William James O'Connor (born 15 July 1986) is an Irish professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Nicknamed "the Magpie", O'Connor has been a professional since 2011. He has participated in nine PDC World Championships and reached his first PDC major semi-final at the 2022 UK Open. O'Connor won his first PDC ranking title at Players Championship 13 on the 2019 PDC Pro Tour. He has finished as the runner-up in two PDC European Tour events.
O'Connor has represented Ireland at the PDC World Cup of Darts in every year it has been held, reaching the final at the 2019 edition alongside Steve Lennon.
O'Connor first came to prominence at the 2010 UK Open when he whitewashed Stuart Monaghan in the first round 6âÂÂ0 in legs. He then defeated Mark Frost and Peter Wright to reach the fourth round, where he played world number 3 James Wade on the main board and lost 9âÂÂ3. He qualified for the 2010 World Grand Prix, where he lost to Barrie Bates in the first round 2âÂÂ0 in sets.
O'Connor along with Mick McGowan represented Ireland at the inaugural PDC World Cup of Darts in 2010. The pair defeated Slovakia in the first round 6âÂÂ3 in legs. However, they were narrowly beaten in the second round by the Australian duo of Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson 6âÂÂ5, who were number 4 and 16 in the world rankings respectively.
He played in his second World Cup for Ireland in 2012, again paired with McGowan and, as in 2010, they reached the second round this time by defeating Malaysia 5âÂÂ2. They played the same Australian pair as in 2010 next and were whitewashed 0âÂÂ4. The next week he reached the quarter-finals of the first UK Open Qualifier, but was defeated by Kevin Painter 4âÂÂ6. This would later prove to be O'Connor's deepest run in a tournament in 2012. During the year he qualified for three of the five European Tour events. He was knocked out in the first round of the first two, but at the German Darts Masters he saw off Painter 6âÂÂ5, before losing 3âÂÂ6 to Wayne Jones. O'Connor was one of the two Irish qualifiers for the World Grand Prix and missed a dart for the match in the first round against Vincent van der Voort, losing 1âÂÂ2 in sets.
O'Connor began 2013 ranked world number 54, and played in his third World Cup of Darts and first with Connie Finnan in February. The pair beat Denmark 5âÂÂ0 in their first match and despite losing to South Africa 4âÂÂ5 they finished top of Group B on leg difference to reach the last 16. They faced Japan and were defeated 3âÂÂ5. O'Connor was beaten 9âÂÂ4 by Dave Chisnall in the third round of the UK Open having earlier seen off Robbie Singleton and Johnny Haines. He struggled for form after this until the first weekend of November when he lost in the last 16 to Mensur Suljoviàand Gary Anderson in two Players Championships, earning himself ã2,000 in the process.
O'Connor entered 2014 ranked world number 68, just outside the top 64 who had full playing privileges for the year ahead. He entered Q School and had his best result on the third day when he was defeated 5âÂÂ0 by Pete Dyos in the last 16. The result helped him finish 24th on the Q School Order of Merit to claim the final place on offer for a two-year tour card. He was edged out in the third round of the UK Open 9âÂÂ8 by Jamie Lewis. O'Connor and Finnan lost five successive legs in the first round of the World Cup of Darts to be beaten 5âÂÂ3 by Singapore. He was knocked out in the first round of two European Tour events, before picking up his first victory of the season at the European Darts Trophy by averaging 104.36 in a 6âÂÂ4 win over Mensur SuljoviÃÂ. In the second round, O'Connor was 5âÂÂ4 ahead of Justin Pipe but bust his score when on 70 and missed one match dart at double six to be beaten 6âÂÂ5.
At the 2015 UK Open, O'Connor overcame Dean Winstanley 5âÂÂ3, Mark Webster 9âÂÂ5 and Ian White 9âÂÂ6 to reach the fifth round of the event for the first time where he played Stephen Bunting. The opening eight legs were shared, before Bunting took four of the next five and he went on to eliminate O'Connor 9âÂÂ6. He saw off Ian White 6âÂÂ1 and Vincent van der Voort 6âÂÂ3 to reach his first quarter-final in three years and first in a European Tour event at the German Darts Masters. O'Connor led world number one Michael van Gerwen 3âÂÂ1, but went on to lose 6âÂÂ4 despite taking out three 100 plus finishes. O'Connor and Finnan's World Cup second round match with Hong Kong went to a doubles match which they lost 4âÂÂ3. O'Connor was unable to advance past the first round of the World Grand Prix for the fourth time as he missed two match darts against Jamie Lewis.
In 2016, O'Connor was beaten 6âÂÂ5 by Jeffrey de Graaf in the second round of the UK Open. He ousted Tomas Seyler 6âÂÂ3 and Kim Huybrechts 6âÂÂ1 at the German Darts Masters, before losing 6âÂÂ2 to Gary Anderson in the third round. O'Connor did not get past the last 64 of any individual event in the rest of the year. At the World Cup he and Mick McGowan squeezed past Hong Kong 5âÂÂ4 in the first round, but they exited the tournament in the next round after they lost their singles matches to the Northern Irish team of Daryl Gurney and Brendan Dolan.
O'Connor just avoided having to enter PDC Q-School in 2017 as he was ranked 64th on the Order of Merit, keeping his PDC Tour Card. He kicked off 2017 when he defeated Max Hopp, Christian Kist, Keegan Brown, Ritchie Edhouse and Devon Peterson on the way to a quarter final in UK Open Qualifier 1. He eventually lost to Ricky Evans, but coupled with a run to the Last 32 in Qualifier 5, he did enough to make his way into the 2017 UK Open. O'Connor entered the UK Open in the second round, where he took on fellow Irishman Steve Lennon. O'Connor got the better of Lennon 6âÂÂ2 to book a spot in the Last 64. Here, he played Mick Todd, who O'Connor beat 10âÂÂ3 over the longer format. In the Last 32, he played Ronnie Baxter, with O'Connor claiming a super 10âÂÂ6 win to reach his second ever UK Open Last 16. Simon Whitlock was his opponent, and the Aussie proved just too much, defeating O'Connor 10âÂÂ7, although the Limerick man picked up ã6,500 for his run. O'Connor continued his form in Barnsley the following weekend, reaching the Last 16 of Players Championship 3, and the Last 32 of Players Championship 4. He defeated Zoran Lerchbacher and Christian Kist to set up a tie with the world champion Michael van Gerwen in the Last 32. O'Connor beat van Gerwen 6âÂÂ4, but lost to Ritchie Edhouse in the following round. In Players Championship 4 the next day, he beat Jermaine Wattimena and Mick Todd, but was beaten by Mensur Suljoviàin the Last 32. O'Connor then had a couple of bad months, with his best result being a Last 32 in Players Championship 12, where he defeated Ronnie Baxter and Paul Harvey before a 6âÂÂ5 loss to Steve Lennon. He once again teamed up with Mick McGowan at the World Cup of Darts.
O'Connor reached his first PDC final at the 2018 European Darts Matchplay, losing to Michael van Gerwen by a scoreline of 8âÂÂ2. He then won a first PDC title at Players Championship 13 on 30 April 2019, beating Nathan Aspinall 8âÂÂ4 in the final.
In June 2019, O'Connor alongside Steve Lennon made it all the way to the final of the 2019 PDC World Cup of Darts where they eventually lost to Scotland 3âÂÂ1.
In the 2020 PDC World Championship, O'Connor made an apparent calculation blunder in losing his second round match against Gerwyn Price.
O'Connor was selected as a 'challenger' for the 2020 Premier League night in Dublin, Ireland.
In March 2022, O'Connor reached the semi-finals of the 2022 UK Open, recording wins over Connor Scutt, Stephen Bunting, Sebastian Biaà Âecki and recent world champion Peter Wright before losing 9-11 to eventual champion Danny Noppert. O'Connor was again joined by Steve Lennon for the World Cup of Darts, beating Canada 5-2 in the first round before losing 2-0 to the Netherlands. In September 2022, O'Connor reached his second European Tour final, losing 8-3 to Joe Cullen in the 2022 Hungarian Darts Trophy, after beating the likes of Nathan Aspinall, Michael Smith and Dimitri Van den Bergh in earlier rounds. He won his opening game at the World Championship with 3-0 win over Beau Greaves. O'Connor exited the tournament at the second round stage losing to Gabriel Clemens 3âÂÂ0.
O'Connor was joined by a new playing partner for the Republic of Ireland for the 2023 PDC World Cup of Darts with Keane Barry replacing Steve Lennon.
O'Connor made the semi-finals at 2024 PDC Players Championship 30 (PC30), followed by consecutive semi-finals at 2025 PC25 and PC26. At PC7, where he reached the quarter-finals, O'Connor hit a nine-dart finish.
PDC European Tour
PDC Players Championships
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