All his other appearances saw him beaten in the first round where he lost to the likes of Eric Bristow (1987), Cliff Lazarenko (1988) and Bob Taylor (1994).
Payne is, along with Davy Richardson and Steve West, one of three players to have lost their first five matches at the World Championship.
One of Payne's most notable career landmarks was his defeat of the former English player Steve Brown for the championship title of the 1990 Lucky Lights Challenge of Champions.
In July 1994, Payne crossed the darting divide where he was one of eleven Americans invited to play in the PDC World Matchplay.
After that, Payne retired from darts, preferring to spend more time with his family and newly acquired farm.