Darts career
Early career and breakthrough (1993–2006)
Jenkins began his competitive darts career in the British Darts Organisation (BDO), appearing in open tournaments from the early 1990s. He competed at the World Masters on several occasions, reaching the quarter-finals in 2003, where he lost 3–1 to Raymond van Barneveld. Although he never qualified for the BDO World Championship, he established himself as a successful player on the open circuit before switching to the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) in 2003.
Jenkins began climbing the PDC rankings in 2005 following a series of strong performances in non-televised tournaments, including victories at the Primus Masters and Antwerp Open. He made his PDC World Darts Championship debut that year, reaching the third round before losing 4–2 to Ronnie Baxter.
His first major breakthrough on television came in 2006. After reaching the quarter-finals of the 2006 Las Vegas Desert Classic, Jenkins advanced to his first major PDC final at the World Grand Prix. He lost 7–4 in sets to Phil Taylor, but his performances helped him rise to sixth in the world rankings and qualify for the 2007 Premier League.
Major finals and rise to world number four (2007–2009)
The 2007 season was one of the most successful of Jenkins' career. He reached the quarter-finals of the 2007 PDC World Darts Championship, losing a deciding-set match to Andy Hamilton. Making his debut in the Premier League, Jenkins defeated reigning world champion Raymond van Barneveld in the semi-finals before losing 16–6 to Taylor in the final.
Jenkins continued his strong form throughout the year. He reached the final of the 2007 Las Vegas Desert Classic, where he lost 13–6 to Van Barneveld, and advanced to the 2007 World Matchplay final after defeating Taylor in the semi-finals. However, he was beaten 18–7 by James Wade in the final. At the World Grand Prix, Jenkins reached his fourth major final of the season, again losing to Wade, this time 6–3 in sets. He also won two Players Championship titles during the year and rose to a career-high world ranking of fourth.
His 2008 season began with a first-round defeat to Kirk Shepherd at the 2008 PDC World Darts Championship. Jenkins had led 2–1 in sets but missed several opportunities to secure victory against the eventual finalist. He subsequently finished seventh in the Premier League and experienced a number of early exits from major tournaments. Nevertheless, he returned to a televised final at the 2008 Grand Slam of Darts, where he was defeated 18–9 by Taylor.
Jenkins won the Bobby Bourn Memorial Players Championship in early 2009 and continued to perform consistently on the professional circuit. His best result of the season came at the 2009 World Matchplay, where he reached the final for the second time in three years. Once again, Taylor proved too strong, winning 18–4. Jenkins also advanced to the semi-finals of the World Grand Prix, losing to Taylor, and the 2009 Grand Slam of Darts, where he was defeated by Scott Waites. He remained among the world's leading players despite having lost all seven of his major PDC finals to that point.
World Championship semi-final and continued success (2010–2013)
Jenkins reached the third round of the 2010 PDC World Darts Championship, defeating Paul Nicholson and Darin Young before losing 4–2 to Simon Whitlock. His Premier League campaign was disappointing, as he finished bottom of the table. However, he returned to form at the European Championship, reaching the semi-finals before suffering a narrow 11–10 defeat to Taylor. He also advanced to the quarter-finals of the 2010 Grand Slam of Darts.
Jenkins achieved his best result at the PDC World Championship in 2011. He defeated Joe Cullen, Steve Brown and Mark Walsh to reach the quarter-finals, where he overcame Wes Newton while recording a 170 checkout. His run ended in the semi-finals with a 6–2 defeat to Gary Anderson. Following the tournament, Jenkins received a wildcard invitation to the Premier League, although he was unable to qualify for the play-offs.
At the 2012 PDC World Darts Championship, Jenkins again progressed to the quarter-finals after defeating Cullen, Co Stompé and Justin Pipe. Facing defending champion Adrian Lewis, he recovered from a 3–0 deficit in sets to level the match at 3–3, but eventually lost 5–3.
In May 2012, Jenkins won the seventh UK Open Qualifier, defeating Hamilton 6–3 in the final. He subsequently reached the quarter-finals of the 2012 UK Open and the semi-finals of the 2012 World Matchplay. At the latter tournament, he defeated Kim Huybrechts, Van Barneveld and Lewis before losing 17–15 to Wade in a closely contested semi-final.
In 2013, Jenkins reached the third round of the World Championship, where he lost 4–1 to Hamilton despite averaging 100.39. At the 2013 World Matchplay, he narrowly lost 14–12 to Taylor in the second round after recovering from a four-leg deficit to take the lead late in the match.
Later that year, Jenkins won Group Four of the Championship League Darts. Having topped the group standings, he defeated Anderson 6–1 in the semi-finals before beating Michael van Gerwen 6–5 in the final. Van Gerwen recorded a nine-dart finish during the match, but Jenkins won the deciding leg to progress to the Winners Group.
Return to major finals (2014–2015)
At the 2014 PDC World Darts Championship, held in December 2013, Jenkins achieved his first televised nine-dart finish, against Per Laursen in the deciding set of their first-round match. He also recorded a 170 checkout, but lost 3–2 in sets. Kyle Anderson also achieved a nine-dart finish on the same day, resulting in the two players sharing the tournament's bonus for a perfect leg.
Jenkins enjoyed a resurgence during 2014, reaching two further major televised finals. At the 2014 UK Open, he defeated Wade 9–8 in the fourth round, Brendan Dolan 10–4 in the quarter-finals and world number one Van Gerwen 10–8 in the semi-finals. However, Lewis produced a dominant performance in the final, defeating Jenkins 11–1.
Jenkins won the tenth Players Championship event of 2014, beating Stephen Bunting 6–3 in the final. Later in the season, he advanced to the final of the European Championship, where he lost 11–4 to Van Gerwen. It was his ninth major PDC televised final without a victory. He also reached the quarter-finals of the 2014 Players Championship Finals, defeating Van Gerwen before losing to Newton.
At the 2015 PDC World Darts Championship, Jenkins reached the third round before losing 4–1 to Van Gerwen. He subsequently advanced to the quarter-finals of The Masters after beating Taylor 10–7, but lost 10–3 to Van Barneveld.
In March, Jenkins reached his first PDC European Tour final at the 2015 Gibraltar Darts Trophy. He defeated Anderson, Mervyn King and defending champion Wade on the final day before losing 6–3 to Van Gerwen.
On his 52nd birthday, 26 September 2015, Jenkins won the fifteenth Players Championship event in Barnsley, defeating Peter Wright 6–4 in the final with a three-dart average of 108.02. He also reached the quarter-finals of the inaugural 2015 World Series of Darts Finals, where he lost 10–6 to Lewis.
Final PDC seasons and retirement (2016–2018)
Jenkins was eliminated in the second round of the 2016 PDC World Darts Championship, losing 4–0 to Mark Webster. He reached the fourth round of the 2016 UK Open and the second round of both the 2016 World Matchplay and World Grand Prix.
His most notable result on the 2016 ProTour came at the twelfth Players Championship event in Barnsley, where he defeated Steve Beaton and James Wilson to reach the final. He narrowly lost 6–5 to Anderson.
Ahead of the 2017 PDC World Darts Championship, Jenkins announced plans to substantially reduce his participation on the PDC circuit. He cited the demands of travelling to tournaments and intended to spend more time on exhibitions and his antiques business.
At the World Championship, Jenkins defeated Josh Payne in the first round before facing Benito van de Pas in the second. He recovered from a 3–1 deficit to level the match at 3–3, but missed a match dart and eventually lost 4–3. This proved to be his final appearance at the PDC World Championship.
Following his decision to reduce his tournament schedule, Jenkins failed to qualify for the 2018 World Championship, ending a run of 13 consecutive appearances from 2005 to 2017. He made his final appearances on the PDC circuit in 2018, effectively bringing his full-time professional career to an end.
Senior darts career (2022–2024)
After several years away from the professional circuit, Jenkins returned to competitive darts through the World Seniors Darts Tour (WSDT).
At the inaugural 2022 World Seniors Darts Championship, held at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, Jenkins defeated Roland Scholten 3–0 in the first round and Lisa Ashton 3–1 in the second round. He then overcame John Walton 3–1 to reach the semi-finals, where he lost 4–2 to Martin Adams.
Later that year, Jenkins reached the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Seniors Darts Matchplay. After defeating Baxter 8–5 in the second round, he was eliminated by eventual champion Robert Thornton, losing 8–6. He also recorded a 170 checkout during the tournament.
Jenkins returned to the World Seniors Darts Championship in 2023, entering as the thirteenth seed. He defeated Chris Mason 3–2 in the first round before losing 3–1 to Mark Dudbridge in the second round.
At the 2024 World Seniors Darts Championship, Jenkins was again seeded thirteenth. He faced Paul Hogan in the first round but was defeated 3–1 in sets, despite recording a three-dart average of 81.38.
