Ross is on the brink
Ross ‘The Boss’ Montgomery is on the verge of toppling the great Jocky Wilson as Scotland’s most successful darts player on the International stage.
The 55 year-old has been selected for the Celtic Cup at the end of February in Northern Ireland and needs just three more triumphs to top the all-time charts for the most victories by a Scotland player.
Wilson, who won the Lakeside World Championships in 1982 and 1989, currently holds the record with 37 wins.
But Scotland captain Montgomery is within touching distance on 35 victories.
The Boss already has a better win ratio than Wilson as the Fifer took 60 games to amass his total, while Montgomery has played 50 games – giving them a win percentage of 62 and 70 per cent, respectively.
Montgomery can now surpass his hero this year with a few more wins, starting with the Celtic Cup against Wales and Northern Ireland. The Greenhills ace said: “To top the legend that is Jocky Wilson for the all-time number of international wins would be some accolade to have.
“I never met him, but what he did for Scottish darts was brilliant. He is a legend of the sport.
“It’s something a few of the players on the circuit are aware of and they have always said to me that it would be a great thing for my children and grandchildren to see, but I try not to think about it too much at the moment.
“I have a minimum of four
internationals to play this year, possibly more, so we’ll see what happens.
“I love playing for my country and when I put that Scotland shirt on not many people can beat me.”
The news comes after Montgomery crashed out in the first round of the Lakeside World Championships for the seventh time in 11 years a few weeks ago.
“I’m putting Lakeside to the back of mind and moving on,”he added.
“I don’t know why, but the international darts seem to bring out the best in me.”
Montgomery admits he considered playing in the PDC Qualifying School tournament a fortnight ago which, had he been successful, would have seen him switch sides from the British Darts Organisation.
However, he revealed the chance to beat Wilson’s record was a major factor in committing to the BDO for another year.
“I’m not going to lie, Q-School did cross my mind,”The Boss admitted.
“But a couple of things stopped me. The chance to beat Jocky’s record is a big reason and I also gave my word to the organiser of the new West-Fries Open, that I would play in it, so I didn’t want to go back on that promise.”
For the moment, though, Montgomery’s immediate attention turns to this weekend’s Dutch Open.
A champion in 2014 and a finalist last year, losing to 2017 Lakeside finalist Mark McGeeney, The Boss is relishing his return to Assen, where he will also play in the pairs with Martin‘Wolfie’Adams.
He said:“I’ve always placed well there and it’s one of my favourite events.”