first, but now I am just plain Kirk Shepherd, not the 1,000-1 outsider who reached the final at Ally Pally.
‘I’m a father of three boys aged 15, 13 and six, and things are so much brighter that I’m even thinking of picking up the old arrows again. I might have left darts, but darts has never left me.’
In January 2022, Shepherd handed in his tour card due to problems with dartitis – which is a condition that can affect darts players, and severely damage their performance.
Shepherd’s career trajectory took a downward turn in the years following his World Championship final appearance.
Years later, Shepherd admits that ‘I went a bit doo-lally and got carried away by it all’
The pressure of living up to early expectations, combined with fluctuating form and inconsistent performances, led to a series of struggles.
There had previously been fears, when he broke on the scene, that Luke Littler could splash out after earning himself a lucrative payday at last year’s World Championships.
However, he later revealed the humble rewards that he’d treat himself with. He told The Telegraph: ‘I always treat myself to some Under Armour tracksuits.
‘And just get myself a new coat and get myself some Fifa points for my Xbox. That’s pretty much it.’
