British Darts Organisation
Encyclopedia
The British Darts Organisation, or the BDO for short, is a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft
, OBE
. The BDO is a founder member of the World Darts Federation
which was formed in 1976.
The BDO comprises 66 member counties in Britain and organises tournaments for amateurs and professionals.
The BDO set the rules which govern the game of darts, including the size of the throwing oche (2.37m / 7 ft 9 ¼ inches) and the height and dimensions of the board. The BDO organised the first World Professional Darts Championship
in 1978, known for many years as The Embassy - due to its sponsorship by Imperial Tobacco. It is now known as the Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship
- or Lakeside for short.
and BBC
. But by 1988, darts had lost many of its sponsors and only the World Championship remained on television. Some players became frustrated by the lack of opportunity to make a living professionally. A group of 16 players (including all previous World Champions who were still active in the game) created the World Darts Council (WDC), later the Professional Darts Corporation
(PDC) towards the end of 1992.
They wanted to appoint a PR
consultant to improve the image of the game. The 1993 Embassy World Championship
was the last time all the players played in one unified competition as a battle between the players and the BDO would lead to a controversial split in the game
and Andy Fordham
were defeated by the PDC champion Phil Taylor.
The BDO suffered a blow when the UK government banned tobacco companies from sponsoring sports events in 2003 meaning they lost the financial backing of Embassy, who had supported the World Championships since its inception. The owners of the tournament venue, Lakeside have stepped in to sponsor the event since 2004.
The BDO have continued to support players from the grass roots of the game since the "split", although there have been several high profile players who have made a name with the organisation only to later join the PDC. These have included former BDO World Champions, John Part
, Richie Burnett
, Steve Beaton
, Raymond van Barneveld
and Jelle Klaasen
.
Barneveld's career in the BDO helped boost the popularity of the sport in his home country, the Netherlands
. Dutch broadcaster SBS6
has broadcast the World Championship since 1998 and now shows two major BDO tournaments, the International Darts League
and World Darts Trophy
. Subsequently, the popularity of the sport has possibly contributed to the Dutch producing more star players including the 2006 BDO World Champion, Jelle Klaasen
and the 2006 World Masters Champion, Michael van Gerwen
who both subsequently joined the PDC after the 2007 World Championships. A month later, long time BDO player Mervyn King (who once claimed he would never play for the PDC) also followed, showing the continuing struggle for dominance between the bodies.
was the highest profile switch and the 2006 and 2007 Winmau World Masters
winners Michael van Gerwen
and Robert Thornton
switched without defending their titles. Very few players have moved the other way.
When the PDC was first formed in 1992, it had 16 players. This has now grown to over 400, with numerous big-name BDO players making the switch. John Part
, Steve Beaton
, Raymond van Barneveld, Vincent van der Voort
, Jelle Klaasen
, Michael van Gerwen
, Peter Manley
and Mervyn King are only a few of the big name players that have made the switch.
BDO number 1 Robert Thornton
decided to move to the PDC in May 2007. Thornton's first televised tournament was the 2008 UK Open, held at the Reebok Stadium, Bolton. In January 2009 the defection of players continued as the top two ranked players in the BDO, Gary Anderson
and Mark Webster
, both signed with the PDC. 2008 Lakeside Runner-Up Australian Simon Whitlock also signed with the PDC in 2009.
Matters culminated at the subsequent AGM, where all bar one of the incumbent Board were voted out of office (other than Dave Alderman who had already resigned), with only Vic Sexton retaining his seat. Consequently, the Board is now made up of Barry Gilbey (chairman), Martin Adams
, Derek Weston, Wayne Williams, Sue Getty and Vic Sexton.
, UK. The tournament started in 1978 and for the first 15 years it was a unified World Championship, before a separate competition (the PDC World Championship
) began in 1994.
There have been 20 different winners of the event and Eric Bristow is the player with the most BDO World titles including a hat-trick between 1984 and 1986. Raymond van Barneveld matched his overall haul of five world titles when he won the PDC version in 2007. Phil Taylor has also won the PDC title 13 times to bring his tally to 15 world titles.
Previous winners (1978–present)
(Raymond van Barneveld, Phil Taylor, John Part and Dennis Priestley have subsequently won further world titles with the PDC)
The tournament features shorter sets than the World Championship - each set is the best of three legs instead of five at Lakeside. In the 33 year history of the event, only five players have managed to win the title on more than one occasion. Eric Bristow holds the record for most tournament wins with five. Bob Anderson and Martin Adams hold the unique record of winning the title three years running 86,87,88 for Anderson and 08,09,10 for Adams. Only 12 players have won both the Masters and World titles in their career.
Previous winners (1974–present)
and forms the second leg of the Grand Slam having been introduced in 2003. Whilst its format has evolved in recent years, it features players competing in a round-robin
tournament. The 2006 event featured 32 players in 8 groups of 4, which were then reduced to 4 further groups of 4. The top two in each group then went through to the knockout stages.
When Raymond van Barneveld switched to the PDC in 2006, the tournament organisers agreed with the BDO to invite four players from the rival organisation. Van Barneveld (PDC) went on to win the title for the third time in 2006 and Gary Anderson (BDO) won the 2007 event.
Previous winners (2003–2007)
. Its straight knock-out format is comparable to the two versions of the World Championship.
The WDT followed the International Darts League by inviting four PDC players to the tournament in 2006, and again a PDC player (Phil Taylor) won the title.
Previous winners (2002–2007)
in an attempt to bring back sponsors and television.
Jocky Wilson
won the title a record four times - John Lowe
also reached four finals but lost them all.
Final Results
, this was a BBC2 tournament which ran for three years during the peak of darts boom period at the turn of the eighties. Jocky Wilson
was twice the winner.
on October 13, 1984 when John Lowe won £102,000 for the perfect game of darts against Keith Deller. Lowe went on to win the title that year. The tournament was broadcast on ITV and came from The Fulcrum Centre, Slough. ITV ceased coverage after the 1987 championships, and also pulled coverage of the World Masters in 1988 leaving the BBC as the only broadcaster of darts.
The PDC introduced a new version of the World Matchplay in 1994 (see main article Stan James World Matchplay
)
The complete list of final results:
Olly Croft
Oliver Albert "Olly" Croft, OBE is a former darts administrator and the founder of the British Darts Organisation. He was one of the most influential protagonists in darts for almost four decades having set up and run the British Darts Organisation from its inception in 1973 until he was voted off...
, OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
. The BDO is a founder member of the World Darts Federation
World Darts Federation
The World Darts Federation Is a sport governing body and tournament organiser for the game of darts. It was formed in 1976, by representatives of fifteen nations. Membership is open to the official National organizing body for Darts in all nations...
which was formed in 1976.
The BDO comprises 66 member counties in Britain and organises tournaments for amateurs and professionals.
The BDO set the rules which govern the game of darts, including the size of the throwing oche (2.37m / 7 ft 9 ¼ inches) and the height and dimensions of the board. The BDO organised the first World Professional Darts Championship
World Professional Darts Championship
The World Professional Darts Championship is one of the most important tournaments in the darts calendar. Originally held as an annual event between 1978 and 1993, players then broke off into two separate organisations after a controversial split in the game...
in 1978, known for many years as The Embassy - due to its sponsorship by Imperial Tobacco. It is now known as the Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship
BDO World Darts Championship
The BDO World Darts Championship is a world championship competition in darts, organised by the British Darts Organisation . It began in 1978, and was the only world championship tournament until 1994...
- or Lakeside for short.
Split in Darts
After the World Championship began, televised darts became more prevalent with many major tournaments appearing on ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
and BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. But by 1988, darts had lost many of its sponsors and only the World Championship remained on television. Some players became frustrated by the lack of opportunity to make a living professionally. A group of 16 players (including all previous World Champions who were still active in the game) created the World Darts Council (WDC), later the Professional Darts Corporation
Professional Darts Corporation
The Professional Darts Corporation is a professional darts organization, established in the United Kingdom during 1992, when a group of leading professional players split from the British Darts Organisation to form what was initially called the World Darts Council...
(PDC) towards the end of 1992.
They wanted to appoint a PR
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
consultant to improve the image of the game. The 1993 Embassy World Championship
1993 BDO World Darts Championship
-References:...
was the last time all the players played in one unified competition as a battle between the players and the BDO would lead to a controversial split in the game
Since the Split
The existence of two World Championships since 1994 still leads to debate amongst darts followers as to which tournament is the most prestigious. There have been two head-to-head matches between the reigning champions of the two organisations. The challenge matches, held in 1999 and 2004, were not officially recognised as undisputed championship matches. In their respective matches, the incumbent BDO champions Raymond van BarneveldRaymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld , nickname Barney is a professional darts player. He is a five time World Darts Champion, and two time UK Open Champion. From January to June 2008, he was the PDC world number one ranked player...
and Andy Fordham
Andy Fordham
Andy "The Viking" Fordham is an English darts player. He won the 2004 BDO World Darts Championship, beating Mervyn King in the final...
were defeated by the PDC champion Phil Taylor.
The BDO suffered a blow when the UK government banned tobacco companies from sponsoring sports events in 2003 meaning they lost the financial backing of Embassy, who had supported the World Championships since its inception. The owners of the tournament venue, Lakeside have stepped in to sponsor the event since 2004.
The BDO have continued to support players from the grass roots of the game since the "split", although there have been several high profile players who have made a name with the organisation only to later join the PDC. These have included former BDO World Champions, John Part
John Part
John Part is a Canadian professional darts player, who is nicknamed Darth Maple.Part is one of only five players in darts history to be a three time World Champion...
, Richie Burnett
Richie Burnett
Richie Burnett is a Welsh darts player who was the 1995 Embassy World Darts Champion and currently plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. His nickname is The Prince of Wales.-BDO career:...
, Steve Beaton
Steve Beaton
Steve Beaton is an English professional darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation...
, Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld , nickname Barney is a professional darts player. He is a five time World Darts Champion, and two time UK Open Champion. From January to June 2008, he was the PDC world number one ranked player...
and Jelle Klaasen
Jelle Klaasen
Jelle Klaasen is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation and is the youngest darts player to win the World Darts Championship. His nickname is The Matador. He lives in Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands...
.
Barneveld's career in the BDO helped boost the popularity of the sport in his home country, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. Dutch broadcaster SBS6
SBS6
SBS 6 is a commercial TV channel in the Netherlands owned by Sanoma and Talpa Holding . Other channels of the group in the Netherlands are NET 5 and Veronica.- History :SBS stands for Scandinavian Broadcasting System...
has broadcast the World Championship since 1998 and now shows two major BDO tournaments, the International Darts League
International Darts League
The Topic International Darts League was a darts tournament held at the Triavium in Nijmegen, Netherlands. Raymond van Barneveld dominated the tournament, held in his home country, winning it on three of the five occasions it was held...
and World Darts Trophy
World Darts Trophy
The World Darts Trophy was a darts tournament held each September at De Vechtsebanen in Utrecht, Netherlands between 2002 and 2007. The tournament has a playing format comparable with the two World Championships, the BDO World Darts Championship and the PDC World Darts Championship...
. Subsequently, the popularity of the sport has possibly contributed to the Dutch producing more star players including the 2006 BDO World Champion, Jelle Klaasen
Jelle Klaasen
Jelle Klaasen is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation and is the youngest darts player to win the World Darts Championship. His nickname is The Matador. He lives in Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands...
and the 2006 World Masters Champion, Michael van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen is a Dutch professional darts player, nicknamed Mighty Mike. He is the youngest player in history to win a major televised tournament in either the BDO or the PDC, winning the 2006 Winmau World Masters at the age of 17...
who both subsequently joined the PDC after the 2007 World Championships. A month later, long time BDO player Mervyn King (who once claimed he would never play for the PDC) also followed, showing the continuing struggle for dominance between the bodies.
Exodus of Players
In recent years, more and more players have switched from the BDO to the PDC. Four-time world champion Raymond van BarneveldRaymond van Barneveld
Raymond van Barneveld , nickname Barney is a professional darts player. He is a five time World Darts Champion, and two time UK Open Champion. From January to June 2008, he was the PDC world number one ranked player...
was the highest profile switch and the 2006 and 2007 Winmau World Masters
Winmau World Masters
The Winmau World Masters is one of the longest running and most prestigious professional darts tournaments, which began in 1974 - even before the current World Professional Championship...
winners Michael van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen is a Dutch professional darts player, nicknamed Mighty Mike. He is the youngest player in history to win a major televised tournament in either the BDO or the PDC, winning the 2006 Winmau World Masters at the age of 17...
and Robert Thornton
Robert Thornton (darts player)
Robert Thornton is a Scottish darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events after his switch from the BDO in May 2008. He won the prestigious Winmau World Masters in November 2007.-BDO career:...
switched without defending their titles. Very few players have moved the other way.
When the PDC was first formed in 1992, it had 16 players. This has now grown to over 400, with numerous big-name BDO players making the switch. John Part
John Part
John Part is a Canadian professional darts player, who is nicknamed Darth Maple.Part is one of only five players in darts history to be a three time World Champion...
, Steve Beaton
Steve Beaton
Steve Beaton is an English professional darts player for the Professional Darts Corporation...
, Raymond van Barneveld, Vincent van der Voort
Vincent van der Voort
Vincent van der Voort is a professional darts player.-Playing style:Vincent is well known for his spasmodic style and machine-gun speed of play which has gained him a reputation in both the BDO and the PDC for being one of the more erratic throwers in the darting world...
, Jelle Klaasen
Jelle Klaasen
Jelle Klaasen is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation and is the youngest darts player to win the World Darts Championship. His nickname is The Matador. He lives in Breda, North Brabant, Netherlands...
, Michael van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen
Michael van Gerwen is a Dutch professional darts player, nicknamed Mighty Mike. He is the youngest player in history to win a major televised tournament in either the BDO or the PDC, winning the 2006 Winmau World Masters at the age of 17...
, Peter Manley
Peter Manley
Peter David Manley is an English professional darts player who plays in the Professional Darts Corporation. He is nicknamed One Dart as he is known for hitting doubles with his first dart...
and Mervyn King are only a few of the big name players that have made the switch.
BDO number 1 Robert Thornton
Robert Thornton (darts player)
Robert Thornton is a Scottish darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation events after his switch from the BDO in May 2008. He won the prestigious Winmau World Masters in November 2007.-BDO career:...
decided to move to the PDC in May 2007. Thornton's first televised tournament was the 2008 UK Open, held at the Reebok Stadium, Bolton. In January 2009 the defection of players continued as the top two ranked players in the BDO, Gary Anderson
Gary Anderson (darts player)
Gary Anderson is a Scottish professional darts player from Eyemouth, Scottish Borders, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation, and a former BDO and WDF world number one. His nickname is The Flying Scotsman...
and Mark Webster
Mark Webster (darts player)
Mark Webster is a left-handed Welsh darts player who lives in Denbigh. Known as Webby, he plays in Professional Darts Corporation events, having previously won the 2008 BDO World Championship. Mark became a full time professional in 2009, having previously been a fully qualified Gas registered...
, both signed with the PDC. 2008 Lakeside Runner-Up Australian Simon Whitlock also signed with the PDC in 2009.
2011 Annual General Meeting
Prior to the 2011 Annual General Meeting of the BDO, many players and officials within the organisation had expressed increasing degrees of dissatisfaction with the performance of the existing Board of Directors. Particular areas of concern were the BDO's apparent stagnation in terms of creating new televised events and gaining new sponsors. An open letter was circulated to the various counties within the BDO structure, setting out the perceived issues, although the said letter was vague as to actual suggestions for improvement.Matters culminated at the subsequent AGM, where all bar one of the incumbent Board were voted out of office (other than Dave Alderman who had already resigned), with only Vic Sexton retaining his seat. Consequently, the Board is now made up of Barry Gilbey (chairman), Martin Adams
Martin Adams
Martin Adams is an English international darts player. Nicknamed Wolfie or Mr BDO, he is BDO world ranked number one, three-time and reigning BDO World Champion and three-time World Masters champion...
, Derek Weston, Wayne Williams, Sue Getty and Vic Sexton.
Lakeside World Professional Championship
The World Championship is the biggest of the tournaments, held at the Lakeside Country Club, Frimley GreenFrimley Green
Frimley Green is a large village in Surrey, South East England, UK, close to the border with Hampshire. It is close to the towns of Camberley and Frimley, with the nearest major town being Guildford, approximately 10 miles away....
, UK. The tournament started in 1978 and for the first 15 years it was a unified World Championship, before a separate competition (the PDC World Championship
PDC World Darts Championship
The PDC World Darts Championship is a world championship competition for the sport of darts, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation . It was introduced following a dispute in 1994 with the British Darts Organisation, which has run its own world championship since 1978...
) began in 1994.
There have been 20 different winners of the event and Eric Bristow is the player with the most BDO World titles including a hat-trick between 1984 and 1986. Raymond van Barneveld matched his overall haul of five world titles when he won the PDC version in 2007. Phil Taylor has also won the PDC title 13 times to bring his tally to 15 world titles.
Previous winners (1978–present)
- 5 Eric Bristow (1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986)
- 4 Raymond van Barneveld (1998, 1999, 2003, 2005)
- 3 John Lowe (1979, 1987, 1993)
- 3 Martin Adams (2007, 2010, 2011)
- 2 Jocky Wilson (1982, 1989)
- 2 Phil Taylor (1990, 1992)
- 2 Ted Hankey (2000, 2009)
- 1 Leighton Rees (1978)
- 1 Keith Deller (1983)
- 1 Bob Anderson (1988)
- 1 Dennis Priestley (1991)
- 1 John Part (1994)
- 1 Ritchie Burnett (1995)
- 1 Steve Beaton (1996)
- 1 Les Wallace (1997)
- 1 John Walton (2001)
- 1 Tony David (2002)
- 1 Andy Fordham (2004)
- 1 Jelle Klaasen (2006)
- 1 Mark Webster (2008)
(Raymond van Barneveld, Phil Taylor, John Part and Dennis Priestley have subsequently won further world titles with the PDC)
Winmau World Masters
The World Masters is the longest running BDO major title having started as far back as 1974. It is the second biggest major title on the BDO stage. Having been first staged in Fulham, the tournament has been to Wembley, Earls Court, Kensington, the Lakeside Country Club and others but has settled in Bridlington since 2002.The tournament features shorter sets than the World Championship - each set is the best of three legs instead of five at Lakeside. In the 33 year history of the event, only five players have managed to win the title on more than one occasion. Eric Bristow holds the record for most tournament wins with five. Bob Anderson and Martin Adams hold the unique record of winning the title three years running 86,87,88 for Anderson and 08,09,10 for Adams. Only 12 players have won both the Masters and World titles in their career.
Previous winners (1974–present)
- 5 Eric Bristow (1977, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1984)
- 3 Bob Anderson (1986, 1987, 1988)
- 3 Martin Adams (2008, 2009, 2010)
- 2 John Lowe (1976, 1980)
- 2 Dave Whitcombe (1982, 1985)
- 2 Raymond van Barneveld (2001, 2005)
- 1 21 players have won the title once
Topic International Darts League
The Topic International Darts League was a tournament staged in the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and forms the second leg of the Grand Slam having been introduced in 2003. Whilst its format has evolved in recent years, it features players competing in a round-robin
Round-robin
The term round-robin was originally used to describe a document signed by multiple parties in a circle to make it more difficult to determine the order in which it was signed, thus preventing a ringleader from being identified...
tournament. The 2006 event featured 32 players in 8 groups of 4, which were then reduced to 4 further groups of 4. The top two in each group then went through to the knockout stages.
When Raymond van Barneveld switched to the PDC in 2006, the tournament organisers agreed with the BDO to invite four players from the rival organisation. Van Barneveld (PDC) went on to win the title for the third time in 2006 and Gary Anderson (BDO) won the 2007 event.
Previous winners (2003–2007)
- 3 Raymond van Barneveld (2003, 2004, 2006)
- 1 Mervyn King (2005)
- 1 Gary Anderson (2007)
Bullit World Darts Trophy
The World Darts Trophy (WDT) was the third BDO major of the year and the second to be held in the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. Its straight knock-out format is comparable to the two versions of the World Championship.
The WDT followed the International Darts League by inviting four PDC players to the tournament in 2006, and again a PDC player (Phil Taylor) won the title.
Previous winners (2002–2007)
- 2 Raymond van Barneveld (2003, 2004)
- 1 Tony David (2002)
- 1 Gary Robson (2005)
- 1 Phil Taylor (2006)
- 1 Gary Anderson (2007)
Other Major BDO Tournaments
- Dutch Grand MastersDutch Grand Masters dartsThe Zuiderduin Dutch Grand Masters, more commonly referred to as the Zuiderduin Masters, is a major darts tournament held in Egmond aan Zee, the Netherlands, run by the British Darts Organisation and the World Darts Federation. It is held in December and is traditionally the last BDO event held...
- Women's World Championships
- WDF World CupWDF World Cup dartsThe WDF World Cup is a darts tournament held biennially since 1977. The tournament consists of a team championship, a pairs championship and a singles championship. All events have a men's competition, a women's competition and a youth competition . The next World Cup will be held in 2013, in St...
- WDF Europe CupWDF Europe CupThe WDF Europe Cup is a darts tournament held biennially since 1978. The tournament consists of a team championship, a pairs championship and a singles championship. All events have a men's competition, and a women's competition . The next Europe Cup will be held in 2012, in Antalya,...
- British Internationals
- British Inter-County Darts Championships
- Six Nations Cup
- Gold Cup
- British OpenBDO British OpenThe British Open is one of the longest-running darts events, having started just a few months after the first ever Winmau World Masters. The tournament used to be televised by the BBC from its inception, but it ceased to cover the event after 1983. It was often held between Christmas and New Year -...
- England OpenEngland Open (darts)The England Open is a darts tournament that has been held annually since 1995.-List of winners:...
- British Classic
- Scottish OpenScottish Open (darts)The Scottish Open is a darts tournament organised by the British Darts Organisation and has been staged every year in February since 1995. The current venue is the Normandy Cosmopolitan Hotel in Renfrew. In a remarkable series of results, no player has managed to win the competition more than once...
- Welsh OpenWelsh Open (darts)The Welsh Open is a darts tournament organised by the World Darts Federation and affiliated with the British Darts Organisation which has been staged annually since 1988...
British Professional Championship
The Unipart British Professional Championship was a tournament televised by the BBC between 1981 and 1988. After the 1988 championships, the BBC withdrew their coverage of the event and it left UK terrestrial television with only one televised tournament - the World Championships. The game was at an all-time low and players eventually went on to set up the World Darts CouncilProfessional Darts Corporation
The Professional Darts Corporation is a professional darts organization, established in the United Kingdom during 1992, when a group of leading professional players split from the British Darts Organisation to form what was initially called the World Darts Council...
in an attempt to bring back sponsors and television.
Jocky Wilson
Jocky Wilson
John Thomas Wilson known as "Jocky" Wilson, is a former Scottish darts champion. He retired from the game in 1995.Wilson was twice World professional Darts Champion in 1982 and 1989...
won the title a record four times - John Lowe
John Lowe
John Lowe is an English darts player who was one of the best-known men in darts during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the United Kingdom. Lowe is one of only five players to have won the World Championship 3 times.-Biography:Lowe won the World Championship title in three different decades -...
also reached four finals but lost them all.
Final Results
- 1981 Jocky WilsonJocky WilsonJohn Thomas Wilson known as "Jocky" Wilson, is a former Scottish darts champion. He retired from the game in 1995.Wilson was twice World professional Darts Champion in 1982 and 1989...
6-5 John LoweJohn LoweJohn Lowe is an English darts player who was one of the best-known men in darts during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the United Kingdom. Lowe is one of only five players to have won the World Championship 3 times.-Biography:Lowe won the World Championship title in three different decades -... - 1982 Eric BristowEric BristowEric Bristow MBE is a British darts player, whose skill at the game in the 1980s helped turn it into a worldwide spectator sport.- Early career :...
7-3 John Lowe - 1983 Jocky Wilson 7-2 Dave WhitcombeDave WhitcombeDave Whitcombe is an English professional darts player who won several major tournaments and reached two World Championship Finals. He had a long professional career between 1980 and 1992.-Biography:...
- 1984 Mike Gregory 7-4 John Lowe
- 1985 Eric Bristow 7-4 John Lowe
- 1986 Jocky Wilson 7-2 Dave Whitcombe
- 1987 Keith DellerKeith DellerKeith Deller is an English darts player, who won the Embassy World Professional Darts Championship in 1983. He was the first qualifier ever to win the championship and remains one of the youngest champions in history...
7-5 Leighton ReesLeighton ReesLeighton Thomas Rees was the first ever World Professional Darts Champion.-Early life:Rees was born in the village of Ynysybwl, where he was to spend most of his life... - 1988 Jocky Wilson 7-2 Ray Battye (Prize fund £39,700 Winner £11,000 runner-up £5,500)
British Gold Cup
The British Gold Cup began in 1978 and was held in Stoke. It was broadcast on BBC until 1982, with the 1983 tournament blacked out due to a technician's strike.- 1978 John Lowe beat Colin Baker
- 1979 John Lowe beat Tony Ridler
- 1980 Eric Bristow beat John Lowe
- 1981 Tony Skuse
- 1982 John Lowe
- 1983 Bob Anderson beat Paul Reynolds
British Matchplay
The British Matchplay ran from 1976 to 1983 with a brief rivival in 1986. The tournament was broadcast on ITV network television in 1978, but usually broadcast regionally including Anglia Television in 1977 and ATV 1986.- 1976 Eric Bristow
- 1977 Jim Beardmore
- 1978 Keith White
- 1979 Tony Bowers
- 1980 Tony Robinson
- 1981 Rab Scott
- 1982 Dave Lee
- 1983 Eric Bristow beat Keith Deller
- 1986 Terry O'Dea beat Lionel Sams
Bullseye Darts Championship
Not to be confused with the long-running game show BullseyeBullseye (UK game show)
Bullseye was a popular British television programme. It was first made for the ITV network by ATV in 1981 and Central from 1982 until 1995, and hosted by Jim Bowen. The show originally aired on Monday nights from 1981, it was then moved to Sunday nights from 1982 to 1993 where it was watched by...
, this was a BBC2 tournament which ran for three years during the peak of darts boom period at the turn of the eighties. Jocky Wilson
Jocky Wilson
John Thomas Wilson known as "Jocky" Wilson, is a former Scottish darts champion. He retired from the game in 1995.Wilson was twice World professional Darts Champion in 1982 and 1989...
was twice the winner.
- 1979 Tony Sontag beat Tim Stedman 6-1
- 1980 Jocky Wilson beat Eric Bristow 6-5
- 1981 Jocky Wilson beat John Lowe 6-5
Butlins Grand Masters
ATV broadcast the Butlins Grand Masters between 1977 and 1983. Matches were played over the best of nine legs. The tournament was held at a pub in Birmingham. Bobby George was twice the winner and Eric Bristow won a hat-trick of titles.- 1977 John Lowe (bt Eric Bristow)
- 1978 Leighton Rees (bt John Lowe)
- 1979 Bobby George (bt Bill Lennard)
- 1980 Bobby George (bt Leighton Rees)
- 1981 Eric Bristow (bt John Lowe)
- 1982 Eric Bristow (bt Cliff Lazarenko)
- 1983 Eric Bristow (bt Jocky Wilson)
World Matchplay
The MFI World Matchplay championship was short-lived but historic in darts as it featured the first ever televised nine dart finishNine dart finish
A nine-dart finish is the ultimate checkout in the game of darts, constituting a perfect game. It is notoriously difficult to achieve, even by the game's top professionals...
on October 13, 1984 when John Lowe won £102,000 for the perfect game of darts against Keith Deller. Lowe went on to win the title that year. The tournament was broadcast on ITV and came from The Fulcrum Centre, Slough. ITV ceased coverage after the 1987 championships, and also pulled coverage of the World Masters in 1988 leaving the BBC as the only broadcaster of darts.
The PDC introduced a new version of the World Matchplay in 1994 (see main article Stan James World Matchplay
Stan James World Matchplay
The Skybet World Matchplay is a darts tournament, played in a legs format, and is run by the Professional Darts Corporation . The tournament is sponsored by Skybet who take over from Stan James after 10 years.The World Matchplay has been played yearly since 1994 in the Empress Ballroom at the...
)
The complete list of final results:
- 1984 John LoweJohn LoweJohn Lowe is an English darts player who was one of the best-known men in darts during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the United Kingdom. Lowe is one of only five players to have won the World Championship 3 times.-Biography:Lowe won the World Championship title in three different decades -...
beat Cliff LazarenkoCliff LazarenkoCliff Lazarenko is an English professional darts player who competed for the British Darts Organisation and the Professional Darts Corporation...
5-3 (setsSet (darts)A set in darts consists of a sequence of legs played, ending when the count of legs won meets certain criteria. Throwing first is considered an advantage in a leg, so players alternate who throws first in each leg during the set....
) - 1985 Eric BristowEric BristowEric Bristow MBE is a British darts player, whose skill at the game in the 1980s helped turn it into a worldwide spectator sport.- Early career :...
beat Bob Anderson 5-4 - 1986 Mike Gregory beat Jocky WilsonJocky WilsonJohn Thomas Wilson known as "Jocky" Wilson, is a former Scottish darts champion. He retired from the game in 1995.Wilson was twice World professional Darts Champion in 1982 and 1989...
5-1 - 1987 Bob AndersonBob Anderson (darts player)Robert Charles "Bob" Anderson is a former world darts champion. He was ranked as world number one for over three years in the late 1980s. Nicknamed The Limestone Cowboy, he lives in Clevedon in Somerset.-Before Darts:Anderson threw his first darts maximum at the age of just five...
beat John Lowe 5-1 - 1988 Eric Bristow beat Bob SinnaeveBob SinnaeveRobert "Bob" Sinnaeve is a Canadian darts player who won his national title five times.-Early career:Sinnaeve took up darts in 1973 as an alternative to bowling, as he felt the darts circuit would give him more time to spend with his wife, Judy...
5-1
See also
- World Darts FederationWorld Darts FederationThe World Darts Federation Is a sport governing body and tournament organiser for the game of darts. It was formed in 1976, by representatives of fifteen nations. Membership is open to the official National organizing body for Darts in all nations...
- World Professional Darts ChampionshipWorld Professional Darts ChampionshipThe World Professional Darts Championship is one of the most important tournaments in the darts calendar. Originally held as an annual event between 1978 and 1993, players then broke off into two separate organisations after a controversial split in the game...
- Darts tournaments - previous winners, history and information.
- Darts players Profiles of players - past and present.
- Televised Darts Brief history of television coverage.
- List of darts players