Colin Osborne (pictured), Barrie Bates and Mick McGowan have all signed three-year deals to join Team Unicorn, as they bid to take their careers to the next level.
Unicorn moved quickly to snap up the trio, who are all expected to achieve big things in the world of darts.
Managing Director Edward Lowy said: “Is your glass half empty or half full? If you view the PDC Order of Merit as an unscalable Everest, probably best to keep playing amateur darts. Messrs Bates, Osborne and McGowan however, are made of sterner stuff and thrive on the opportunity to test themselves against the best in the world.”
He added: “We have been watching their rapid ascent up the rankings with keen interest and are delighted that they should see fit to become very valued Contender members of Team Unicorn.”
All three are tipped for the world’s top 16 by the end of 2007 after producing some brilliant performances on the PDC circuit during the last 12 months.
Bates is now the No.1 Welsh player in the world - having given up his job to become a full-time professional darts star….and earlier this month, he was named Best Floor Player of the Year at the first PDC Awards Night at the Dorchester Hotel.
The 37-year-old from Mid-Glamorgan enjoyed a brilliant 2006. He won the John Smiths Singles Title at Eastbourne and the Le Skratch event in Canada.
Bates reached his first ‘Major’ TV Final – eventually losing to Raymond Van Barneveld in the UK Open, after a terrific run in Bolton. He has also made his debut at the World Matchplay, the Las Vegas Desert Classic, World Grand Prix and World Championship.
He also reached four other finals on the PDC Tour – the highlight coming in a Players Championship tournament in Holland, where he beat Phil Taylor in the final.
Irish star McGowan was one of THE form horses over the last year. His first big win came in September at the Ireland Open Classic and he also won the Vauxhall Title in November. He was runner-up to new Unicorn team-mates Adrian Lewis and Colin Lloyd in Players Championship events in Scotland and Holland and also reached four other tour semi-finals.
McGowan made his World Championship debut in 2007, after dropping only one leg in coming through the qualifiers….and he gave Phil Taylor a scare at the Circus Tavern – winning the first set, before losing 4-1 in the 2nd Round
Osborne has only been playing competitive darts for two years and his run to the quarter-finals of the Ladbrokes.com World Championship just proved what a talent he is.
The 31-year-old first made a name for himself with a great run at the 2005 UK Open, when he reached the last 16. He had only entered the qualifiers for a bit of fun and ended up beating messrs Painter, Manley, Bates and Baxter at one of the regional events.
He looks set the follow the crowd and become a full-time pro after signing the deal with Unicorn. An appeal live on Sky Sports during one of his matches at the World Championships, has also attracted several other offers of sponsorship.
He beat Alex Roy to claim his first title – The Sheppey Classic – last June and has already hit two magical 9-darters in competition!
Osborne is a multi-talented sportsman. He played for Middlesboro’ as a youngster, was a junior snooker champion, represented England at Table Tennis and was also the all-England Yo-Yo Champion!
He also reached five semi-finals during the year – missing darts to beat Roland Scholten in the last four at the Bobby Bourne Memorial event – and he lost to Michael Van Gerwen in the final of the Open Holland…..he later got his revenge – beating Van Gerwen just before the World Championship.
Osborne has made an impressive start to 2007 – getting through to the semi-finals of the Players Championship in Gibraltar – losing to Unicorn’s former World No.1 Colin Lloyd.
The future of darts looks good in their hands!
BY STUART PYKE
