Biography
It is a remarkable darting story – how Jamie Caven has overcome some major handicaps in his life to become one of the best players in the business.
Caven has been blind in his right eye since he was a baby and when he was 20, he had his pancreas removed, which has left him needing four insulin injections a day for the rest of his life.
“I have never known it any different,” said the likeable young man from Leicester, who now lives in Derby and is great friends with another Team Unicorn star in Colin Osborne.
“Apparently, I may have been stung in my eye when I was a few months old and despite several operations, there was nothing they could do,” Caven said.
“Then in 1996, I kept blacking out and I was rushed into hospital, where they found my pancreas was full of tumours. Thankfully, they were benign but the surgeons had to remove my pancreas and I know have to inject myself with insulin four times a day.”
Caven continues: “That’s where my nickname ‘Jabba’ came from, because I am diabetic and I have to keep giving myself the jabs every day but I don’t complain. That’s the way it is and I just get on with it. I have a great life, a great lady and hopefully a great darts career ahead of me.”
At just 17-years-old, he was crowned World Youth Champion and he is now on the verge of the top 32 in the world in the PDC, having reached his first ever TV ‘Major’ quarter-final.
A three-year-deal with Unicorn is sure to help Caven’s rise up the darting ladder.
From No.260 in the world at the start of 2007, he looks certain to break into that all important top 32 by the end of 2009, as his stock continues to rise.
It has been quite a year.
In May, he finally won his first PDC Pro Tour title…..Caven came from 2-4 and 4-5 down to beat Alan Tabern in the final of the UK Open Welsh Regional in Newport.
He had beaten the likes of Co Stompe, Mark Dudbridge and Andy Hamilton along the way.
In June, he also reached the final of the Players Championship tournament in Barnsley – losing a close game to Mark Walsh…..and in between times, ‘Jabba’ starred in the UK Open Finals at the Reebok.
Caven was beaten by great mate and Team Unicorn stablemate Colin Osborne in the quarter-finals but it has given him the taste for the big events.
He has already appeared to two World Championships at the Alexandra Palace.
In 2008, Jamie came through the qualifiers to beat Wes Newton in the 1st Round, before losing to Wayne Mardle….and in 2009, he was unlucky to lose a 1st Round classic to Mark Walsh in the tie-break.
His consistent performances on the floor also earned him a spot at the first ever Players Championship Finals at the Circus Tavern but he never got going and lost in round one to Colin Lloyd.
‘Jabba’ has also reached three other Pro Tour quarter-finals this year. His first PDC Final came in September 2008 but he lost to Ronnie Baxter. It was though, a hint of what was to come.
But it is all about progression and improvement and prospects for the future, which is why Caven was snapped up by Unicorn Managing Director Edward Lowy.
Caven is now full-time professional on the PDC circuit, having given up his job working in the tax office in Leicester.
He now lives in Derby with fiancée Debbie and his friendship with Colin Osborne is certainly paying dividends.The pair practice three times a week and it’s surely no coincidence that since they started practicing, they have both produced the best darts of their careers.
His World Youth title came at Earl’s Court in 1993, when having beaten the tournament favourite Michael Barnard in the semi-finals, he then overcame Lee Palfreyman in the final.
For years, it was the grind of Super League and county darts before fate intervened, with a little help from a certain Philip Taylor!
Caven takes up the story: “Phil was involved with Worthington’s and all over the country, they held the Worthington Masters, where players from competed to play in regional finals.”
“I managed to qualify for my local finals and I won the event. All eight players got to play a leg against the great man. I was lucky enough to beat Phil, who was then kind enough to say on stage that I should play the PDC circuit and deserved some backing.”
Caven added: “And a now dear friend – Peter Clare, who is 67-years-old and runs Mr Tax Limited in Leicester was kind enough to put up some money to help me play some tournaments during 2007. I then qualified for the World Championship and was able to reinvest the £7,000 that I won at the Ally Pally. It’s all gone from there as far as a professional darts career is concerned!”
And Jamie’s success story shows no signs of letting up.
The three-year deal with Unicorn has certainly come at the perfect time and there’s a story behind that too!
After his successful UK Open Finals at Bolton, he was chatting to Unicorn’s Edward Lowy on Facebook.
“At the end of the online chat, I said that perhaps one day it would be great to be a part of Team Unicorn and said ‘ha ha’ at the end of the message! Edward came back saying ‘it was no joke’ and it all went from there….within 10 days, I was part of the best company in world darts!”
He is highly respected by all his fellow pro’s and that is a measure of how far Jamie Caven has come in such a short time.
Caven looks certain to grace all the big darts stages all over the world for many years to come. Unicorn has put its faith in ‘Jabba’ and there is no reason why he shouldn’t enjoy the success that his hard work and dedication deserves.