Robbie 'Kong' Green, born on July 19, 1974, in Liverpool, carved out a career that spanned both the PDC and BDO, delivering major-stage runs, multiple finals and semi-finals, and a record-breaking match average — before a long-term knee injury brought his professional journey to a close.
Green first made a major television impression at the 2004 UK Open, reaching the last 64. The same year he qualified for the World Matchplay in Blackpool, but his debut at the prestigious event ended in the first round, where Bob Anderson proved too strong. Two years later he showed his potential at the 2006 UK Open, battling to the quarter-finals with wins over Jamie Harvey, Chris Mason, Mark Walsh and Terry Jenkins before John MaGowan ended his run. He also qualified for the International Darts League, but a lack of sponsorship money forced him to play fewer tournaments, temporarily slowing his development.
In January 2008, Green switched from the PDC to the BDO — a move at the time only possible for a handful of players. His first BDO tournament was the Scottish Open, where he reached the second round. Returning to his Merseyside roots, he had previously played for Cheshire before representing Merseyside in county darts. The switch proved an excellent sporting decision: at the BDO International Open he reached the semi-finals, defeating Martin Adams, Gary Anderson, Martin Atkins and Ted Hankey along the way, before Ross Montgomery proved too strong. A year later he was selected for England, and in 2009 he reached the final of the Winmau World Masters, beating Ross Montgomery, Connie Finnan and Lourence Ilagan among others. In the final, defending champion Martin Adams awaited. Green led 6-3 and even had a match dart at double 16 for the title, but failed to take it. Adams capitalised, and Green lost six consecutive legs as an almost certain world title slipped away.
Green continued to perform, qualifying for the BDO World Championship, where he faced top seed Tony O'Shea in the opening round at Lakeside and lost 3-2. In 2010 he proved he belonged among the BDO elite: on March 7 of that year he threw a three-dart average of 128.82, still among the highest match averages ever recorded. He also reached the final of the Zuiderduin Masters, racing into a 4-0 lead against Ross Montgomery before Montgomery fought back to win 5-4 in sets. Back at Lakeside in 2011 as a seeded player, he beat Andy Boulton 3-0 before Dean Winstanley won 4-1 in the second round. Later that year he won the Scottish Open, defeating Clive Bardon 5-4 in the final, a victory that briefly took him to world number one.
At the 2012 BDO World Championship, Green was the fourth seed, beating Darryl Fitton before Wesley Harms eliminated him in the second round. A year later came his best Lakeside campaign to that point: seeded fifth, he beat defending champion Christian Kist 3-1 and Scott Mitchell 4-1 to reach the World Championship quarter-finals for the first time. There he faced Tony O'Shea again, won the first set, missed no fewer than eight darts at a double in the second, and lost 5-3. He still enjoyed a strong year, reaching the Winmau World Masters semi-finals after defeating world champion Scott Waites, with James Wilson preventing a final appearance. At Lakeside he went one step further, with tournament averages above 90 in wins over Richie George, Gary Robson and Tony Eccles — producing spectacular finishes of 125 and 164 against Eccles — to reach his first World Championship semi-final, where Stephen Bunting won 6-1. He rounded off the period by winning the Isle of Man Open, beating James Wilson 5-1 in the final with an average of 114.65.
In 2014, Green returned to the PDC, making his Grand Slam of Darts debut and surviving a tough group containing Raymond van Barneveld, Robert Thornton and Vincent van der Voort. After losing to Van Barneveld, he beat Thornton and Van der Voort, deciding the latter match with a spectacular 170 finish in the deciding leg. He lost to Dave Chisnall in the next round, but at the following PDC World Championship, as the 16th seed, he defeated Darius Labanauskas and Peter Sajwani. Before his quarter-final against Jeff Smith, Green was considered the favourite by bookmakers, but Smith caused an upset with a 5-1 win. At the beginning of 2015, Green came through Qualifying School to earn a PDC Tour Card, finishing high enough on the Order of Merit for a two-year card despite not qualifying directly on any of the four days. That year he reached several Players Championship quarter-finals and made the last 16 of the Grand Slam of Darts for the second consecutive year, fighting back from 4-0 and 7-3 down against Robert Thornton — helped by a 170 finish — to 7-6 before losing 10-8.
The 2016 season produced one of the most notable chapters of his PDC career. At the third Players Championship event he reached the semi-finals, where Michael van Gerwen won 6-1; two days later he was in another semi-final at the fifth event, with Ian White winning 6-4. His results earned him a place in the World Matchplay, returning to Blackpool twelve years after his first appearance, where he faced Phil Taylor and lost 10-8. He also qualified for the World Grand Prix, winning the first set against Dave Chisnall and even having the chance to decide the match before Chisnall turned it around. In 2017, Green made his debut at the PDC World Darts Championship, winning just two legs in a 3-0 defeat to Raymond van Barneveld. Later that year he reached another Players Championship semi-final and defeated James Wade 5-1 at the Grand Slam.
At the beginning of 2018, Green still appeared capable of competing on the PDC circuit, even hitting a nine-darter during one of the UK Open qualifying events. Then disaster struck again: a knee injury present since he was 15, following a football incident, had a major impact on his performances. He could no longer qualify for the major televised tournaments or the European Tour and eventually dropped to 77th in the world rankings. At the 2019 UK Q-School he failed to regain a Tour Card, and he has not played in professional PDC tournaments since July 2019. His final match on the PDC circuit came during the Challenge Tour on January 26, 2020, and a few weeks later, on February 16, he played at the Scottish Open for the WDF — ultimately his final darts tournament.
Green's World Championship record reads: 2010 BDO first round, lost 2-3 to Tony O'Shea; 2011 BDO second round, lost 1-4 to Dean Winstanley; 2012 BDO second round, lost 1-4 to Wesley Harms; 2013 BDO quarter-final, lost 3-5 to Tony O'Shea; 2014 BDO semi-final, lost 1-6 to Stephen Bunting; 2015 BDO quarter-final, lost 1-5 to Jeff Smith; and 2017 PDC first round, lost 0-3 to Raymond van Barneveld. Green did not win the major world title he came so close to during his best years, but his career contained enough memorable moments to leave a lasting impression — from promising PDC talent and UK Open quarter-finalist, through a difficult period involving a suspension, to BDO star, world number one and record-setting 128.82 average, and back to the PDC where he once again defeated big names and qualified for events including the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix.
