a £750 fine and a four-month ban (suspended for 12 months) from the Darts Regulation Authority. Benefit fraud In June 2010, he was given a community order at Newcastle Magistrates Court for benefit fraud charges after he admitted to not declaring £45,000 of winnings between 2006 and 2007 while claiming benefits. He had been arrested whilst preparing to compete at the UK Open televised tournament. Television pundit In 2007, Mason became one of ITV's pundits on the inaugural Grand Slam of Darts, initially alongside the 1996 BDO World Champion, Steve Beaton, but since then by the 2001 World Grand Prix champion and 1993 World Championship runner-up, Alan Warriner-Little. It was ITV's return to broadcasting tournament darts after an absence of over a decade. Mason has remained a feature of ITV's darts coverage as a match summariser and co-commentator during ITV's coverage of the Grand Slam of Darts up to 2010, the European Championship, the Players Championship Finals, The Masters, as well as the UK Opens from 2014 onwards. Personal life Mason took the decision to move from Kilkenny, Ireland to Stoke-on-Trent late in 2006. A few top players had made Stoke their home and Mason made the move partly so he could practice with Andy Hamilton. However, shortly after the World Championship Hamilton switched to practising with Taylor – who broke off from mentoring Adrian Lewis. Mason is a supporter of football club Chelsea F.C. World Championship performances BDO 1996: First round (lost to Andy Fordham 0–3) 1998: Second round (lost to Peter Johnstone 0–3) 1999: Semi-finals (lost to Raymond van Barneveld 2–5) 2000: Semi-finals (lost to Ted Hankey 4–5) 2001: First round (lost to Mervyn King 2–3) PDC 1997: Group Stage (lost to Gerald Verrier 1–3) & (lost to Phil Taylor 0–3) 2002: First round (lost to Dave Askew 3–4) 2003: Quarter-finals (lost to John Part 0–5) 2005: Third round (lost to Colin Lloyd 3–4) 2006: Second round (lost to John Part 3–4) 2007: Third round (lost to Phil Taylor 0–4) 2008: Second round (lost to Kevin Painter 0–4) 2009: First round (lost to John Magowan 0–3) WSDT 2023: First round (lost to Terry Jenkins 2–3) Performance timeline References External links Profile and stats on Darts Database English darts players 1969 births Living people British Darts Organisation players Sportspeople from Bristol Professional Darts Corporation former pro tour players Darts commentators