British Matchplay

British Matchplay
Tournament information
Venue	Seashore Holiday Camp, Great Yarmouth
Country	England
Established	1976
Organisation(s)	BDO Major (23 editions)
Format	Sets
Final Year	1998
Final champion(s)
Ronnie Baxter

The British Matchplay championship was a major darts tournament organised by the British Darts Organisation.

The tournament lasted for twenty three years and contained eight-man draws. The tournament was usually televised by Anglia Television, who owned the ITV franchise for the East of England.

British Matchplay finals

The complete list of final results: ^[1]

Year	Champion	Score	Runner-up	Prize money	Sponsor	TV coverage
1976	Bill Lennard	4–3	Alan Glazier		Ladbrokes	ITV (World of Sport & Anglia Television) [2] [3]
1977	Rab Smith	3–2	Eric Bristow	£1,500 to winner [4]	Ladbrokes	ITV (Anglia Television) [5]
1978	John Lowe	2–1	Tony Brown	£1,500 to winner [6]	Ladbrokes	ITV (Anglia Television) [7]
1979	Cliff Lazarenko	2–0	Tony Brown	£2,000 to winner [8]	Ladbrokes	ITV (Anglia Television)
1980	Jocky Wilson	2–0	Leighton Rees	£2,000 to winner [9]	Ladbrokes	ITV (Anglia Television) [10]
1981	Jocky Wilson	2–0	Cliff Lazarenko		Holsten	ITV (Anglia Television) [11]
1982	Eric Bristow	2–0	Dave Whitcombe	£2,400 to winner [12]	Fosters	ITV (Anglia Television) [13]
1983	Eric Bristow	3–2	Keith Deller		Fosters	ITV (Anglia Television) [14]
1984	Mike Gregory	3–2	Keith Deller	£3,000 to winner [15]	Yorkshire Bitter	ITV (Anglia Television) [16]
1985	John Lowe	3–0	Cliff Lazarenko		Norwich Bitter	ITV (Anglia Television) [17]
1986	Eric Bristow	3–1	Dave Whitcombe		Fosters	ITV (Anglia Television) [18]
1987	Dave Whitcombe	3–0	Eric Bristow			ITV (Anglia Television) [19]
1988	Bob Anderson	3–2	John Lowe		Poacher Bitter	ITV (Anglia Television) [20]
1989	Bob Anderson	3–0	Cliff Lazarenko			ITV (Anglia Television) [21]
1990	Alan Warriner-Little	5–4	Bob Anderson	£3,500 to winner [22]		BSB [23]
1991	Dennis Priestley	5–2	Phil Taylor			ITV (Anglia Television) [24]
1992	Ronnie Baxter	5–4	Martin Phillips
1993	Steve Beaton	5–2	Ronnie Baxter
1994	Richie Burnett	5–4	Ronnie Baxter
1995	Andy Fordham	5–4	Dave Askew
1996	Martin Adams	3–2	Steve Beaton
1997	Kevin Painter	3–0	Steve Beaton
1998	Ronnie Baxter	3–1	Richie Davies

1. "British Matchplay Winners". DartsDatabase. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
2. "TV listings". Daily Post, Merseyside. 23 October 1976. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
3. "TV listings". Sports Argus (Birmingham). 9 October 1976. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
4. "Rab hits top form". Evening News & Star (Carlisle). 8 October 1977. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
5. "TV listings". Daily Telegraph. 13 October 1977. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
6. "Darts". Daily Record (Glasgow). 4 October 1978. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
7. "TV listings". Daily Mirror. 26 October 1978. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
8. "Yarmouth gala goes ahead again next year". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 6 October 1979. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
9. "Darts upset". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 1 October 1980. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
10. "Anglia to deliver 3 hours of bowls". Cambridge Evening News. 31 October 1980. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
11. "TV listings". Cambridge Evening News. 26 November 1981. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
12. "Jocky may escape this time". Daily Mirror. 7 July 1982. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
13. "TV listings". Daily Telegraph. 28 October 1982. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
14. "TV listings". Daily Telegraph. 18 November 1983. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
15. "Contract coup for champ Gregory". Bristol Evening Post. 18 December 1984. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
16. "TV listings". Cambridge Evening News. 19 October 1984. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
17. "TV listings". Cambridge Evening News. 4 October 1985. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
18. "TV listings". Cambridge Evening News. 3 October 1986. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
19. "TV listings". Cambridge Evening News. 2 October 1987. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
20. "TV listings". Cambridge Evening News. 5 October 1988. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
21. "TV listings". Cambridge Evening News. 13 October 1989. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
22. "Darts". Evening Chronicle (Newcastle). 18 October 1990. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
23. "TV listings". Evening Chronicle (Newcastle). 6 October 1990. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
24. "TV listings". Daily Gazette (Colchester). 11 October 1991. Retrieved 28 October 2025.