Josh Payne (born 10 December 1993) is an English darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.
Payne won his first title in 2013 at a PDC Challenge Tour event by beating Rowby-John Rodriguez 4âÂÂ3 in the final. He also qualified for the Gibraltar Darts Trophy and beat Wayne Jones 6âÂÂ2, before losing 6âÂÂ1 to Dave Chisnall in the second round despite averaging 100.50.
In 2014, Payne reached the final of the first two Youth Tour events, losing to Nick Kenny and Lewis Venes respectively. He qualified for the UK Open for the first time and lost 5âÂÂ4 to Andy Boulton in the second round. At the fifth Players Championship of the year Payne recorded wins over three-time world champion John Part and 2012 UK Open winner Robert Thornton to reach the last 16 of a PDC event for the first time, where he was whitewashed 6âÂÂ0 by Mervyn King. He also won through to the last 16 of the World Youth Championship and lost 6âÂÂ4 to Jack Twedwell. In September, Payne came from 3âÂÂ0 down in the final of a Youth Tour event to beat Jake Jones 4âÂÂ3 and he lost by a reverse of this scoreline in the final of the 16th event to Dean Reynolds. He finished second on the Youth Tour Order of Merit to earn a two-year PDC tour card which commenced in 2015.
At the 2015 UK Open, Payne defeated Lionel Sams 5âÂÂ3, Dave Prins 5âÂÂ4 and Andy Jenkins 9âÂÂ6 to play in the fourth round, where Mensur Suljoviàbeat him 9âÂÂ4. Payne beat Wayne Jones, Stephen Bunting and Michael Smith at the Dutch Darts Masters to play in the quarter-finals of a PDC event for the first time, where he lost 6âÂÂ4 to Justin Pipe. Payne finished as the runner-up in two Development Tour in the second half of the year, as well as being a quarter-finalist in the World Youth Championship.
Payne lost 9âÂÂ5 to Ryan de Vreede in the third round of the 2016 UK Open. He took the third Development Tour event by defeating Rowby-John Rodriguez in the final. In May, Payne beat Gerwyn Price, Ronny Huybrechts, Wes Newton, Mensur Suljoviàand Steve Brown to play in the final of the sixth Players Championship. He then claimed the title with a 6âÂÂ5 victory over James Wade, sealing it with a 116 finish with Wade waiting on 40. This win saw him qualify for the World Matchplay. On his debut in the event Payne was defeated 10âÂÂ7 by Robert Thornton. Payne received an invitation to play in the World Series of Darts Finals and was ousted 6âÂÂ3 by Daryl Gurney in the opening round.
Payne qualified for his first World Championship in the 2017 event through the Pro Tour Order of Merit and he won the first set versus Terry Jenkins. He went 2âÂÂ1 down and missed one dart to square the match, going on instead to be beaten 3âÂÂ1.
At the end of the 2021 season, Payne lost his tour card and had to qualify back through the PDC Q-school. He was unsuccessful in his attempt winning only 1 point, which was not enough to earn a 2 year tour card.
He earned back his Tour card in Q-School 2023.
PDC European Tour
PDC Players Championships