91-612: The Unipart British Professional Championship was a darts tournament organised by the British Darts Organisation and 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
182-501: 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
273-402: A 5–2 win over Wayne Jones from 2–0 down was enough to see him qualify for the knockout stage, where he defeated fellow Dutchman Wesley Harms 10–4 in the last 16, avenged his earlier loss to Kist in the quarter-finals by winning 16–10, and beat Andy Hamilton 16–10 in the semi-finals to set up an all-Dutch clash with Grand Prix champion Michael van Gerwen . Van Barneveld was never behind in
364-624: A 9–8 victory. He played Dave Chisnall in the quarter-finals and never recovered from a poor start in which he lost the opening five legs and succumbed 10–5. However, Van Barneveld gained revenge over Chisnall in the final of the European Tour Event 3 in Düsseldorf , by defeating him 6–4 and claimed his first European Tour title. At the World Matchplay Van Barneveld lost to Terry Jenkins 13–10 in
455-521: A blow when the BBC opted not to renew their contract to cover the annual BDO world championships, bringing to an end the 38 year relationship between the BBC and the Lakeside tournament. The BBC instead decided to focus their darts coverage on a new PDC tournament, the Champions League of Darts . The 2017 and 2018 BDO tournaments were broadcast jointly by Channel 4 and BT Sport . From 2019,
546-675: A round earlier. He was also defeated in the quarter-finals of the World Matchplay by Wayne Mardle , despite leading 12 legs to 7 at one stage. However, Van Barneveld did regain some form in the World Grand Prix reaching the final of the tournament, before being defeated by Taylor by 6 sets to 2. He then lost to Lewis in the quarter-finals of the inaugural European Darts Championship in November losing by 9 legs to 2. Van Barneveld threw another televised Nine-dart finish in
637-421: A slight return of form after he hit 4 100+ finishes and defeated Simon Whitlock 8–3 with a 100.15 average. He went on to win his next match against Adrian Lewis 8–6, before losing to Phil Taylor in their match, 8–3. In week 6, he defeated Mark Webster 8–4 with a high average of 100.98 and also hit a 161 checkout. He went on to defeat Gary Anderson 8–5 in week 7 with an average of 101.44. Van Barneveld finished
728-421: Is the same and that nothing has changed." In 2006, in what was described as a “massive coup” for the PDC, four-time BDO champion Raymond van Barneveld moved to the PDC. Van Barneveld said he was switching for the challenge and to "compete against the best players in the world, including the best, Phil Taylor ." In January 2007, Dutch trio Jelle Klaasen , Michael van Gerwen and Vincent van der Voort moved to
819-726: Is widely regarded as one of the greatest darts players of all time. Van Barneveld is a five-time World Darts Champion (four-time BDO and one-time PDC ), a two-time UK Open Champion and a former winner of the Las Vegas Desert Classic , the Grand Slam of Darts and the Premier League . He is also a twice-winner of the World Masters and the World Darts Trophy , and a three-time winner of
910-560: The 1994 tournament if it was held under the auspices of the WDC. The BDO responded by banning the rebel players from all BDO tournaments. After a long legal battle, the BDO was forced to acknowledge the WDC's legitimacy and the right of players to choose which body they competed for. In return the WDC dropped its claim to being the sport's governing body and renamed itself the Professional Darts Corporation. Following
1001-477: The 2006 World Masters Champion, Michael van Gerwen . The rival PDC ran many more televised tournaments and offered greater prize money, allowing top players to make a full-time living from darts. Consequently, a large number of players who originally played in the BDO "defected" to the PDC. In 2015, one commentator described the BDO as "mostly an unwilling feeder to the PDC: most of its biggest stars... jump ship given
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#17328012990391092-473: The 2009 World Championship in his quarter-final match against fellow Dutchman Klaasen on 2 January 2009. Van Barneveld hit two maximum 180s before nailing treble 20, treble 19 and double 12 to complete his nine-darter in the second leg of the sixth set. The feat earned Van Barneveld £20,000 – the bonus had not been won since Taylor's nine-darter at the UK Open against Jamie Harvey – as he became
1183-458: The 2010 World Matchplay . In the first round against Denis Ovens on 17 July 2010, Van Barneveld hit another nine-darter. After then defeating Alan Tabern and Co Stompé , Van Barneveld defeated former World Matchplay champion, James Wade , by 17–8 in the semi-final. In the final, Phil Taylor defeated Van Barneveld 18–12. At the 2011 World Championship , he lost in the quarter-finals to an in form Gary Anderson . The 2011 Premier League saw
1274-892: The International Darts League , the Dutch Open and the WDF World Cup Singles event. Van Barneveld won the PDC World Cup of Darts four times (once with Co Stompé and three times with Michael van Gerwen ) and the WDF World Cup Pairs once (with Vincent van der Voort ), all whilst representing and captaining the Netherlands. He also won the PDC World Pairs with Roland Scholten . From January to June 2008, he
1365-767: The Order of Orange-Nassau 2002 Nine dart finish European Darts Ch'ships Mechelen 2003 Nine dart finish Swiss Open 2003 I.D.P.A. Leighton Rees Men's Player of the Year Award 2004 Haagse Publieksprijs 2006 Nine dart finish Premier League of Darts 2006 Best Newcomer, PDC Awards 2006 Fans' Player of the Year, PDC Awards 2007 Nine dart finish in the German Darts Championship 2008 Became PDC World number 1 2008 Best Floor Player, PDC Awards 2009 First ever nine dart finish in
1456-704: The World Darts Council 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. This article related to darts competitions or tournaments is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . British Darts Organisation The British Darts Organisation ( BDO ) was a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft . Made up of 66 member counties, it oversaw professional, semi-professional and amateur darts competitions in Britain. The BDO
1547-493: The 2007 Masters of Darts tournament by beating Peter Manley 7–0 in sets in the final with a 107 three dart average. In the 2007 Premier League Darts , he never fared as well as he did in 2006, losing to Taylor twice, Dennis Priestley and Lloyd in the group section. He finished second but lost an error-filled encounter 11–10 to Terry Jenkins in the semi-final. Van Barneveld made amends for his Premier League campaign by inflicting one of Taylor's heaviest defeats (11–4) in
1638-412: The 2009 World Grand Prix over Alan Tabern that he was suffering from diabetes and his absence was in order to get fit and healthy and going to the gym. He also attributed the diabetes towards his form in major tournaments. Van Barneveld reached the World Grand Prix final for the second successive year, but again lost to Taylor, this time by 6 sets to 3. On 28 December 2009, he hit another nine-darter in
1729-637: The 2010 Whyte & Mackay Premier League Darts in Aberdeen. This came during a poor Premier League campaign in which he only finished in sixth place. During the Premier League, Barney said that he was suffering from personal problems back home and claimed that he and his family were being blackmailed. He failed to qualify for the 2010 UK Open, having only entered one of the eight qualifying events (only players who entered three or more events were eligible to qualify). Van Barneveld returned to top form at
1820-547: The 2011 World Matchplay Barney lost his darts. He contacted his sponsors with a S.O.S which meant they had to contact the closest supplier to deliver a new set for him. He received the set with no problems and used them to defeat Steve Brown 10–3 averaging 95.56. Van Barneveld was the victim of one of the biggest upsets in PDC World Championship history in 2012 . He lost 0–3 in the first round to world number 85, James Richardson , winning just four legs during
1911-417: The 2015 women's event, confirmed that she would be withdrawing from the competition. Ultimately, champion Wayne Warren received £23,000, a 77% reduction on the previous year's prize money and the lowest amount received by a winner of the tournament since 1989. In September 2020, the company went into liquidation bringing an end to 47 years of history. In March 2023, the 38 trophies and plaques belonging to
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#17328012990392002-641: The BDO and PDC ran their own separate tours, each with its own world championship. The BDO suffered an increasing number of problems in its later years. Many of its top players defected to the more lucrative PDC. Irregularities at the 2019 World Masters led to the BDO being demoted to associate member status by the World Darts Federation. Financial issues led to prize money for the 2020 World Championship being greatly reduced. The BDO subsequently went into liquidation in September 2020. The BDO
2093-399: The BDO did not confirm what the new prize fund would be. Jacklin cited the failure to secure a sponsor for the event, and the fact that only 15% of tickets had been sold. The reduction in the prize fund and the failure to confirm the reduced amounts that players would receive was criticised by a number of players. In protest at the reduced prize money on offer, Fallon Sherrock , runner-up in
2184-591: The Blue Square UK Open West Midlands Regional on 29 March 2009 in the third round against Kirk Shepherd. Barney only earned £400 for this as Mervyn King snapped up the £4,000 bonus on 28 March 2009 at the Coventry Players Championship with a nine dart finish . In the 2009 Las Vegas Desert Classic, Barney returned to form, losing narrowly to Phil Taylor 13–11 in the final. After the game, Barney took
2275-639: The German Open in March 1991. His first semi-final came at the Swiss Open in June 1991. He returned to Lakeside in 1993, which would be the last time that a unified World Championship would be staged. Van Barneveld served notice of his potential when he hit a 170 checkout to go 2 sets to 1 in front against John Lowe during their second-round match, but Lowe came back to win the match 3–2, and go on to win
2366-583: The Masters and World titles in their career. In January 2020, the WDF assumed full responsibility for the running of the event and will be launching the tournament under the WDF banner. The BDO World Trophy was the newest "Major" Darts tournament added to the BDO's events calendar from 2014 onwards, organised by BDO Events – the new commercial arm of the British Darts Organisation. BDO Events
2457-777: The PDC World Championship 2009 Nine dart finish, UK Open Regional ( WM ) 2010 Nine dart finish in the PDC World Championship 2010 Nine dart finish in the PDC Premier League Darts 2010 Nine dart finish in the PDC World Matchplay Raymond van Barneveld (born 20 April 1967) is a Dutch professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Nicknamed " Barney ", although originally known as " The Man ", he
2548-422: The PDC. By contrast, very few players moved from the PDC to the BDO. 2004 Lakeside champion Andy Fordham moved to the PDC in 2009 and returned to the BDO in 2013. Three time BDO women's champion Anastasia Dobromyslova switched to the PDC in 2008, before returning in 2011. Ted Hankey , after switching to the PDC in 2012, returned to the BDO in 2014. Andy Hamilton and Wes Newton began playing in BDO events at
2639-514: The PDC. They were followed a month later by Mervyn King . BDO number 1 Robert Thornton decided to move to the PDC in May 2008. Gary Anderson and Mark Webster were the BDO's two top ranked players when they signed with the PDC in January 2009. 2008 Lakeside runner-up Simon Whitlock also signed with the PDC in 2009. Weeks after winning the Lakeside title in January 2014, Stephen Bunting became
2730-674: The Vegas Desert Classic, and the Masters of Darts) – he has added eleven non-televised PDC Pro Tour titles (five UK Open Regionals and six Players Championships). 2008 proved to be Van Barneveld's most barren year thus far in the PDC in terms of success, with him not winning a major tournament. His defence of the World Championship crown was seriously thwarted by a bout of flu. He managed to win his first two matches comfortably, although he nearly had to retire during his second-round match due to breathing problems. He
2821-419: The WDF would no longer recognise BDO-organised tournaments. They cited the recent "breach of rules" and "draw changes during their competition", adding "we cannot be a part of or support such activities." On 30 December 2019, five days before the start of the 2020 BDO World Championship , BDO chairman Des Jacklin announced that the prize money for the upcoming event would have to be "reduced somewhat", although
British Professional Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue
2912-479: The World Championship began, televised darts became more prevalent with many major tournaments appearing on ITV 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 19 players (including all previous world champions who were still active in
3003-482: The World Championship – each set is the best of three legs instead of five at Lakeside. In the 40-year history of the event, only 7 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 record of winning the title three years running 86, 87, 88 for Anderson and 08, 09, 10 for Adams. Only 14 players have won both
3094-475: The World Masters after the 1988 event, leaving the BBC as the only broadcaster of darts until 1992. The PDC introduced a new version of World Matchplay in 1994. Raymond van Barneveld European Tour Events Players Championships UK Open Regionals/Qualifiers 1998 BDO Personality Award 1998, 1999 Haaglanden Sportprijs 1999 Major citizen of The Hague 1999 Named in
3185-486: The chance." In 2001, six prominent BDO players, including 1996 champion Steve Beaton and two-time runner-up Ronnie Baxter , announced that they would be competing in the PDC version of the world championship in 2002. Croft insisted the six players would not be missed and suggested that none would have progressed beyond the first round of the tournament. The executive producer of BBC Darts disagreed, stating "You can't just replace recognisable people with unknowns and say it
3276-486: The confusion, officials announced that there would be a redraw, which included fake names, apparently so they could be substituted if more real players arrived. Players were also not informed of the event's prize money in advance. Due to the issues at the World Masters, the World Darts Federation subsequently released a statement announcing that the BDO was to be demoted to "associate member" status and
3367-531: The deciding leg for an 8–6 victory. Van Barneveld lost in a surprise 11–3 semi-final defeat in the Premier League to fellow Dutchman Roland Scholten . Van Barneveld then started a successful run with a 13–5 final victory over Colin Lloyd in the final of the International Darts League for his 11th BDO Grand Slam tournament. He won his first major PDC title in June by beating Barrie Bates in
3458-539: The final and although he missed three chances to win 16–13, he sealed the title in the following leg with an 11-darter against the throw. His win was later named the best PDC Televised Performance of the Year. After all 33 ProTour events of 2012 had been played, Van Barneveld finished fourth on the Order of Merit to qualify for the Players Championship Finals where he lost 6–5 to Steve Beaton in
3549-441: The final brought him that fourth title. Van Barneveld reached his sixth final in 2006, and was aiming to equal Bristow's record of five BDO world titles. However, his opponent, 21-year-old fellow countryman Jelle Klaasen , prevailed 7–5. He has also won the prestigious Winmau World Masters title twice: once in 2001 when he recorded a win in the final over Jarkko Komula of Finland and again in 2005 when he beat Göran Klemme in
3640-487: The final in 2003. He clinched his third world title by beating Ritchie Davies of Wales 6–3. Van Barneveld's 2004 campaign ended in the semi-finals, when Andy Fordham recovered from being 3–0 and 4–2 behind, to beat Van Barneveld 5–4. A fourth title followed in 2005. He never dropped a set in the first three rounds as he beat Gary Anderson , Mike Veitch and Vincent van der Voort . A 5–3 semi-final win over Darryl Fitton and 6–2 triumph over Martin Adams of England in
3731-570: The final of the UK Open at the Reebok Stadium , Bolton . Earlier in the day, he beat Taylor in the quarter-finals, accomplishing one of his dreams which he announced after switching to the PDC. Van Barneveld beat Taylor again just weeks later in the semi-finals of the 2006 Las Vegas Desert Classic . He lost 6–3 to Canadian John Part in the final the following day. In September 2006, soon after losing to 17-year-old Michael van Gerwen in
British Professional Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue
3822-405: The final would eventually come to an end as he was defeated 6–3 by Welshman Richie Burnett . After second round exits in 1996 and 1997 Championships, Van Barneveld claimed his first world title in the 1998 World Championship, in a World Final grudge match meeting against Richie Burnett. This time Van Barneveld was the victor, edging Burnett 6–5 in a game which is often considered to be one of
3913-447: The final. In the UK Open itself, he beat Jelle Klaasen and Andy Hamilton to reach the last 16. In this match he played Peter Wright and looked to be exiting the tournament as Van Barneveld trailed 8–6, with his opponent on a 138 finish to win the match. Wright hit treble 20, single 18 and required a single 20 to leave double tops when he returned. However, he hit another treble 20 to bust his score, and Van Barneveld went on to take
4004-540: The final. Other major darts tournaments that he has won at least twice include The World Darts Trophy and The International Darts League. After playing in the BDO for twenty years, winning four World Championships, Van Barneveld announced his move from the BDO to the PDC on 15 February 2006. He cited his reasons as wanting a greater challenge, and regularly playing against players like Phil Taylor . Having started from scratch in
4095-562: The first World Professional Darts Championship in 1978, known for 26 years as The Embassy due to its sponsorship by Imperial Tobacco until 2003. It was then known from 2004 to 2019 as the Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship , or Lakeside for short. In 2019, before the tournament moved to the O2 Arena in 2020, the tournament was derecognised by the World Darts Federation. After
4186-484: The first ever televised nine-dart finish on 13 October 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 originally came from the Fulcrum Centre, Slough before switching to Festival Hall, Basildon. ITV ceased coverage after the 1988 championships and the tournament ended. ITV also pulled coverage of
4277-517: The first player to throw a perfect leg in the PDC World Championship. Van Barneveld went on to win the match 5–1, with a 161 finish, and then won his semi-final against Wade. However, he lost 7-1 to Taylor in the final. As a result of his failure to defend the £100,000 he won at the 2007 World Championship (his runner-up position earned him £60,000) he dropped from 2nd to 3rd in the PDC Order of Merit . Van Barneveld threw his fourth nine dart finish in
4368-424: The first reigning BDO champion to join the PDC. Three-time defending champion Glen Durrant followed suit in 2019 after winning a PDC tour card at Q School, declaring it "as good as winning the championship at Lakeside." John Part (1997), Richie Burnett (2000), Ted Hankey (2012), Les Wallace (2013), Christian Kist (2014), and Scott Waites (2020) are the other past BDO champions who subsequently switched to
4459-443: The first round of the 2006 World Darts Trophy , Van Barneveld acknowledged that he needed to work on his finishing throws, and he made alterations to his game. He changed his darts and began using the "stacking" technique used by Taylor. The darts used were a gram lighter than his old ones and cost the equivalent of £1 from a local store in the Netherlands. Although he played well in the 2006 World Grand Prix , he lost to Phil Taylor in
4550-438: The first round. Van Barneveld began the 2013 World Championship by throwing the sixth highest average in the history of the tournament in his first round 3–0 defeat of Michael Smith . In a match that lasted only 18 minutes he averaged 108.31 as he never looked in danger of exiting the tournament at the first hurdle for the second successive year. He beat Brendan Dolan 4–1, Gary Anderson 4–0 and Simon Whitlock 5–1 to reach
4641-488: The five major ranking PDC tournament titles in 2007 – the World Championship, UK Open, Las Vegas Desert Classic, World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix ended when he was defeated by Adrian Lewis 16 legs to 14 in the quarter-finals of the World Matchplay in Blackpool . His haul of titles in the PDC continued to grow since his switch. In addition to his five major titles (the World Championship, two UK Open Championships,
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#17328012990394732-405: The following day. He retired again following his first-round exit from the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship. In February 2021, 14 months after retiring, he regained his professional tour card after qualifying at the PDC's Q-School. Van Barneveld began participating in competitive events around the Netherlands since 1984 when he was 17 years old. During that year he won his first tournament, which
4823-493: The game) created the World Darts Council (WDC), later the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) towards the end of 1990. They wanted more tournaments to be staged and to appoint a PR consultant to improve the image of the game. The 1993 Embassy World Championship was the last unified world darts championship. On 7 January 1993, the rebel players issued a joint statement affirming that they would only compete in
4914-402: The greatest finals of all time having reached 5–5 in sets Van Barneveld finally took the title by winning the final set 4–2 in legs on double 8. He successfully defended the trophy the year later by the same winning margin as the previous year, this time against Ronnie Baxter . This made him only the second player in the tournament's history to have launched a successful defence of his title;
5005-431: The halfway stage. Van Barneveld lost the match 21–10. Van Barneveld exited in the first round of the World Championships in 2000, crashing out to Chris Mason , who averaged 100 and ended Van Barneveld's hopes of a hat-trick of titles, as well as avenging a semi final loss from the previous year. Van Barneveld lost in the quarter-finals in 2001 (5–4 to Ted Hankey ) and 2002 (5–3 to Mervyn King ) before returning to
5096-407: The incumbent BDO champions Raymond van Barneveld and Andy Fordham were defeated by the PDC champion Phil Taylor . The BDO board continued to support players from the grassroots of the game since the "split", although there were several high-profile players who made a name within the organisation only to later join the PDC. Raymond van Barneveld 's career in the BDO helped boost the popularity of
5187-583: The last 16. In September, he broke his highest televised average for the second time this year by averaging 113.04 in a 6–1 win against Jenkins at the European Championship . He went on to the quarter-finals, where he lost 10–8 to Kim Huybrechts . In November 2012, Van Barneveld won his first major tournament in over five years at the non-ranking Grand Slam of Darts . He beat Mark Walsh 5–0 in his first group match, before losing 5–4 to BDO World Champion Christian Kist in his second. However,
5278-425: The league phase in second place behind Taylor, but then lost in the semi-final to Anderson, which was the fifth time in six years that Van Barneveld had reached the Premier League semi finals without getting into the final. The 2011 UK Open saw Barneveld progress to the fifth round of the competition where he was defeated 9–1 by an on form Wes Newton who was eventual runner-up. On the day of his first-round match in
5369-488: The match 7–7 to finish 5th in the table, out of the play-off places on leg difference. Van Barneveld won the UK Open Qualifier 5 by beating Andy Smith 6–3 in the final, after earlier overcoming Simon Whitlock and Terry Jenkins . He also hit a nine-dart finish in his third round match against Michael Barnard . He completed a weekend double by winning Event 6 a day later after defeating Ian White 6–2 in
5460-463: The match. He teamed up with Vincent van der Voort for the 2012 PDC World Cup of Darts to try to defend the title Van Barneveld won with Co Stompé in 2010 . Together they enjoyed comfortable victories over Austria and Northern Ireland to set up a semi-final clash with the Australian pair of Paul Nicholson and Simon Whitlock . Van Barneveld beat Nicholson 4–0 in their singles match, but this
5551-541: The microphone from Sky Sports presenter Dave Clark and gave a speech about Phil Taylor. After his quarter final World Matchplay defeat by Terry Jenkins, Van Barneveld took another sabbatical from darts. He declined entries for the Championship of Darts and the South African Masters. There was speculation Van Barneveld was considering retiring from the sport, but he stated after his first-round win in
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#17328012990395642-546: The most BDO World titles including a hat-trick between 1984 and 1986. In December 2019 the World Darts Federation announced that it would no longer recognise the BDO as the ruling body of darts in the UK, no longer recognised the BDO World Championships and thus it no longer became a recognised world championship. In January 2020, the WDF assumed full responsibility for the running of the event and will be launching
5733-405: The now defunct British Darts Organisation were put up for auction in order to pay off creditors that were affected by the liquidation of the British Darts Organisation in 2020. BDO Events Ltd was the commercial arm of the BDO (British Darts Organisation) and was set up in 2013. The annual BDO Major events comprised the following British televised events: The World Championship was the biggest of
5824-477: The other being Eric Bristow. Martin Adams and Glen Durrant would later also achieve this feat. In November 1999, Van Barneveld, the then 2-time reigning Lakeside World Champion, took on Phil Taylor , the then 7-time World Champion and reigning PDC world champion, at the Wembley Conference Centre . It was a legs match with a 60-minute clock ticking down to zero, with a short break at around
5915-566: The peak of darts' boom period at the turn of the eighties. Jocky Wilson was twice the winner. ATV broadcast the Butlins Grand Masters between 1977 and 1988. 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. The MFI World Matchplay championship was short-lived but historic in darts as it featured
6006-413: The popularity of darts in the Netherlands. He is naturally left-handed but throws darts with his right hand. In November 2018, Van Barneveld announced his intention to retire from darts after the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship . On 28 March 2019, following a 7–1 defeat to Michael van Gerwen in his final Premier League match, he announced his retirement with immediate effect, but reversed his decision
6097-429: The quarter-final of the 2007 UK Open and went on to successfully defend his title beating Lloyd 11–4 in the semi-final and Van der Voort in the final 16–8. In doing this, Van Barneveld became the first person to successfully defend the UK Open crown. A month later, he continued his surge of major titles by beating Terry Jenkins 13 legs to 6 in the final of the 2007 Las Vegas Desert Classic . Van Barneveld's dream of winning
6188-546: The quarter-finals to Phil Taylor . Van Barneveld's World Championship debut was at the 1991 Embassy World Championship at the Lakeside Country Club , however had little impact losing 3–0 in the last 32, to Keith Sullivan of Australia. He started to make some progress on the British Darts Organisation circuit in the early 1990s, reaching the quarter-finals of the Belgian Open in September 1990, and
6279-406: The rankings, within twelve months he had reached world number two and became World Champion. His PDC debut came in the 2006 Premier League competition. He won his first match 8–1 against Baxter. On 23 March, he hit his first televised nine dart finish and faced Taylor later in the same night, fighting back for a 7–7 draw. The rematch came on Van Barneveld's 39th birthday, but this time Taylor won
6370-504: The second round of the PDC World Championship against Brendan Dolan , becoming the first player to hit two nine-dart finishes in the PDC World Championship. He went on to reach the semi-finals before losing 6–5 to Simon Whitlock . He also lost the third-place play-off 10–8 in legs to Mark Webster . In the 2010 World Championship , Simon Whitlock defeated Van Barneveld 6–5 in a close semi final encounter. On 29 April 2010, Van Barneveld hit another nine-darter against Terry Jenkins at
6461-406: The second round. Taylor and Van Barneveld met again in the 2007 PDC World Championship final , in a match which Taylor later described as the best final he had been involved in. From three sets down, Van Barneveld came back to beat Taylor 7–6 in the sudden death leg in one of the greatest darts matches of all time to match Bristow's record of five world titles. In February 2007, Van Barneveld won
6552-456: The semi-finals where he faced Phil Taylor . Before the match Van Barneveld commented that he wasn't scared of Taylor and wanted to face him rather than Taylor's quarter-final opponent Andy Hamilton . Van Barneveld was 5–1 down in the match and almost staged a fightback as he won three successive sets to trail only 5–4. However, Taylor won the next set by three legs to one to take the match. The pair were involved in an angry confrontation after
6643-495: The split, the BDO and PDC ran their own tours, including their own versions of the world championship, with separate pools of players. Since there were two World Championships from 1994 onwards, there were calls for head-to-head matches between the two champions. There were two head-to-head matches between the reigning champions of the two organisations. The challenge matches, held in 1999 and 2004, were officially recognised as undisputed championship matches. In their respective matches,
6734-474: The sport in his home country, the Netherlands . Dutch broadcaster SBS6 has broadcast the World Championship since 1998, and used to show two major BDO tournaments, the International Darts League and World Darts Trophy . Both no longer exist. However, the popularity of the sport has possibly contributed to the Netherlands making more star players, including the 2006 BDO World Champion, Jelle Klaasen , and
6825-468: The start of 2018 after losing their PDC tour cards and both qualified for the 2019 BDO world championship. 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
6916-450: The third time in 2006 and Gary Anderson (BDO) won the 2007 event. This remains the only major event to date that Phil Taylor hasn't won in either the BDO or PDC. The World Darts Trophy (WDT) was the third BDO major of the year and the second to be held in the Netherlands . 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
7007-482: The title a record four times – John Lowe also reached four finals but lost them all. British Matchplay ran from 1976 to 1983 with a brief revival in 1986. The tournament was broadcast on the ITV network in 1978, but usually broadcast regionally including Anglia Television in 1977 and Central in 1986. Not to be confused with the long-running game show Bullseye , this was a BBC2 tournament which ran for three years during
7098-770: The title. Shortly after the 1993 World Final, the top players in the World Darts Council (WDC, now the PDC ) were suspended and later banned from BDO tournaments. In 1994, he reached the quarter-finals of both Dutch Open and Berlin Open, the semi-final at the Belgium Open and his first and the Finnish Open, where he lost to Andy Fordham . He continued his good run of form into the 1995 World Championship by beating Les Wallace , Dave Askew , Colin Monk and Martin Adams to reach his first World Final. Van Barneveld's run to
7189-471: The tournament in 2006, and again a PDC player (Phil Taylor) won the title. The British Gold Cup began in 1978 and was held in Stoke. It was broadcast on the BBC until 1982, with the 1983 tournament blacked out due to a technicians' strike. It was then broadcast in 2008 on Setanta Sports in the UK, after a brief stint on the short-lived channel Wire TV (1994–95). The Unipart British Professional Championship
7280-666: The tournament under the WDF banner. The World Masters was the longest running BDO major title, having started as far back as 1974. It was 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. Its last venue was the Circus Tavern in Purfleet . The tournament featured shorter sets than
7371-464: The tournament was no longer covered by one of the former analogue channels and was shown free-to-air on Quest and on sister pay channel Eurosport . The 2019 World Masters was beset with problems. Several seeded players opted not to participate in the event in protest at a change to qualifying criteria. Other players who did attend found they were unregistered, having been unaware of a new rule which required them to register in advance online. Due to
7462-412: The tournaments, held at the Lakeside Country Club , Frimley Green , UK from 1985 until 2019, for its 43rd and final year it moved to Indigo at The O2 . 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 24 different winners of the event and Eric Bristow is the player with
7553-486: Was a founder member of the World Darts Federation in 1974. It also staged a World Professional Darts Championship from 1978 to 2020. In the early 1990s, a dispute between Olly Croft and the top darts players over the decline in TV coverage and sponsorship led to an acrimonious split in the game , with the players breaking away to form their own governing body which became the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Henceforth,
7644-408: 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 Council in an attempt to bring back sponsors and television. Jocky Wilson won
7735-406: 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 but 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. In 2016 the BDO was dealt
7826-648: Was defeated by Kevin Painter in the 3rd round by 4 sets to 2. Following this, he reached the semi-finals of the 2008 Premier League Darts, but was defeated for the third consecutive year at this stage of the tournament, defeated by James Wade . He was also knocked out of the early stages of the US Open, the Las Vegas Desert Classic by Alan Tabern and in the semi-finals of the UK Open by Gary Mawson , after having defeated rival Taylor by 10 legs to 9
7917-408: Was founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft. It gradually superseded the existing National Darts Association of Great Britain (NDAGB), which had been the de facto governing body of darts in the UK since 1954. The BDO set the rules which govern the game of darts, including setting the distance of the throwing oche (2.37m / 7 ft 9 ¼ inches) and the height and dimensions of the board. The BDO organised
8008-512: Was part of the first liquidation when they wound up their commercial business, not long after that the BDO itself also filed for liquidation bringing an end to 47 years as the governing body for darts in the UK. The Topic International Darts League was a tournament staged in the Netherlands and formed 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
8099-526: Was the Rotterdam Open. From there onwards, Van Barneveld was considered among his compatriots as a future potential. In the following years he joined the international darts circuit, achieving further success reaching the semi-finals of the 1987 Belgian Open, and reaching the semi-finals in the 1988 Dutch Open. In September 1990, he participated in the WDF Europe Cup singles where he lost in
8190-470: Was the only point the Dutch won as they relinquished their crown in a 5–1 defeat. Van Barneveld was a Sky Sports pick for the Premier League . During the tournament he produced his then highest ever televised average of 112.28 whilst defeating Kevin Painter 8–6. He went into the final round of matches knowing a win over James Wade would secure him a place in the play-offs, but could only manage to draw
8281-409: Was the world's number one ranked player. His victory over Phil Taylor in the 2007 PDC World Championship final , added to his four previous BDO World Championships brought him level with Eric Bristow as a five-time world champion; he is one of only three players in darts history to achieve this. He is one of the most successful darts players in history, and has had a significant effect in raising
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