World Darts Championship (WDC) star Owen Bates’ nickname was banned after it was deemed too rude by the Professional Darts Corporation. The young star is kicking off his WDC campaign with a match against Ryan Joyce on Thursday in the afternoon session and will be hoping to go far in the tournament.

The ban came after qualifying for the 2023 WDC, with the PDC not happy that Bates was running with ‘The Master’ as his moniker. Of course, when MC John McDonald would, in theory, read out his full name, the last two words would be ‘Master Bates’.

He was forced to ditch this nickname for obvious reasons and was knocked out in the first round by Steve Lennon. talkSPORT presenter and former footballer Ally McCoist was able to see the funny side of the nickname and was in stitches on broadcast. 

“He’s got to keep it,” said McCoist. “Come on! He’s keeping it. It’s the best nickname. I love it man, it’s hilarious.”

The player was forced to ask the general public for help in finding a new nickname. A poll conducted by The Sun ended up creating a plethora of new suggestions but most of the top results were similarly rude. 

“I remember when I first started, we had only thought of master as a joke,” Bates told the Weekly Dartscast. “It was something that was fortunate, personally, and it was just as a joke. That’s what it’s all about, really.

“I was listening to talkSPORT and my name was mentioned. And how I reacted to it… I just remember it being all over Twitter and all over Facebook. It was only a bit of a terrible feeling, but it was all fun.”

“It started out as a bit of a laugh and a bit of fun, which is the way it should be. When I picked it, I didn’t expect to get on TV.”

When asked about whether it was good for getting his name out there, he said:”Yeah, definitely, all publicity is good publicity! It was in the newspaper for a couple of days in a row and obviously there was a big thing on talkSPORT with Ally McCoist. That was a really funny time.”

Bates was then asked whether the PDC will introduce him at the WDC as “just Owen Bates”, to which Bates replied: “Yeah, I guess so. For the last couple of years when I’ve played Euro tours that’s just what it’s been so it’s fine with me to be honest!”

The 23-year-old Englishman earned a PDC Tour Card last year after finishing second in the Challenge Tour Order of Merit the season before. 

Bates is a former World Youth Championship quarter-finalist and has reached the second round of the UK Open twice in a row. He secured his place at the WDC in October and finshed third in the Development Tour Order of Merit, as well as securing another two years on the tour. 

Born in Exeter, Bates got into darts at the age of nine after being inspired by his father, who had a dart board in the garage. He then began going to the pub with his father during the week and began playing in the pub leagues where he further develop his game as a youngster.