1979 BDO World Darts Championship

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.[2]

1979 Embassy World Darts Championship
Tournament information
Dates2–9 February 1979
VenueJollees Cabaret Club[1]
LocationStoke-on-Trent
Country England
Organisation(s)BDO
FormatSets
Final – best of 9
Prize fund£15,000
Winner's share£4,500
High checkout161 Tony Brown
161 Ronnie Davies
Champion(s)
John Lowe
«1978 1980»

The tournament was held between 2 February and 9 February and had been expanded from 16 players to 24. The eight seeded players each received a bye into the second round. The format also changed from a straight matchplay (legs) to sets. Each set was the best of 5 legs. - For matches in the opening rounds the matches were best of three sets, - best of five for the quarter-finals and semi-finals, with the final being best of 9 sets, split over an afternoon and evening session with the play-off for third held in between.

Defending champion, Leighton Rees of Wales again progressed to the final where he met John Lowe in a repeat of the inaugural championship. This time, Lowe was the top seed and came out on top in the final by 5 sets to 0.[1]

New players

With the expansion from 16 to 24 players in the finals, 11 players made their championship debuts, the most notable being John Wilson of Scotland, - no doubt to be soon known as Jocky. Wilson's performances over 1978 had enabled him to be seeded 8th for the tournament, and thus ensure a place in round 2 straight away.

Seeds

Wilson entering the seeds meant he would replace Rab Smith, the Scot having to play the first round before moving into the later stages. England's John Lowe had risen to be number 1 seed, with Eric Bristow dropping to 2nd seed after his first round defeat a year earlier. Leighton Rees remained seeded 3, with Tony Brown moving up to number 4. The Semi-Finalist from 1978 Nicky Virachkul was seeded 5th with the other Last 4 man, Stefan Lord seeded 6th. Alan Evans was the 7th seed along with Wilson as 8th.

  1. John Lowe
  2. Eric Bristow
  3. Leighton Rees
  4. Tony Brown
  5. Nicky Virachkul
  6. Stefan Lord
  7. Alan Evans
  8. Jocky Wilson

First round - Friday 2 and Saturday 3 February

The second Embassy World Championship opened up with the first surprise, Doug McCarthy's 2–1 win over Charlie Ellix. - McCarthy would meet Lowe in the last 16 later on in the event. Jim McQuillian, following Paddy Clifford as only the second Irishman to pay in the World Championship, looked comfortable in his 2-0 win over Murray Smith.

Prize money

Total Prize fund was £15,000 (plus a £12,000 bonus for a nine-dart finish - not won)

  • Champion £4,500
  • Runner-up £2,000
  • Third Place £1,500
  • Fourth Place £1,000
  • Quarter finalists £500
  • 2nd round losers £300
  • 1st round losers £200

Results
  First round
Best of 3 sets		 Second round
Best of 3 sets		 Quarter-finals
Best of 5 sets		 Semi-finals
Best of 5 sets		 Final
Best of 9 sets
                                               
Charlie Ellix 69.22 1     1 John Lowe 88.84 2  
Doug McCarthy 68.63 2     Doug McCarthy 71.73 0  
  1 John Lowe 83.46 3  
  8 Jocky Wilson 78.08 1  
Murray Smith 68.71 0 8 Jocky Wilson 72.17 2
Jim McQuillan 71.58 2     Jim McQuillan 73.25 1  
  1 John Lowe 81.35 3  
  4 Tony Brown 78.35 2  
Andy Green 70.33 1     5 Nicky Virachkul 86.62 1  
Alan Glazier 77.43 2     Alan Glazier 85.21 2  
  Alan Glazier 86.58 2
  4 Tony Brown 84.57 3  
Barry Atkinson 76.74 1 4 Tony Brown 81.24 2
Ceri Morgan 78.62 2     Ceri Morgan 71.57 0  
  1 John Lowe 86.13 5
  3 Leighton Rees 77.61 0
Cliff Lazarenko 78.47 0     2 Eric Bristow 81.45 2  
Terry O'Dea 79.90 2     Terry O'Dea 65.40 0  
  2 Eric Bristow 71.33 1
  7 Alan Evans 82.27 3  
Tony Sontag 82.21 0 7 Alan Evans 79.75 2
Ronnie Davies 87.40 2     Ronnie Davies 82.34 0  
  7 Alan Evans 79.58 1
  3 Leighton Rees 76.96 3  
Conrad Daniels 72.02 1     6 Stefan Lord 79.47 1  
Rab Smith 74.65 2     Rab Smith 73.30 2  
  Rab Smith 74.53 0
  3 Leighton Rees 83.16 3  
Bill Lennard 74.60 0 3 Leighton Rees 76.90 2
Tony Clark 76.32 2     Tony Clark 77.78 1  

John Lowe won the final 5-0 (3-1, 3-0, 3-0, 3-2, 3-0) and thus became the 1979 BDO World Darts Champion. Illness prevented Alan Evans from playing the third-place match, so Tony Brown took third place by default.

References
  1. Ralph Hickok (16 January 2010). "History - World Darts Champions". HickokSports.com. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  2. "The World Championship of Darts". Learnaboutdarts.com. Archived from the original on 18 December 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
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