James Hurrell Darts - "Hillbilly" Mission Darts at Diplomatgames

James Hurrell is one of those players whose path to the top has been anything but straightforward. The Englishman from the Cotswolds played successfully for years in the BDO and WDF system, was temporarily the number 1 in the WDF world ranking in 2022, won numerous international tournaments and only made the jump to the PDC as a Tour Card holder in 2024.

"Hillbilly" had his biggest appearance on the PDC stage so far at the PDC World Darts Championship 2025/26. There, Hurrell caused one of the biggest surprises of the tournament with a 4-3 victory against Stephen Bunting and reached the round of 16 of a PDC World Championship for the first time.

His personal story is also extraordinary: a life-threatening illness forced Hurrell to take a long break from darts in 2017. It took him about two and a half years to be able to play seriously again. The fact that years later he would make the jump to the PDC Tour and eventually into the World Championship quarter-finals makes his career particularly remarkable.

At Diplomatgames you will find James Hurrell Darts from Mission and matching accessories. But which darts does James Hurrell play, how heavy are his darts and why is he nicknamed "Hillbilly"? Here you can find out more about the career, successes, playing style and equipment of the Englishman.

James Hurrell in profile

Name: James Hurrell
Nickname: Hillbilly
Birthday: July 7, 1984
Place of birth: Banbury, Oxfordshire, England
Hometown: Moreton-in-Marsh, England
Nationality: England
Throwing hand: Right
Dart equipment supplier: Mission Darts
Known match weight: 24 grams
Signature Darts: Mission James Hurrell 90% Tungsten
PDC: active at PDC events since 2020
PDC Tour Card: since 2024
PDC World Championship: Round of 16, 2026
WDF World Championship: Quarter-final, 2022
World Masters: Quarter-final, 2017
WDF World Ranking: Number 1 in 2022
Challenge Tour: Tournament winner, 2023
Walk-on song: "Hillbilly Rock, Hillbilly Roll" by The Woolpackers.

Who is James Hurrell?

James Hurrell was born on July 7, 1984 in Banbury, Oxfordshire and lives in Moreton-in-Marsh in the English Cotswolds.

Unlike many of today's PDC stars, his career did not progress directly into professional sports via the classic Development Tour.

Hurrell played for many years in the traditional BDO and later WDF system.

His first major successes therefore came at tournaments that are familiar to older darts fans.

As early as 2012, he reached the semi-finals of the Dutch Open. Numerous finals and tournament victories followed later.

However, the path to the PDC Tour Card still took many years.

James Hurrell's first major successes

In 2014, Hurrell reached the final of the Isle of Man Classic, but lost to Scott Waites.

In the same year, he also reached the final of the Polish Open.

In 2015, one of his first important international titles finally followed:

James Hurrell won the Finnish Classic.

Further successes followed.

Hurrell won, among others, the Police Masters, the BDO International Open, the Belfry Open, the Isle of Man Classic, the Italian Grand Masters and the Scottish Open.

This made Hillbilly one of the most consistent players outside the PDC.

James Hurrell becomes World No. 1 in the WDF

In 2022, Hurrell reached an important milestone.

He was at the top of the:

WDF World Rankings for most of the year.

From January to November 2022, Hurrell was ranked as the number 1 in the WDF world ranking.

During this period, he won, among others, the Isle of Man Classic, Italian Grand Masters and the Scottish Open.

Particularly interesting from today's perspective is an opponent.

In the final of the Isle of Man Classic 2022, Hurrell defeated:

Luke Littler.

At that time, Littler was far from being the world-famous PDC star he would later become.

James Hurrell's greatest successes

His most important career successes include:

• PDC World Championship Round of 16, 2026
• Players Championship Finals Round of 16, 2025
• WDF World Championship Quarter-final, 2022
• World Masters Quarter-final, 2017
• WDF World Ranking Number 1, 2022
• Challenge Tour Tournament winner, 2023
• Scottish Open winner, 2022
• Italian Grand Masters winner
• Isle of Man Classic winner, 2022
• BDO International Open winner, 2017
• Finnish Classic winner, 2015
• WDF Europe Cup Team Gold with England, 2016
• WDF World Cup Silver Medalist
• several PDC ProTour quarter-finals.

Thus, Hurrell has an unusual mix of successes in the BDO, WDF, and now PDC world.

James Hurrell at the WDF World Championship

At the WDF World Darts Championship 2022, Hurrell entered the tournament as one of the strongest players.

He was seeded sixth and played his way into the:

Quarter-final.

There he met Cameron Menzies and lost 0-4 in sets.

A year later, Hurrell again competed at the WDF World Championship, but was eliminated by Dennis Nilsson.

After that, his focus finally shifted towards the PDC.

The Road to the PDC Tour Card

Hurrell tried several times to secure a Tour Card through the PDC Qualifying School.

In 2023, it didn't work out at first.

Therefore, he played on the Challenge Tour.

And there it became clear that Hurrell certainly had PDC level.

During the season, he threw a nine-darter and finally won the last Challenge Tour event of 2023.

In 2024, he tried again at Q-School.

This time with success.

Hurrell finished fourth in the UK Q-School Order of Merit and secured his first:

PDC Tour Card.

At 39 years old, Hillbilly had finally arrived on the PDC ProTour.

Strong start as a PDC professional

Hurrell didn't take long to show that his Tour Card was deserved.

Already at the first Players Championship tournament in 2024, he reached the quarter-finals.

In the same year, further ProTour quarter-finals and qualification for the Belgian Darts Open on the European Tour followed.

In the end, he even qualified for his first:

PDC World Darts Championship.

James Hurrell at the PDC World Championship 2025

In his debut at Alexandra Palace, Hurrell first met Canadian Jim Long.

And Hillbilly showed hardly any nervousness.

He won:

3-0.

This meant that one of the biggest names in the sport was waiting in the second round:

Michael van Gerwen.

Against the three-time world champion, it was the end of the road.

Nevertheless, Hurrell had won a match directly in his first Ally Pally appearance.

A year later, it was to go much better.

The PDC World Championship 2026 - Hurrell's biggest success to date

At the PDC World Championship 2025/26, James Hurrell achieved his biggest PDC success to date.

His match against Stephen Bunting was particularly spectacular.

Bunting was one of the absolute top players in the world and went into the match as the clear favourite.

Hurrell won anyway.

4-3 against Stephen Bunting.

Hurrell played significantly stronger than Bunting with an average of around 98 points and won a total of 18 legs compared to his opponent's 12.

This meant Hillbilly reached the:

Quarter-finals of the PDC World Championship for the first time.

There he finally lost to Ryan Searle 0-4.

Nevertheless, the tournament was another big step in his career.

What is James Hurrell's playing style?

James Hurrell has a calm and controlled playing style.

Especially under pressure, the Englishman often appears surprisingly composed.

This was particularly evident in his World Championship victory against Stephen Bunting.

While Bunting acted emotionally and tried to push himself and the audience, Hurrell remained relatively calm. He later described this composure as an important factor for his success.

Hillbilly is therefore not a player who constantly tries to create momentum with grand gestures.

His strength lies more in:

Rhythm, composure, experience, and repeatability.

This also fits his relatively classic dart setup.

Which darts does James Hurrell play?

James Hurrell plays Mission Darts.

His Mission Signature Darts are made of 90% Tungsten and have a relatively classic, elongated barrel with different grip structures.

James Hurrell steel darts are available in, among others:

22 grams
24 grams
26 grams.

Hurrell himself is currently primarily listed as using 24-gram Mission Darts.

How many grams does James Hurrell play?

James Hurrell is listed with a match weight of:

24 grams

.

However, it is interesting for buyers that Mission offers his signature darts in several weight classes.

You can therefore also play the basic Hurrell barrel concept if you prefer slightly lighter or heavier darts.

The available variants are:

22 g – 52 mm × 6.40 mm
24 g – 52 mm × 6.65 mm
26 g – 52 mm × 6.95 mm.

The length thus remains the same.

As the weight increases, the barrel becomes slightly thicker accordingly.

What's special about the Mission James Hurrell Darts?

The James Hurrell Signature Darts are made of 90% Tungsten.

Visually, silver, black, and purple dominate.

The barrel has a classic elongated basic shape but becomes more interesting with different grip areas.

Mission combines ring grip structures with a strikingly designed rear zone.

The Mission logo is also laser-etched into the rear part of the barrel.

This makes the dart look modern without using an extremely unusual barrel shape.

This can be particularly interesting for players who generally like straight barrels but want a clearly recognizable grip position.

Who are James Hurrell Darts suitable for?

James Hurrell Darts can be particularly interesting if you:

• prefer a classic elongated barrel,
• are looking for 90% tungsten darts,
• want a clearly defined ring grip,
• grip more centrally or at the back,
• want to choose between 22, 24, and 26 grams,
• or prefer a relatively straightforward professional setup.

An additional advantage is the weight selection.

You don't automatically have to adopt Hurrell's own 24g weight.

If you throw a bit lighter, you can choose 22 grams.

If you prefer a heavier dart, there's 26 grams.

James Hurrell and Mission Darts

Mission is Hurrell's current dart equipment supplier and sponsor.

For the brand, Hurrell has become particularly interesting because his notoriety has significantly increased due to his strong PDC World Championship appearances.

His signature series also has an advantage for amateur players:

It is not excessively exotic in its construction.

So, anyone looking for a 90% tungsten straight barrel with defined grip zones doesn't have to be a Hillbilly fan to get something out of the dart.

James Hurrell's serious health setback

Hurrell's career includes a story that is much more serious than tournament results.

In 2017, Hurrell suffered from severe pain for weeks.

Nevertheless, he initially did not go to the doctor.

When he finally sought medical help, it turned out that his condition was life-threatening: a part of his intestine had almost completely twisted.

Hurrell had to undergo emergency surgery.

The illness then forced him to take a long break.

For about:

two and a half years

he couldn't play darts seriously.

His father's words that changed everything

Shortly before the operation, there was a moment that Hurrell later publicly recalled.

His father spoke to him about his future and motivated him to refocus on darts after the operation.

At that time, it was by no means a given that Hurrell would ever play at a high level again.

But that's exactly what happened.

He returned.

Became number one in the WDF.

Won international tournaments.

Got a PDC Tour Card.

And years later reached the round of 16 of the PDC World Championship.

This comeback story is therefore one of the most interesting parts of his biography.

Why is James Hurrell called "Hillbilly"?

James Hurrell carries the nickname:

"Hillbilly".

This fits his rural image and his hometown of Moreton-in-Marsh in the Cotswolds.

His walk-on music also directly picks up on the nickname.

Hurrell walks on to:

"Hillbilly Rock, Hillbilly Roll" by The Woolpackers

onto the stage.

Despite his rather calm demeanor, he thus possesses a very clearly recognizable player identity.

What does James Hurrell do besides darts?

There is no sufficiently reliable public information about Hurrell's current profession outside of darts that I would take as a confirmed fact for a shop page.

He is sometimes also associated online with cricket, or mentioned as a cricket player. However, the evidence is not strong enough to derive a current part-time profession from it.

Therefore, at Diplomatgames, I would deliberately not invent a profession or adopt one from weak sources.

This is particularly important for good long-term SEO texts, especially for less media-present players.

James Hurrell – from WDF player to PDC World Championship quarter-finalist

James Hurrell's career shows that the path to professional darts doesn't have to be over by your early twenties.

He played BDO and WDF for years.

In 2017, a life-threatening illness forced him to take a long break.

He came back.

In 2022, he became number one in the WDF world rankings.

In 2023, he won on the Challenge Tour.

In 2024, he finally earned a PDC Tour Card.

He won a match directly in his first PDC World Championship.

And in his second PDC World Championship, he defeated Stephen Bunting and reached the round of 16.

Thus, a long-time WDF player became an established PDC professional.

And James Hurrell became for a much larger audience:

Hillbilly.

Buy James Hurrell Darts at Diplomatgames

Are you looking to buy James Hurrell Darts or his Mission Signature Darts?

At Diplomatgames, you will find James Hurrell Darts from Mission, as well as suitable darts accessories, depending on availability.

The signature steel darts are made of 90% tungsten and are available in:

22 g, 24 g, and 26 g

Hurrell himself uses a 24-gram setup.

When making your selection, compare not only the weight but also barrel length, diameter, grip structure, and your personal grip position.

Discover the available James Hurrell Darts at Diplomatgames now and find out if the Hillbilly setup suits your throwing style.

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions about James Hurrell

What darts does James Hurrell play with?

James Hurrell plays with Mission Darts. His signature steel darts are made of 90% tungsten and feature an elongated barrel with various grip areas.

What weight darts does James Hurrell play with?

James Hurrell currently uses 24-gram Mission Darts. His signature series is also available in 22 and 26 grams.

Why is James Hurrell called "Hillbilly"?

"Hillbilly" is Hurrell's official nickname. Appropriately, he uses "Hillbilly Rock, Hillbilly Roll" by The Woolpackers as his walk-on music.

What are James Hurrell's greatest achievements?

His greatest achievements include reaching the round of 16 at the PDC World Championship 2026, the quarter-finals of the WDF World Championship 2022, number one in the WDF world rankings 2022, and numerous international WDF tournament victories.

Did James Hurrell beat Luke Littler?

Yes. Hurrell defeated a then very young Luke Littler in the final of the Isle of Man Classic 2022.

When did James Hurrell get his PDC Tour Card?

Hurrell secured his first PDC Tour Card at Q-School 2024 via the UK Order of Merit.

Has James Hurrell thrown a nine-darter?

Yes. Hurrell has thrown documented nine-darters, including a perfect leg on the PDC Challenge Tour 2023.

Which manufacturer is James Hurrell affiliated with?

James Hurrell is sponsored by Mission Darts.

Where can you buy James Hurrell Darts?

You can buy James Hurrell Darts at Diplomatgames. Depending on availability, you can find Mission James Hurrell Signature Darts in various weights as well as suitable accessories there.