British Darts Organisation

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The British Darts Organisation, or the BDO for short, is a darts organisation. It was founded on January 7, 1973 by Olly Croft, OBE in the front room of his home in Muswell Hill. Croft formed the organisation with his wife Lorna (died June, 2003), Sam Hawkins, Jim Sweeney and Martin O'Sullivan. The BDO is a founder member of the World Darts Federation which was formed in 1976.

The BDO comprises 64 member counties in Britain and organises tournaments for grass roots players right the way up to professional level.

The BDO set the rules which govern the game of darts, including the size of the throwing oche (2.37m / 7ft 9 ΒΌ 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.

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[edit] Rise and Fall of Darts

After the World Championship began, televised darts became more prevalent on television 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 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

See main article: Split in darts.

[edit] 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 Barneveld 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.

[edit] Criticism

In recent years, more and more players have switched from the BDO to the PDC. Four-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld 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 will be the 2008 UK Open, held at the Reebok Stadium, Bolton.

[edit] BDO Grand Slam

The annual BDO Grand Slam Title comprises the major British and Dutch televised events:

[edit] Lakeside World Professional Championship

See Main Article: BDO World Darts Championship

The World Championship is the biggest of the tournaments, held at the Lakeside Country Club, Frimley Green, England. 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 21 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 11 times to bring his tally to 13 world titles.

Previous multiple-time winners (1978-2008)
5 Eric Bristow (1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986)
4 Raymond van Barneveld (1998, 1999, 2003, 2005)
3 John Lowe (1979, 1987, 1993)
2 Jocky Wilson (1982, 1989)
2 Phil Taylor (1990, 1992)
(van Barneveld and Taylor have subsequently won further world titles with the PDC)

[edit] Topic International Darts League

See Main Article: International Darts League

The Topic International Darts League is a tournament staged in the Netherlands 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)
3 Raymond van Barneveld (2003, 2004, 2006)
1 Mervyn King (2005)
1 Gary Anderson (2007)

[edit] Bullit World Darts Trophy

See Main Article: World Darts Trophy

The World Darts Trophy (WDT) is 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 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)

[edit] Winmau World Masters

See Main Article: Winmau World Masters

The World Masters is the longest running BDO major title having started as far back as 1974. 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 hold the unique record of winning the title three years running in the 1980s.

Previous multiple-time winners (1974-2007)
5 Eric Bristow (1977, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1984)
3 Bob Anderson (1986, 1987, 1988)
2 John Lowe (1976, 1980)
2 Dave Whitcombe (1982, 1985)
2 Raymond van Barneveld (2001, 2005)

[edit] Other Major BDO Tournaments

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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