BDO WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP

The 'BDO World Darts Championship' began in 1978, when it was held at the Heart of the Midlands Nightclub in the English city of Nottingham. The following year it moved to the Jollees Cabaret Club, Stoke, where it stayed until 1985. Since then it has been held at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey. The event has been organised by the British Darts Organisation, darts' governing body.
There have been some of darts greatest moments at the BDO World Championship. In 1983, a 22 year-old qualifier from Ipswich, Keith Deller beat the world's top 3 players including Eric Bristow in a memorable final to produce one the greatest upsets in the sport's history.
In 1990, American player, Paul Lim hit the tournament's only ever perfect 9-dart finish in the second round against Irishman, Jack McKenna to win a bonus of £50,000 which was more than the eventual champion.
The finals of 1992 and 1998 both went right down to a final leg decider, having reached 5 sets all and 5 legs all. Phil Taylor defeated Mike Gregory in 1992 and Raymond van Barneveld beat Richie Burnett in 1998. These two matches are often mentioned in a discussion of greatest matches of all time.
Similarly, the final of 2007 was exceptionally nailbiting. Martin Adams was 6 sets up, and after the comfort break, Phill Nixon responded by winning the next 6 consecutive sets. Martin "Wolfie" Adams took victory in the 13th and deciding set, taking the first 3 legs, despite excellent competition from Phill "Nixy" Nixon.
Since 1994, following a dispute with the BDO, a rival breakaway group was formed (the Professional Darts Corporation) and has staged its own PDC World Championship each year at Purfleet's Circus Tavern, Essex.

Contents
Sponsors
Venues
Television Coverage
Final Results and statistics
Notes
Records
Averages
Women's Championship
2007 Championship
External Links
Sponsors


★ 1978 to 2003 Embassy (Worldwide Promotions, Imperial Tobacco)

★ 2004 to present Lakeside Country Club
Venues


★ 1978 Heart of the Midlands Club, Nottingham

★ 1979-1985 Jollees Cabaret Club, Stoke-on-Trent

★ 1986-present Lakeside Country Club, Frimley Green, Surrey
Television Coverage

The tournament has been broadcast by BBC Television every year since its inception. Between 1988 and 2001, the Championship was the only tournament shown on terrestrial television in the UK (Apart from one other in 1995). However it wasn't until 2005 that viewers were able to see every dart thrown live at the World Championship. This was the year that BBC introduced interactive coverage on its BBCi service.
International coverage of the event has increased in recent years. Dutch television station SBS6 has broadcast the event since 1998, as Dutch players have become more prominent in the world game. SBS6's contract to cover the event runs until 2008.[1].
In January 2007, the BBC extended their contract further to 2010. [2]
UK viewing figures for World Championship final.
:2007 3,300,000
:2006 3,620,000
:2005 2,550,000
:2004 3,410,000
:2003 2,810,000
:2002 2,460,000
:2001 3,680,000
:2000 3,700,000
:1999 4,060,000

Final Results and statistics


Year Champion (average in final)[1] Score Runner-Up (average in final) Total
Prize Money
Champion Runner-Up
1978
Welsh
Leighton Rees (92.40)
11-7 legs
English
John Lowe (89.40)
£10,500 £3,000 £1,700
1979
English
John Lowe (87.42)
5-0 sets
Welsh
Leighton Rees (76.62)
£15,000 £4,500 £2,000
1980
English
Eric Bristow (88.10)
5-3
English
Bobby George (86.49)
£15,000 £4,500 £2,000
1981
English
Eric Bristow (86.10)
5-3
English
John Lowe (81.00)
£23,300 £5,500 £2,500
1982
Scottish
Jocky Wilson (88.10)
5-3
English
John Lowe (84.30)
£28,000 £6,500 £3,000
1983
English
Keith Deller (90.00)
6-5
English
Eric Bristow (93.90)
£33,050 £8,000 £3,500
1984
English
Eric Bristow (97.50)
7-1
English
Dave Whitcombe (90.60)
£38,500 £9,000 £4,000
1985
English
Eric Bristow (97.50)
6-2
English
John Lowe (93.12)
£43,000 £10,000 £5,000
1986
English
Eric Bristow (94.47)
6-0
English
Dave Whitcombe (90.45)
£52,500 £12,000 £6,000
1987
English
John Lowe (90.63)
6-4
English
Eric Bristow (94.29)
£60,300 £14,000 £7,000
1988
English
Bob Anderson (92.70)
6-4
English
John Lowe (92.07)
£71,600 £16,000 £8,000
1989
Scottish
Jocky Wilson (94.32)
6-4
English
Eric Bristow (90.66)
£86,900 £20,000 £10,000
1990
English
Phil Taylor (97.47)
6-1
English
Eric Bristow (93.00)
£153,200 [2] £24,000 £12,000
1991
English
Dennis Priestley (92.57)
6-0
English
Eric Bristow (84.15)
£110,500 £26,000 £13,000
1992
English
Phil Taylor (97.59)
6-5
English
Mike Gregory (94.41)
£119,500 £28,000 £14,000
1993
English
John Lowe (83.97)
6-3
English
Alan Warriner (82.32)
£128,500 £30,000 £15,000
1994
Canadian
John Part (82.44)
6-0
English
Bobby George (80.31)
£136,100 £32,000 £16,000
1995
Welsh
Richie Burnett (93.63)
6-3
Dutch
Raymond van Barneveld (91.23)
£143,000 £34,000 £17,000
1996
English
Steve Beaton (90.27)
6-3
Welsh
Richie Burnett (88.05)
£150,000 £36,000 £18,000
1997
Scottish
Les Wallace (92.19)
6-3
Welsh
Marshall James (92.01)
£158,000 £38,000 £19,000
1998
Dutch
Raymond van Barneveld (93.96)
6-5
Welsh
Richie Burnett (97.14)
£166,000 £40,000 £20,000
1999
Dutch
Raymond van Barneveld (94.65)
6-5
English
Ronnie Baxter (94.65)
£174,000 £42,000 £21,000
2000
English
Ted Hankey (92.40)
6-0
English
Ronnie Baxter (88.35)
£182,000 £44,000 £22,000
2001
English
John Walton (95.55)
6-2
English
Ted Hankey (94.86)
£189,000 £46,000 £23,000
2002
Australian
Tony David (93.57)
6-4
English
Mervyn King (89.67)
£197,000 £48,000 £24,000
2003
Dutch
Raymond van Barneveld (94.86)
6-3
Welsh
Richie Davies (90.66)
£205,000 £50,000 £25,000
2004
English
Andy Fordham (97.08)
6-3
English
Mervyn King (91.02)
£201,000 £50,000 £25,000
2005
Dutch
Raymond van Barneveld (96.78)
6-2
English
Martin Adams (91.35)
£201,000 £50,000 £25,000
2006
Dutch
Jelle Klaasen (90.42)
7-5
Dutch
Raymond van Barneveld (93.06)
£263,000 [3] £60,000 £25,000
2007
English
Martin Adams (90.30)
7-6
English
Phill Nixon (87.09)
£278,000 £70,000 £30,000

Notes

1. Each player's average score is based on the average for each 3-dart visit to the board (ie total points scored divided by darts thrown and multiplied by 3). ''see WDF archive pages''
2. Prize fund included £52,000 bonus for Paul Lim's 9-dart finish.
3. The promoters began to include the £52,000 bonus for a 9-dart finish as part of the prize fund for publicity and promotional announcements, despite it not being won. The prize fund was actually £10,000 higher than the previous year.

Records


''Since the split in darts two versions of the world championship have existed since 1994, this record section relates specifically to achievements in the BDO version.''
:'Most titles': ''Eric Bristow 5''. Raymond van Barneveld has won four titles (plus one PDC world championship). Phil Taylor won this title twice, but has added eleven PDC World Championships to his haul.
:'Most finals': ''Eric Bristow 10''. John Lowe appeared in eight finals and Raymond van Barneveld reached the final six times. Phil Taylor has appeared in 16 world finals when combining PDC and BDO totals.
:'Youngest champion': ''Jelle Klaasen 21 years 90 days (2006)''.
:'Youngest competitor': ''Michael van Gerwen 17 years 257 days (2007)''.
:'Oldest champion': ''Martin Adams 50 years 224 days (2007)''. Adams opponent in that final, Phill Nixon was three months older than Adams and would have been the oldest ever winner himself.
:'Number of different winners': ''19''. Martin Adams became the 19th different name on the trophy when he won the 2007 world title. Despite the presence of the PDC World title, there are still only 19 world champions - no player has ever won the PDC World Championship without having won the BDO title previously.
:'Unsuccessful title defences' Jelle Klaasen's first round defeat on the defence of his title was the sixth time in the history of the event that a defending champion had suffered a defeat in his first match after winning the title. The others were 1980 John Lowe (to Cliff Lazarenko in the 2nd round, having received a bye in 1st round), 1982 Eric Bristow (to Steve Brennan), 1984 Keith Deller (to Nicky Virachkul), 2000 Raymond van Barneveld (to Chris Mason), 2005 Andy Fordham (to Vincent van der Voort), 2007 Jelle Klaasen (to Co Stompe)
:'Losing finalists': Only four players have appeared in two world finals without taking the title - Dave Whitcombe, Bobby George, Mervyn King and Ronnie Baxter. Mike Gregory, Alan Warriner, Marshall James, Richie Davies and Phill Nixon take the total to just nine players who have reached the final without ever winning it.
:'Top seed defeats': The number one seed has been dumped out in the first round of the championship on seven occasions, Steve Beaton suffered this fate two years in succession. 1978 Eric Bristow (to Conrad Daniels), :1980 John Lowe (to Cliff Lazarenko in the 2nd round, having received a bye in 1st round), 1982 Eric Bristow (to Steve Brennan), 1994 Steve Beaton (to Nick Gedney), 1995 Steve Beaton (to Dave Askew), 1997 Martin Adams (to Roger Carter), 2000 Raymond van Barneveld (to Chris Mason).
:'Left handed champion': Les Wallace is the only one left-handed player to have won the title. John Walton was the first player to win the title whilst wearing spectacles, Martin Adams became the second in 2007.

Averages


Since the breakaway of the PDC players, there has been much debate about the relative merits of the players within each organisation. The debate often focuses on the three-dart averages of players in matches. The averages don't necessarily reflect the quality of the players, but the figures are often analysed.
Since the BDO Championship started in 1978, there have been 18 occasions where a player has achieved a three-dart average in excess of 100 during a match. Keith Deller was the first player to achieve an average of 100, in the quarter-final of 1985 against John Lowe. Surprisingly he lost the match. It wasn't until Phil Taylor's semi-final of 1990 that another player managed a 100 average. Raymond van Barneveld has achieved the feat six times.

★ 103.83 Raymond van Barneveld (2004, Quarter-Final) v John Walton

★ 102.63 Dennis Priestley (1993, 1st Round) v Jocky Wilson

★ 101.67 Mervyn King (2002, Quarter-Final) v Raymond Barneveld

★ 101.55 Ted Hankey (1998, 1st Round) v Wayne Weening

★ 101.40 Marko Pusa (2001, 2nd Round) v Jez Porter

★ 101.28 Martin Adams (2002, Quarter-Final) v Wayne Jones

★ 101.10 Raymond van Barneveld (2002, Quarter-Final) v Mervyn King (lost match)

★ 100.92 Raymond van Barneveld (2005, 2nd Round) v Mike Veitch

★ 100.83 Raymond van Barneveld (2003, Quarter-Final) v Eric Clarys

★ 100.83 Raymond van Barneveld (2002, 1st Round) v Bobby George

★ 100.80 Phil Taylor (1990, Semi-Final) v Cliff Lazarenko

★ 100.71 Raymond van Barneveld (2002, 2nd Round) v Eric Clarys

★ 100.62 Martin Adams (1999, 2nd Round) v Graham Hunt

★ 100.62 John Walton (2001, 1st Round) v Ritchie Davies

★ 100.38 Ted Hankey (1999, 1st Round) v Roger Carter

★ 100.29 Keith Deller (1985, Quarter-Final) v John Lowe (lost match)

★ 100.07 Martin Adams (2007, 1st Round) v Tony O'Shea

★ 100.02 Chris Mason (2000, 1st Round) v Raymond Barneveld
There have also been three players who have averaged over 99.50, just missing the 100 barrier.

★ 99.99 Phil Taylor (1991, 2nd Round) v Tony Payne

★ 99.96 Bob Anderson (1989, 2nd Round) v Wayne Weening

★ 99.66 Eric Bristow (1985, Semi-Final) v Dave Whitcombe

Women's Championship


The women's World Championship started at Lakeside in 2001 and Trina Gulliver has won all seven championships to date. Her seventh title in 2007 took her overall record at the Lakeside to 20 match wins and having only dropped four sets in the history of the championship - one each in the finals of 2001, 2002 and 2007 and one in the quarter final of 2003. She managed a long run of 13 consecutive matches without dropping a single set, which started the semi-final of 2003 and ended in the final of 2007.
Gulliver has topped 90 for match averages on three occasions at the the World Championships
:95.97 (2006 Semi-Final v Clair Bywaters)
:94.92 (2001 Semi-Final v Crissy Manley)
:90.24 (2004 Semi-Final v Karin Krappen)
Year Champion (average in final) Score Runner-Up (average in final)
2001 Trina Gulliver (83.97) 2-1 (sets) Mandy Solomons (79.11)
2002 Trina Gulliver (84.36) 2-1 (sets) Francis Hoenselaar (82.95)
2003 Trina Gulliver (84.93) 2-0 (sets) Anne Kirk (70.20)
2004 Trina Gulliver (87.03) 2-0 (sets) Francis Hoenselaar (85.44)
2005 Trina Gulliver (79.68) 2-0 (sets) Francis Hoenselaar (73.89)
2006 Trina Gulliver (73.80) 2-0 (sets) Francis Hoenselaar (70.26)
2007 Trina Gulliver (80.61) 2-1 (sets) Francis Hoenselaar (79.23)

2007 Championship


''see main article: 2007 BDO World Darts Championship''
The 2007 Lakeside World Championship was the 30th Championship and was held between January 6, 2007 and January 14, 2007 at the Lakeside Country Club, Frimley Green, Surrey.
Despite an increase in the number of seeded players to 16, defending champion Jelle Klaasen was unseeded and lost to fellow Dutchman, Co Stompe in the first round.
Martin Adams became the World Champion by beating qualifier Phill Nixon in a dramatic final. Adams was 6-0 up before Nixon almost pulled off the most sensational comeback in darts history when he fought back to level the match. Adams regained his composure to win three straight legs in the deciding set.

External Links



Official BDO website

Official website for Lakeside World Darts

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