Nicky Virachkul

{{Short description|American darts player (1948–1999)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}

{{more footnotes|date=March 2013}}

{{Infobox darts player

| name = Nicky Virachkul

| image =

| fullname =

| nickname = "The Thailand Cowboy"

| birth_date = June 3, 1948

| birth_place = Thailand

| death_date = {{nowrap|{{Death date and age|1999|04|17|1948|06|03}}}}

| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.

| homecountry = United States

| since = 1968

| darts = 21g Accudarts{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}

| laterality = Right-handed

| music =

| BDO = 1975–1988

| PDC =

| currentrank =

| BDO World = 3rd place: 1978

| World Masters = Semi-final: 1980

| World Darts Trophy =

| Int. Darts League =

| PDC World =

| Matchplay =

| Grand Prix =

| UK Open =

| Vegas =

| Premier League =

| US Open =

| tournament = Windy City Open
WDF World Cup Singles
North American Open
Dallas Open
Camellia Classic

| resultyears = 1978
1979
1982
1983
1986, 1987

| achievement = 1996 National Darts Hall of Fame inductee

| updated =

}}

Nicky Virachkul (June 3, 1948 – April 17, 1999) was an American professional darts player who competed in the 1970s and 1980s.

Background

Virachkul was from Lampang, Thailand, and was a javelin thrower during high school.{{cite web|first=Gerald|last=Eskenazi|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/01/27/archives/nations-most-artful-dartists-thrive-in-barroom-or-ballroom-artful.html|title=Nation's Most Artful Dartists Thrive in Barroom or Ballroom|work=The New York Times|date=January 27, 1975|access-date=25 May 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/02/02/Ex-Javelin-Star-Is-Pro-Dart-Player/1671413010000/|title=Ex-Javelin Star Is Pro Dart Player

|publisher=United Press International|date=February 2, 1983|access-date=25 May 2024}} He moved to the United States in 1968 to study business administration at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, New Jersey.{{cite web|first1=Frank|last1=Litsky|first2=Murray|last2=Chass|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/02/04/sports/scouting-detoured-by-dart.html|title=Scouting; Detoured by Dart|work=The New York Times|date=February 4, 1983|access-date=25 May 2024}} He later became a naturalized citizen.

Career

Virachkul represented the United States internationally in darts tournaments.

He competed at the first Embassy World Darts Championship in 1978, losing narrowly by 7–8 in the semi-final to eventual champion, Leighton Rees. He won third place in a play-off by defeating Stefan Lord. Virachakul reached the quarter-finals on three other occasions: in 1981 (losing to Eric Bristow), 1982 (losing to Bobby George) and 1984 (losing to Dave Whitcombe). Despite his respectable record, it was nevertheless a surprise when he defeated the defending World Champion, Keith Deller, in the first round of the 1984 World Championship. Deller had his revenge in the first round the following year. The 1985 championship was Virachkul's last appearance in the final stages. Despite competing in the first eight World Championships, he never again qualified after the tournament moved to the Lakeside Country Club in 1986.

Virachkul competed in the third WDF World Cup darts tournament in 1979 and won the singles title. In 1980 he reached the semi-finals of the Winmau World Masters. He also won the 1978 Windy City Open, the 1982 North American Open and the 1983 Dallas Open.

Nicky Virachkul was inducted into the National Darts Hall of Fame in 1996.{{cite web | url=http://www.phillydarts.com/NationalDartsHallofFame.htm | title=National Darts Hall of Fame | work=PhillyDarts | accessdate=July 27, 2015 | archive-date=February 15, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215192204/http://phillydarts.com/NationalDartsHallofFame.htm | url-status=dead }}

Death

Suffering from cancer, Virachkul died in 1999 at the age of 50.{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}}

World Championship results

= BDO =

Career finals

= WDF major finals: 1 (1 title) =

class="sortable wikitable"

!width="80"| Outcome

!width="20"| No.

!width="50"| Year

!style="width:250px;"| Championship

!style="width:200px;"| Opponent in the final

!width="70"| Score

style="background:#98FB98"|Winner

| 1.

| 1979

| World Cup Singles

| {{Flagicon|WAL}} Ceri Morgan

| 4–3 (s)

References

{{Reflist}}