Eric John Bristow, nicknamed "The Crafty Cockney", was an English professional darts player.
John Lowe is an English former professional darts player. Along with Eric Bristow and Jocky Wilson, he was known for dominating darts during the 1980s. Lowe was world champion on three occasions, in 1979, 1987 and 1993. He was also a two-time winner of the Winmau World Masters and a two-time World Cup singles champion. In total, Lowe won 15 BDO and WDF majors. He held the World No. 1 ranking on four occasions. In October 1984, he became the first player to hit a televised nine-dart finish.
John Thomas "Jocky" Wilson was a Scottish professional darts player. After turning pro in 1979, he quickly rose to the top of the game, winning the World Professional Darts Championship in 1982, then again in 1989. Wilson competed in all major darts tournaments of the era and won the British Professional Championship a record four times between 1981 and 1988.
The BDO World Darts Championship was a professional darts tournament organised by the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and held annually from 1978 to 2020.
Russell "Rusty" Stewart is an Australian former professional darts player. He used the nickname Rusty for his matches.
The 2007 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 14th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The tournament took place between 18 December 2006 – 1 January 2007. The championship was once again held at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, Essex, where it had been staged since the first PDC World Championship in 1994. However, it would turn out to be the last time the tournament would be held at the Tavern: in April 2007, the PDC announced that the event would be moving to Alexandra Palace from 2008.
David Whitcombe is an English former professional darts player who won several major tournaments and reached two World Championship Finals between 1980 and 1992.
The 1993 Embassy World Darts Championship was the 16th staging of the competition, and it turned out to be the last time that the sport had a unified World Championship. In 1994 following a breakaway the PDC staged its own World Championship for the first time.
Cliff Lazarenko is an English former professional darts player. Nicknamed "Big Cliff" due to his height and weight, he is known for being a colourful character on and off the stage.
Nicholas "Nicky" Virachkul was an American professional darts player who competed in the 1970s and 1980s.
The 1994 Embassy World Darts Championship was held following two years of controversy within the sport of darts. After the 1993 Championships, several players decided it was time to part company with the British Darts Organisation and form their own organisation, the World Darts Council. By the start of this tournament, the WDC were in the closing days of their own 1994 World Championship, with Dennis Priestley going on to beat Phil Taylor in the final.
The 1979 Embassy World Darts Championship was the second World Professional Championships. Having been held the previous year at the Heart of the Midlands Club in Nottingham, the event moved to Jollees Cabaret Club in Stoke-on-Trent where it was to remain until 1985.
The 1978 Embassy World Darts Championship was the first BDO World Darts Championship. The tournament was organised by the British Darts Organisation who had already set up the WDF World Cup and Winmau World Masters in its five years since formation. This was the only year that the tournament was played in a matchplay format of legs, rather than sets which came into operation from 1979 onwards. BBC Television covered the event and began a long broadcasting partnership with the BDO. Sid Waddell was the lead commentator on the tournament which he would cover for the BBC until 1994.
The 1994 Skol World Darts Championship was held following 18 months of controversy within the sport of darts. After the 1993 Embassy World Championships, several players decided it was time to part company with the British Darts Organisation and form their own organisation. The new organisation was known as the World Darts Council (WDC). The WDC would later become the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).
Michael Seward Gregory was an English professional darts player, best remembered as the runner-up to Phil Taylor in the 1992 Embassy World Darts Championship final, which went to a tiebreak final leg and is regarded as one of the greatest matches in darts history.
Larry Thomas Butler, nicknamed The Bald Eagle, is an American professional darts player who was the winner of the 1994 PDC World Matchplay Darts Championship. This success made him the first and so far only player from the United States of America to have won a PDC Major darts tournament in Europe.
The split in darts refers to the acrimonious 1993 dispute between professional darts players and the game's governing body, the British Darts Organisation (BDO), resulting in the creation of a rival darts circuit under the banner of the World Darts Council, which eventually became the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).
Dennis Smith is a former English professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He was a stalwart on the PDC circuit, having played there since 1994, but has yet to capture a major title to add to his collection of Open wins. Smith has a very unusual throwing action, turning the dart into a 'flight first' position before returning it to a 'point first' position, rolling his eyes and then throwing. He has a unique, measured action learning his trade under the tutelage of Bob Anderson.
Kevin Spiolek is an English former professional darts player who played during the 1980s and 1990s. He made a brief return to form in 2006 when qualifying to play in the PDC World Darts Championship.
Sean Downs is an American former professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.
