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Devon Petersen
with the goal of becoming champion of the world.
Devon George Petersen, known affectionately across the world as the ‘African Warrior’ is Africa’s only professional darts player. Devon carries that mantle with great pride and responsibility, recognising that, every time he competes, he carries the hopes of a continent and is a role model to millions.
Born on 4th June 1986 in Mitchell’s Plain, Cape Town, Devon learnt the sport of darts from his father, George. It was obvious that Devon was blessed with a significant talent and he swiftly became the youngest man ever to represent both Western Province and South Africa. After a string of tournament victories in his homeland, progression to the professional game seemed inevitable and Devon made his PDC World Darts Championship debut at the Alexandra Palace, London in 2011, aged 24. Notable appearances followed at the World Cup of Darts where Devon represented the Rainbow Nation with great credit in reaching the quarter-finals, both in 2012 (when partnered by Shawn Hogan) and 2014 (when partnered by Graham Filby).
Devon competed at Q-School in 2015 and won a tour card to become a full-time professional in the PDC. Just a few months later he reached his first major quarter-final at the UK Open, producing a stunning performance when averaging 104.88 against Jamie Caven in the fourth round, before eventually losing out at the hands of Michael van Gerwen.
Devon’s progress saw him make the difficult decision to permanently relocate to the UK in 2016, settling in Bradford, Yorkshire. This enabled him to fully commit to the PDC tour. Whilst this didn’t reap immediate rewards, Devon did reach the last 16 of the World Championship in 2019, losing out in a thrilling last set decider to Nathan Aspinall.
2020 proved to be a breakthrough year for the African Warrior as he won his first PDC ranking title when landing the German Darts Championship in Hildesheim. Devon had to do it the hard way, beating a string of top 16 players including Rob Cross, Krzysztof Ratajski, Gerwyn Price and then, finally, Jonny Clayton in the final where he averaged 102.75. In winning this event Devon made history as the first African winner of a PDC ranking title.
Devon pushed on from this success to make his first major semi-final a month later where he lost out in a last leg decider to James Wade at the European Championship in Oberhausen. He also made his first appearances at the World Grand Prix and at the Grand Slam of Darts, performing with credit in both, particularly the latter where he topped his group with comprehensive victories over Ian White, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Peter Wright. A second last 16 appearance at the World Championship saw Devon end the season in the top 32 players in the world, but he has even loftier plans for 2021.
Outside of the playing side of darts Devon has proved himself to be a successful pundit, having become a very popular addition to the Sky Sports darts commentary team. Comfortable with the media, Devon is also famous for his dancing walk-on to the sound of the anthemic ‘Waka Waka’ by Shakira, which always provides a strong reminder of his South African identity. A man with a strong social conscience, Devon is heavily involved with promoting and helping structure darts in his homeland and has ambitions to leave a lasting legacy on the communities that he touches.
