The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 when a group of leading players split from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form what was initially called the World Darts Council (WDC). Sports promoter Eddie Hearn is the PDC chairman.
The British Darts Organisation (BDO) was a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft, and dissolved in 2020 under the stewardship of Des Jacklin. Made up of 66 member counties, it oversaw professional, semi-professional and amateur darts competitions in Britain. The BDO was a founder member of the World Darts Federation in 1974. It also staged a World Professional Darts Championship from 1978 to 2020.
The BDO World Darts Championship was a professional darts tournament organised by the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and held annually from 1978 to 2020.
The 1989 Embassy World Darts Championship was the 12th World Professional Championships, and was staged at the Lakeside Country Club, Frimley Green, Surrey, England for the fourth successive year. The tournament was organised by the British Darts Organisation (BDO).
The 1992 Embassy World Darts Championship was held from 3–11 January 1992 at the Lakeside Country Club, Frimley Green, Surrey.
The 1997 Embassy World Professional Darts Championship was held from 4–12 January 1997 at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey. It was won by Les Wallace, who became the second Scotsman to become World Darts Champion after Jocky Wilson won it twice in 1982 and 1989. Wallace defeated Wales' Marshall James 6–3 in the final. Wallace also became the first left-handed player to win either version of the World Darts Championship. It was also the second time in four years that two unseeded players had reached the Embassy final, and remains the most recent occasion that this has occurred.
The 1998 Embassy World Professional Darts Championship was held from 3–11 January 1998 at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey.
The 2001 BDO World Darts Championship was a professional darts tournament held from 6 to 14 January 2001 at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey. It was the 24th staging of the competition since the 1978 event and the 16th time it took place at the Lakeside Country Club. The tournament was the first of 44 British Darts Organisation (BDO) tournaments in 2001. The host broadcaster was the BBC and the competition was sponsored by the cigarette company Embassy.
The 2002 BDO World Darts Championship was a professional darts tournament held from 5 to 13 January 2002 at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey, England. It was the 25th staging of the competition since the 1978 edition and the 17th time it took place at the Lakeside Country Club. The tournament was the first of 12 British Darts Organisation (BDO) tournaments in 2002 and a women's world championship was held for the second time. The host broadcaster was the BBC and the competition was sponsored by the cigarette company Embassy.
The 2003 BDO World Darts Championship was a professional darts tournament held from 4 to 12 January 2003 at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey. It was the 26th staging of the competition since the 1978 edition and the 18th time it took place at the Lakeside Country Club. The competition was the first of 14 British Darts Organisation (BDO) tournaments in 2003 and featured a women's world championship for the third time. It was broadcast by the BBC in the United Kingdom and was sponsored by the cigarette company Embassy.
The 2006 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was held from 7 to 15 January 2006 at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey. Defending champion Raymond van Barneveld was aiming to win a fifth BDO world title, equalling the record set by Eric Bristow. However, he was beaten 7–5 in the final by Dutch qualifier Jelle Klaasen; the final was the first and only World Darts Championship final to not feature a British player. Klaasen became the youngest World Champion at age 21 and became the first qualifier to win the World Championship since Keith Deller in 1983, who became the youngest World Champion himself, aged 23. This would eventually be Van Barneveld's last appearance at the Lakeside as he would switch to the rival Professional Darts Corporation the next month.
The 2008 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was the 31st World Championship staged by the British Darts Organisation and was held between 5–13 January 2008 at the Lakeside Country Club, Frimley Green, Surrey.
The 2010 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was the 33rd World Championship organised by the British Darts Organisation, and the 25th staging at the Lakeside Country Club at Frimley Green. Ted Hankey was the defending men's champion having won the title for the second time in the previous year's final against Tony O'Shea. The defending women's champion was Francis Hoenselaar, having beaten seven-time champion Trina Gulliver in the 2009 final.
The 2011 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was the 34th World Championship organised by the British Darts Organisation, and the 26th staging at the Lakeside Country Club at Frimley Green. Martin Adams was the defending men's champion, having won the title for the second time in the previous year's final against Dave Chisnall.
The 2012 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was the 35th BDO World Darts Championship organised by the British Darts Organisation, and the 27th staging at the Lakeside Country Club at Frimley Green. It took place from January 7th to January 15th.
The 2014 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was the 37th World Championship organised by the British Darts Organisation, and the 29th staging at the Lakeside Country Club at Frimley Green.
The 2015 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was the 38th World Championship organised by the British Darts Organisation, and the 30th staging at the Lakeside Country Club at Frimley Green. 2014 BDO champion Stephen Bunting did not defend his title, as he switched to the rival PDC organisation at the start of the season. Scott Mitchell beat Martin Adams 7–6 in the final for his first world title.
The 2016 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was the 39th World Championship organised by the British Darts Organisation, and the 31st staging at the Lakeside Country Club at Frimley Green.
The 2017 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was the 40th World Championship organised by the British Darts Organisation, and the 32nd staging at the Lakeside Country Club at Frimley Green.
The 2018 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was the 41st World Championship organised by the British Darts Organisation, and the 33rd staging at the Lakeside Country Club at Frimley Green.
Scott Waites (men)
Anastasia Dobromyslova (women)
