Deta Hedman

Deta Hedman (born 14 November 1959) is an English darts player who plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) events.

Deta Hedman
Hedman in 2018
Personal information
Nickname	"The Heart of Darts"
Born	(1959-11-14) 14 November 1959 (age 65) Kingston, West Indies Federation
Home town	Witham, England
Darts information
Playing darts since	1973
Darts	28g One80 Deta Hedman
Laterality	Right-handed
Walk-on music	"Hot Hot Hot" by Arrow
Organisation (see split in darts)
BDO	1987–1996, 2010–2020
PDC	2002–2007, 2022 Q School
WDF	2010–
Current world ranking	(WDF W) 2 1 (5 September 2022)[1]
WDF major events – best performances
World Ch'ship	Runner Up: 2012, 2014, 2016
World Masters	Winner (2) 1994, 2013
World Trophy	Runner Up: 2016
Finder Masters	Winner (2) 1996,[2] 2011
Dutch Open	Winner (3) 2010, 2017, 2018
PDC premier events – best performances
World Ch'ship	(Women's) Quarter final: 2010[3] (Mixed gender) Last 96: 2021
UK Open	Last 64: 2005
Desert Classic	(Women's) Winner 2002[4]
WSDT major events – best performances
World Ch'ship	Last 24: 2022
World Matchplay	Last 16: 2022
World Masters	Last 16: 2022
Other tournament wins
Ansell's British Ladies Pentathlon 1989 Aquarius 500 Competition 1995 ADC Women's Ch'ship Tour 2023 (x2), 2024 (x3) ADC Women's Ch'ship Tour Finals 2023 Antwerp Open 1993, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2023 Australian Grand Masters 1994 BDO International Open 2012, 2013, 2014 Belgium Open 1996, 2009, 2011, 2015 British Classic 2010, 2012, 2014 British Open 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 British Pentathlon 2010, 2013, 2014 Cockney Classic 1990, 1991 Czech Open 2011, 2013, 2021 Denmark Masters 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021 Denmark Open 1994, 1995, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2022 Dutch Open 2010, 2017, 2018 England Classic 2010, 2012, 2013, 2024 England Masters 2010, 2016, 2017 England Open 2013, 2016, 2021 Finnish Open 1989, 1991, 1992, 1996, 2010 French Open 1994, 1995, 2014, 2016, 2019 German Masters 2014 German Open 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017 Hal Open 2014 Hungarian Open 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021 Hungarian Masters 2016, 2019, 2021 Irish Classic 2021 Isle of Man Open 1990, 1991, 1992, 1996, 2011, 2017 Isle of Man Classic 2016 Muensterland Trophy 2014 Northern Ireland Open 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 Norway Open 1992, 1994 Pacific Masters 1994 PDC Women's Series 2021 Police Masters 2011, 2012, 2013 Polish Open 2011, 2012, 2013 Romanian Classic 2024 Romanian Open 2024 Scottish Open 1995, 1997, 2012, 2013, 2022 Swedish Open 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 2010 Swiss Open 1989, 1991, 1992, 1996, 2012 Turkish Open 2009 Welsh Classic 2013 Welsh Open 1993, 1994, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2018
Medal record Women's Darts Representing  England WDF World Cup 1995 Basel Women's pairs 1995 Basel Women's overall 2011 Castlebar Women's pairs 2011 Castlebar Women's overall 2013 St. John's Women's singles 2013 St. John's Women's pairs 2013 St. John's Women's overall 2015 Antalya Women's team 2015 Antalya Women's overall 2019 Cluj Women's team 2019 Cluj Women's overall 2023 Esbjerg Women's pairs 2015 Antalya Women's singles 2015 Antalya Women's pairs 2019 Cluj Women's singles 1995 Basel Women's singles 2011 Castlebar Women's singles WDF Europe Cup 1994 Stockholm Women's singles 1994 Stockholm Women's pairs 1994 Stockholm Women's overall 1996 Bundoran Women's pairs 1996 Bundoran Women's overall 2014 Bucharest Women's team 2014 Bucharest Women's overall 2016 Egmond aan Zee Women's team 2016 Egmond aan Zee Women's overall 2018 Budapest Women's pairs 2018 Budapest Women's team 2018 Budapest Women's overall 2022 Gandía Women's pairs 2022 Gandía Women's team 2022 Gandía Women's overall 1996 Bundoran Women's singles 2014 Bucharest Women's singles 2016 Egmond aan Zee Women's pairs 2012 Kemer Women's pairs 2014 Bucharest Women's pairs

Biography

Hedman was born in Jamaica in 1959. Her parents emigrated to the United Kingdom in the early 1960s, leaving Hedman and her siblings in the care of relatives in Jamaica.^[5] She spent her childhood with her aunt in Castleton in a shack without running water or electricity, going to school from Monday to Thursday and working on the farm on Fridays.^[5] Her parents eventually settled in Witham, Essex and over time, brought their children to the UK, with Hedman joining them in January 1973.^[5] She started playing darts with her older brother after babysitting for him and then at the local pub in Witham and further afield in Essex.^[5] When she was 25, she joined a super league. She was selected for the county, and in 1987 she began playing in British Darts Organisation events.^[5]

Career

Hedman reached the Women's World Masters final for the first time in 1990, losing to Rhian Speed. She beat defending champion Mandy Solomons to win the Women's World Masters in 1994.^[6] When she retired from darts in 1997 due to work commitments, she had been Women's World Number 1 since 1994.^[7]

Hedman returned to darts in 2002 with the Professional Darts Corporation. She qualified for the UK Open in 2004, and more famously in 2005, when she defeated Aaron Turner and Norman Fletcher before losing to Wayne Atwood in the last 64. Her win over Turner was the first time that a female darts player had beaten a male player in a televised major.^[6]

Due to work commitments, Hedman retired again in 2007 but returned to the BDO in 2009.^[6] After winning numerous open titles in 2009, she qualified for the BDO Women's World Championship for the first time in 2010. She defeated Irina Armstrong 2–0 in the quarter-finals, but was beaten 2–0 by eventual champion Trina Gulliver in the semi-finals. Hedman won the 2010 BDO Classic tournament beating Karen Lawman 3-2 in the final.^[8]

Hedman also competed in the first PDC Women's World Darts Championship in 2010, but lost to Fiona Carmichael in the quarter-finals.^[9]

At the 2011 BDO World Darts Championship, Hedman defeated Belgium's Patricia De Peuter 2–1 in the quarter-finals before being whitewashed 2–0 by Rhian Edwards in the semi-finals.

Hedman's best run at the BDO World Darts Championship came in 2012, where she beat Rhian Edwards and Lorraine Farlam to reach the final. In the final, she led Anastasia Dobromyslova by a set and threw for the championship, but was broken and ultimately lost 2–1.^[10] This was equalled by her 2016 run where she lost in the final to Trina Gulliver.

Despite being ranked No.1 for the 2013 BDO World Darts Championship Hedman was knocked out in the first round 0–2 by Lisa Ashton. The following season, Hedman won 14 titles and once again reached the world final, but lost once again this time from 2–0 in sets and 2–1 in legs having yet again thrown for the title. Hedman eventually lost the final 3–2 to Lisa Ashton despite having a checkout percentage over 75%.^[11]

Hedman reached the final of the 2016 BDO World Darts Championship but was beaten by Trina Gulliver who won her 10th title.^[12]

PDC

She competed for a tour card at the 2020 Q-School but failed to gain a tour card. In October 2020 the PDC held the inaugural Women's Series, a set of 4 events with 2 qualifying spots for the 2021 PDC World Darts Championship. She tied with Fallon Sherrock on the Order of Merit, however Hedman won beating Sherrock 85–83 on legs won, meaning Hedman would make her debut in the 2021 PDC World Darts Championship. She would go onto lose 3–1 to Andy Boulton.

Awards

Hedman was on the list of the BBC's 100 Women announced on 23 November 2020.^[13]

World Championship results

PDC

• 2010 (women's): Quarter-finals (lost to Fiona Carmichael 2–4)
• 2021: First round (lost to Andy Boulton 1–3)

BDO/WDF

• 2010: Semi-finals (lost to Trina Gulliver 0–2)
• 2011: Semi-finals (lost to Rhian Edwards 0–2)
• 2012: Runner-up (lost to Anastasia Dobromyslova 1–3)
• 2013: Quarter-finals (lost to Lisa Ashton 0–2)
• 2014: Runner-up (lost to Lisa Ashton 2–3)
• 2015: First round (lost to Lisa Ashton 1–2)
• 2016: Runner-up (lost to Trina Gulliver 2–3)
• 2017: First round (lost to Casey Gallagher 1–2)
• 2018: Semi-finals (lost to Lisa Ashton 0–2)
• 2019: First round (lost to Maria O'Brien 0–2)
• 2020: First round (lost to Laura Turner 0–2)
• 2022: Second round (lost to Tori Kewish 0-2)
• 2023: Quarter-finals (lost to Rhian O'Sullivan 0–2)

WSDT

• 2022: First Round (lost to Peter Manley 1–3)
• 2024: First Round (lost to Martin Adams 2–3)

Personal life

Hedman's brother Rudi was a professional footballer playing for Colchester United and Crystal Palace. Her other brother, Al, was a professional darts player and former 1995 BDO British Open Champion.^[14] Her nephew Graham is a 400-metre runner.

Controversies

In December 2023, Hedman posted a post on Facebook about her frustrations with allowing transgender players to play in women's ranking events and labelled it as unfair.^[15] During the WDF Denmark Women's Open in May 2024, she withdrew in the quarter-finals against Noa-Lynn van Lueven.^[16] Many fans speculated that she withdrew from the tournament as a sign of protest, saying transgender players should not be allowed to play.^[17] According to Phill Barrs, Hedman told event organisers she was feeling ill and was in pain before withdrawing, allowing her to pick up her ranking points.^[18] As reported by the New York Post, Hedman pushed back on reports she pulled out of the match due to an illness and also declined compensation she may have lost due to her decision. “No fake illness I said I wouldn’t play a man in a ladies event,” Hedman wrote on X. ^[19]

References

1. "WDF Women's Rankings Table". WDF. 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
2. "EGM". Jeroen Snijders (1996). Retrieved 19 December 2017.
3. 2010 PDC Womens World Championship Darts Database
4. 2002 Womens Las Vegas Desert Classic Darts Database
5. Grey, Becky (13 August 2020). "Deta Hedman: 'I'm not here to please you. I'm here to play a game that I enjoy'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
6. "Deta Hedman: "I don't really think about how many titles I've won, I just go with the flow really!"". Love The Darts. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
7. "Profile for Deta Hedman". Lakeside World Professional Darts Championships. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011.
8. "Ross Montgomery and Deta Hedman win BDO Classic titles". BBC Sport. 26 July 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
9. "Joy For Wright & Bromberg". PDCTV. Professional Darts Corporation. 12 June 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
10. "Bullseye checkout seals Dobromyslova win". BBC Sport. 13 January 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
11. "BDO World Darts: Lisa Ashton defeats Deta Hedman in final". BBC Sport. 11 January 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
12. Cartwright, Phil (9 January 2016). "Trina Gulliver wins 10th BDO World Championships title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
13. "BBC 100 Women 2020: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
14. "Interview with Deta Hedman". Global Darts. 2013.
15. Verbeek, Pieter (12 December 2023). "Deta Hedman wants to ban transgenders in ladies darts ranking events". Darts News. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
16. Gill, Samuel (4 May 2024). "Deta Hedman refuses to play transgender Noa-Lynn van Leuven and forfeits game at Denmark Open". Darts News. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
17. Shaw, Jamie (4 May 2024). "Deta Hedman forfeits match against Noa-Lynn van Leuven at the Denmark Open in transgender protest". Live Darts. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
18. Barrs, Phill (4 May 2024). "Phill Barrs alleged "context"". X (formally Twitter). Retrieved 4 May 2024.
19. Gaydos, Ryan (7 May 2024). "British female darts player Deta Hedman refuses to play transgender opponent, forfeits match". Retrieved 10 May 2024.

External links

• Official site
• Profile and stats on Darts Database
• Deta Hedman on Twitter
• Deta Hedman on Instagram
• Deta Hedman at IMDb