Career
His nickname is The Punk and he qualified for the Personal Digital Cellular Pro Tour via Q School in 2012 and 2015. Haines made his television debut at the 2009 United Kingdom Open at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton qualifying as an amateur. He lost 7–9 to Mark Dudbridge in the last 64 earning himself £1,000 in the process.
Haines" best result of 2012 was getting to the quarter-finals of the Dutch Darts Masters in Nuland by defeating Peter Wright, Raymond van Barneveld and Jamie Caven along the way before losing 2–6 in the quarter-final to Simon Whitlock.
In his first appearance at the World Championship he lost to world number six Wes Newton 0–3 in the first round after missing a series of crucial doubles. Haines was ranked world number 65 after the tournament.
This result saw him qualify for the United Kingdom Open and Haines beat Nigel Daniels 5–1, but lost 5–2 to William O"Connor in the second round. Haines could only reach the last 32 of one tournament during the rest of the year.
At the United Kingdom Open he lost 5–4 to Nigel Heydon in the second round.
At the seventh Players Championship he advanced to the last 16 for the first time in over a year by winning three games which included a 6–2 victory over Raymond van Barneveld, but he lost 6–3 to Ben Ward. Haines beat Denis Ovens and Peter Wright both 6–4 in the opening rounds of the Gibraltar Darts Trophy and was 4–1 ahead of Steve Beaton in the third round but missed multiple match darts to be defeated 6–5. He reached the last 16 once during the four days of play and went on to finish inside the top 18 on the to earn a fresh two-year tour card.
A last 16 defeat in the first qualifier saw Haines play in the United Kingdom Open, but he lost 5–4 to James Richardson in the first round.
He recorded two last 16 finishes in Players Championship events during the year. Haines eliminated Christian Soethe 6–4 and Benito van de Pas 6–3 at the European Darts Open, but lost 6–1 to Michael van Gerwen in the third round.
The £2,000 he earned was his biggest cheque of 2015. Personal Digital Cellular 2013: First round (lost to Wes Newton 0–3).
