British Professional Championship

Last updated
British Professional Championship
Tournament information
VenueFiesta Club Stockton-on-Tees (1981), Gaskins Conference Centre Middlesbrough (1982), Coatham Bowl Redcar (1983–88)
Country Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Great Britain
Established1981
Organisation(s) BDO Major (8 editions)
FormatSets
Final Year1988
Final champion(s)
Flag of Scotland.svg Jocky Wilson

The Unipart British Professional Championship [1] 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 the World Darts Council in an attempt to bring back sponsors and television.

Contents

Jocky Wilson won the title a record four times – John Lowe also reached four finals but lost them all.

British Professional Championship finals

YearChampion (average in final)ScoreRunner-up (average in final)Prize moneySponsorVenue
TotalChampionRunner-up
1981 [2] [3] Flag of Scotland.svg Jocky Wilson 6–5 Flag of England.svg John Lowe £12,000£6,000£3,000Fiesta Club Stockton-on-Tees
1982 [4] [5] Flag of England.svg Eric Bristow 7–3 Flag of England.svg John Lowe £26,000£7,000£3,500Gaskins club Middlesbrough
1983 [6] [7] Flag of Scotland.svg Jocky Wilson 7–2 Flag of England.svg Dave Whitcombe ?£8,000?Coatham Bowl Redcar
1984 [8] [9] Flag of England.svg Mike Gregory 7–5 Flag of England.svg John Lowe £29,600£8,000£2,000
1985 [10] [11] Flag of England.svg Eric Bristow 7–4 Flag of England.svg John Lowe £34,000£9,000£4,500
1986 [12] [13] Flag of Scotland.svg Jocky Wilson 7–6 Flag of England.svg Dave Whitcombe £35,800£10,000£4,500
1987 [14] [15] Flag of England.svg Keith Deller 7–5 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Leighton Rees £38,200£10,000£5,000
1988 [16] [17] Flag of Scotland.svg Jocky Wilson 7–2 Flag of England.svg Ray Battye £39,700£11,000£5,500

References

  1. ↑ Waddell, Sid (10 November 2009). Bellies and Bullseyes: The Outrageous True Story of Darts. Random House, 2009. ISBN   9781407030449 . Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  2. ↑ "British Professional 1981". DartsDatabase. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  3. ↑ "Wilson shock for Evans". Sunday Sun (Newcastle). 27 September 1981. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  4. ↑ "British Professional 1982". DartsDatabase. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  5. ↑ "Bristow is champ". Sunday Sun (Newcastle). 26 September 1982. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  6. ↑ "British Professional 1983". DartsDatabase. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  7. ↑ "Jocky retains title in superb style". Sunday Sun (Newcastle). 25 September 1983. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  8. ↑ "British Professional 1984". DartsDatabase. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  9. ↑ "Gregory's on a high". The Sunday People (London). 30 September 1984. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  10. ↑ "British Professional 1985". DartsDatabase. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  11. ↑ "Ah, it's Bristow". Sunday Sun (Newcastle). 29 September 1985. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  12. ↑ "British Professional 1986". DartsDatabase. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  13. ↑ "Jocky back on the trail". Northern Echo (Darlington). 29 September 1986. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  14. ↑ "British Professional 1987". DartsDatabase. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  15. ↑ "Deller champion and a dad-to-be". Northern Echo (Darlington). 28 September 1987. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  16. ↑ "British Professional 1988". DartsDatabase. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  17. ↑ "Huddersfield darter". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 12 September 1988. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.