Lawrence Lustig/PDC

One Hit Wonders: Scott Rand — The original Cool Hand who quickly disappeared

Originally posted on Dartsnews.com | Last updated Aug 18, 2025 10:12 AM ET

Today we launch a new column: 'One Hit Wonders'. Players who achieved one remarkable feat, but disappeared from the big stage just as quickly. We begin with Scott Rand, who made the semifinals at the 2011 Players Championship Finals a bit out of nowhere.

Scott Rand was born on July 4, 1975, in Coventry, England. Rand joined the PDC in April 2010, when no Tour Card system was in place. Not much later he played his first major, at the UK Open he successively defeated Andy Murray and Jyhan Artut before eventually losing to Tony Broughton at the last 96.

Cool Hand, as he was nicknamed, made his first real appearance in May 2011 when he reached the semi-finals of the Players Championship in Crawley. This helped him qualify for the World Matchplay, but things went wrong in the first round after a 10-6 defeat to Wayne Jones.

On the verge of a major final

Rand also managed to qualify for the Players Championship Finals later that year. There he got off to an excellent start with a 6-2 win in his opening match against Jamie Caven. As a reward, he got to take on Raymond van Barneveld in the second round. Rand provided a shock and with a 170 finish he won 8-6.

In the quarterfinals, Rand faced another multiple major winner with James Wade, but he was undeterred by that. Rand continued to impress and eventually sent Wade home 9-5. In the semifinals against Kevin Painter, Rand again seemed to be heading for victory without too much trouble. Leading 9-6, he had two match darts, but both arrows at double 16 missed their target. Painter took advantage and turned the lopsided situation around. 10-9 for Painter and Rand was disillusioned. As a consolation prize he did get 15,000 pounds credited to his bank account and forced his way into the top 32 of the world rankings.

World Championship cracker against Kim Huybrechts

After already reaching the last 32 of the World Darts Championship in 2012, Rand faced Kim Huybrechts in the opening round of the 2013 World Darts Championship. The Belgian started this match as the favorite after being a losing finalist at the Players Championship FInals a month earlier. Huybrechts took a 2-1 lead, but with impressive play Rand still turned the lopsided situation around by winning 3-2. In the end, he was again stranded at the last 32 after a 4-0 defeat to Wes Newton.

In 2013, Rand once again reached the semifinals at a Players Championship, but it would be his last performance of any significance. He also failed to qualify for the 2014 World Championship. In 2014, Rand played several more UK Open Qualifiers, but halfway through the year he left the PDC. Rand has not played a single official tournament since then, so we can still rightfully call him a "One hit wonder" given his place in the semifinals at the Players Championship Finals. In no other major did he even come close to that feat.