Simon Whitlock quarter-finals. He then beat Brian Woods to reach the final, where he lost to the number one seed Mark Webster 7–5. He was the first Australian to reach the final since Tony David won the tournament in 2002. Whitlock entered the 2009 BDO World Darts Championship as the number 12 seed and reached the second round by beating Mark Barilli, but lost to Darryl Fitton. After many weeks of speculation, Whitlock returned to the PDC on 19 March 2009. He began playing in the AGP circuit where he won eight tournaments. He qualified for the Las Vegas Desert Classic but
James Hubbard (darts player) as a player to watch in years to come. These sentiments were echoed by Simon Whitlock who practiced with Hubbard before the 2012 Grand Slam of Darts. Hubbard is the son of former PDC professional player Vic Hubbard. When not playing darts, Hubbard works as a decorator with his father. James Hubbard (darts player) James Hubbard (born 24 July 1992) is an English darts professional player currently playing in Professional Darts Corporation events. Hubbard reached the final of the 2012 PDC World Youth Championship. He beat Michael van Gerwen in the final at the O2 Arena in London on 17