Phil Jones is the dart tournament announcer for the PDC. You've probably heard his well-known voice...Oooonnnneeeee huuuuunnndddrrrreeeeeedddd and eiiiiiggggghhhhhhtttttyyy! Or GAME ON! Here is an interview with Phil Jones from Kevin Berlyn, Passionate Darter International Reporter from the DPA:

Q) Geday Phil.. Good to see you up this early in the morning......Another year has passed and I presume you are preparing yourself for yet another Skols championships...

A) Yes. It is a very busy time because the Skol is upon us immediately after Christmas so, what with the normal seasonal preparations, I have to prepare for a major TV show with 13 x 4 hours LIVE sessions.

Q) How many years now have you been a compere at PDC Tournaments?

A) When the players effectively broke away from the BDO in 1993, I was contacted by the WDC (now known as the PDC) with a view to presenting the live shows on SKY TV. I had worked with all the PDC players over the years and they knew what I could do. SKY also wanted an 'extrovert' to front the shows and Eric Bristow apparently said 'well there's only one man we should call'. Luckily, I was that man. The first person I introduced live on SKY was Jocky Wilson in December 1993.

Q) When did you first get into darts?

A) Well, I started right at the very top I suppose. I was invited by Olly Croft (BDO) to act as a referee at the very first World Cup, in London, in 1977. My first match was Wales v France. All the competing teams were lined up ready for a uniform start to the event but, under pressure from the Welsh captain - The late great Alan Evans - I jumped the gun and started the match before given the official go ahead by Tom Fleetwood (USA). All the other matches immediately followed suit. I got one hell of a dressing down for that later, but I suppose you could say that I was the first ever World Cup referee.

Q) Was it as a caller, or like some people you could throw a dart but you felt you had more to offer in other areas rather than playing?

A) Yes, I was a frustrated dart player going no where. I went to a big darts exhibition night where the MC/Referee failed to turn up. I was persuaded to take the role. However, I was very reluctant until he mentioned 'a fee'. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and quickly decided that I could earn more in that role than playing. I now only play once and week and strictly 10th division local league stuff. So you could say that I owe what I am today to being in the right place and the right time.

Q) As the MC What do you do to prepare for a match?

A) I check the competitors tournament records so that my introductions include their latest achievements. Other than that my main preparation is on what I am going to wear for each session. I try to wear a completely different outfit for each live session and I suppose I now have a 'name' for how I look on TV. Doing each session live means that the millions watching at home are fully aware of how often I wear a particular outfit. I receive many letters, faxes and phone messages during a live event from people either complimenting or criticising my outfits. From day one (1993) SKY told me that they did not want me to be the stereotyped darts MC with Black Suit and Black bow tie. They wanted colour. With some of my outfits perhaps they got more than they bargained for!!

Q) We see most, if not all PDC main events here on TV in Australia but by far the biggest match I have seen to date was the match between Barney and Taylor....What is the feeling like up on stage at such an important event...I mean players stuff up in missing pegs and throwing off but the caller and Compere cannot make a mistake, I think the pressure on both is far greater than a player? is it?

A) The Barney v Taylor match was sensational because for the first time the two respective 'World' champions were brought together in a 'winner take all' shoot out. So in that respect it was a huge event. However, the pressure was no greater really than any other match. Although that particular match was not shown on SKY (it was shown on a terrestrial channel) it was live, but the 'team' was the same as the SKY team so we all knew what we were doing. Most of the BDO Embassy championship is recorded and shown as edited highlights which means that bloopers and mistakes can easily be edited out. However, the PDC events are always shown live and in their entirety which really gets the adrenalin flowing. You know that any error, no matter how small, is going to be spotted by someone. Mistakes are inevitable but you just have to get over them as quickly as possible.

Q) In all the games you have been involved with what has been your most memorable one?

A) There have been many, but I suppose the one that really sticks in my mind was a Skol Semi-Final between Eric Bristow and Phil Taylor a few years back. Phil was the reigning champion and Eric's best years were history. Apart from the Master v Pupil angle, Eric is 'god' at the Circus Tavern (The SKOL venue) and every man and his dog was willing him to victory. This really got to Phil who, till then, was considered as Mr. Unflappable. It was a classic match, going one way and then the other. Finally, it was Phil who went through to the final, winning the last leg of the tie-breaker in the final set. Phil thinks that this was one of, if not the, finest match of his career and it was certainly Eric's last major match of his.

Q) When you and Russ work together at the Skols, who decides who does what?

A) The officials for all matches are pre-scheduled so everyone knows their role in advance. We have kept the team very much the same from the first championship. Russ, who is a great personal friend, was the last recruit and he is now considered a veteran. This helps tremendously because we are used to working with each other and know what is expected of us.

Q) What was your biggest Blooper in Professional Darts...?

A) Oh there have been a few. I once introduced, live on Sky, every match as a 3rd round match when in fact we were only in the 2nd round. But I suppose my most embarrassing moment was during a Jamie Harvey introduction/walk-on. You may know that Jamie comes on to the song 'Loch Lomond' and it is one of the most popular walk-on's with the live audience. Every one gets up and sings along. I decided to join in, completely forgetting that my microphone is linked directly to the outside broadcast and therefore transmitting to the viewers at home. Suffice to say, Popeye has a better voice than me but the SKY people couldn't shut me up. I was subsequently told (jokingly) by the director that 'perhaps I should invest some of my vast fee on singing lessons'.

Q) What has been Russ's?

A) I will let Russ tell you that himself. However, I did play a particularly successful practical joke on Russ. It was his very first assignment as a referee on live television and he was understandably nervous. During a commercial break I suddenly went on stage and announced that a car was illegally parked and was about to be towed away. I read out the registration number which I already knew was Russ's own car. I timed the announcement towards the end of the break so that he did not have time to do anything before being required back on stage to resume the match. He was in a blind panic thinking that his car was going towed away but, as a true professional, did a superb job of calling the rest of the match. At the end of the match I went on stage and revealed to the audience that the car was in fact Russ's and presented him with a welcome card from all of his fellow stage officials.

Q) When you are not the MC for the PDC what do you do in your spare time? What else does Phil Jones get up to? Is there a Mrs Phil? Is she into Darts?

A) Well, because of the increased schedule in 2001 and even more events planned for 2002, I accepted early retirement from my job as IT director of a major insurance company and am now, I suppose, a full time darts professional. I love to play golf in my spare time, although I tend to play East to West rather than North to South like most other players. Russ Bray and I are in the process of putting a fun show together which we can take 'on the road'. No, there is not a 'Mrs Phil' - but you never know - perhaps out there in Australia etc. etc...

To Kevin Berlyn - Thank you for sharing this great interview with us. As always, good luck and I'll see you at the line.