Darts Player Called 'Biggest Waste of Talent' Found Guilty of Aggravated Burglary

A former world youth champion who appeared at the World Darts Championship in 2017 has been found guilty of aggravated burglary.

Corey Cadby, from Tasmania, stood trial in Australia‘s Supreme Court in Burnie this week following a violent break-in at his uncle’s home.

The 30-year-old stood trial over an early-morning raid on the Elizabeth Town property which left his uncle, Dean Smart, with a fractured skull.

Cadby was eventually found guilty of breaking into the home in the company of two others. He was also found not guilty of the assault which led to Smart fracturing his skull.

According to a report from The Advocate, Smart and his wife had told the jury they recognised their nephew's voice and posture during the break in.

Mr Smart was attacked while he was in his bed. The jury was not satisfied that person was Cadby, who was cleared of causing grievous bodily harm.

Cadby is a former youth champion. Image credit: Getty

Cadby was deemed a darting prodigy when he burst onto the scene in 2016.

He began competing in Darts Players Australia (DPA) events after relocating to Melbourne, and won seven events during his debut season on the DPA Australian Grand Prix circuit.

After beating 16-time world champion Phil Taylor at the Perth Masters, a 21-year-old Cadby secured qualification for the World Championship in 2017 after finishing first in the DPA rankings.

At the time, he had already won a PDC World Youth Championship but unfortunately for Cadby, he fell at the first hurdle, losing to Joe Cullen in what was his only appearance at the Ally Pally.

He would go on to record a victory over another world champion in Rob Cross but soon, he encountered issues in travelling to the UK for events.

It was claimed that run-ins with the law was the reason behind visa problems.

Cadby came up against Joe Cullen at the 2017 World Championship. Image credit: Getty

Even though he was in the top 64 players, Cadby voluntarily resigned his Pro Tour Card in 2020 and refused to compete in a World Series of Darts tournament in New Zealand, a decision which he came to regret as alcohol and depression consumed him.

"I did let a lot of people down at the end and I’m totally ashamed of that," he said in a 2024 interview with Phill Barrs.

“Each day was so hard and that obviously led to alcohol. I was never one bit happy, I was actually depressed every day. I didn’t want to wake up and to be honest, there was thoughts of suicide on my mind.“

Cadby made a return in 2023 and successfully won back his tour card at Q-school. That being said, the Australian did not feature in any PDC events in 2023 and the card was taken off him in January 2024.

Speaking last year, in a chat with Phill Barrs, Cadby outlined his plan to return to the darts scene.

"I think I’m going to go back onto the DPA circuit to get some match practice and hopefully win the Oceanic Masters to get in the Worlds, then while I’m there, I’ll stay for Q School," he said at the time.

“They all say that I’m done – I’m nowhere near done.”