1980 BDO World Darts Championship

Embassy World Darts Championship
Tournament information
Venue	Jollees Cabaret Club[1]
Location	Stoke-on-Trent
Country	England
Organisation(s)	BDO
Format	Sets Final – best of 9
Prize fund	£15,000
Winners share	£4,500
Champion(s)
Eric Bristow[2]
«1979 1981»

The 1980 Embassy World Darts Championship was the third year that the British Darts Organisation had staged a world championship. Again the field was 24 players, with the top seeds receiving a bye to the last 16 stage. For the second successive year the tournament was staged at Jollees Cabaret Club in Stoke-on-Trent.

Defending champion John Lowe, who had released a book The Lowe Profile just before the event suffered a surprise defeat 0–2 to Cliff Lazarenko saying afterwards "If you miss your doubles in this one, you must expect to go out." Eric Bristow was then immediately installed as favourite to win the event and would meet another flamboyant character of the game in the final – Bobby George.

George, who was not invited to the qualifiers the previous year appeared in a sequined shirt and when arriving on the stage was presented with a candelabra to complete a Liberace effect. He also made the early running in the final leading 1–0, 2–1 and 3–2. The first six sets all went to a deciding leg until Bristow won the seventh 3–1 to establish a 4–3 set lead. In the next set at 2–2 in legs, George had a golden opportunity to level the match and take it to a decider but bust his score and nonchalantly threw his third dart into the board before putting his darts into his top pocket in anticipation of Bristow checking out to win the title. Bristow did so.

Seeds

1. John Lowe
2. Eric Bristow
3. Tony Brown
4. Leighton Rees
5. Bobby George
6. Nicky Virachkul
7. Jocky Wilson
8. Ceri Morgan

Prize money

The prize fund was £15,000.

Champion: £4,500

Runner-Up: £2,000

3rd Place: £500

Semi-Finalists (2): £1,000

Quarter-Finalists (4): £500

Last 16 (8): £300

Last 24 (8): £200

The results

	First Round (3 sets)				Second Round (3 sets)				Quarter-finals (5 sets)				Semi-finals (5 sets)				Final (9 sets)
					John Lowe	0
					Cliff Lazarenko	2
	Cliff Lazarenko	2
	Paul Gosling	0
									Cliff Lazarenko	3
									Ceri Morgan	1
					Ceri Morgan	2
					Alan Grant	0
	Alan Grant	2
	Allan Hogg	1
													Cliff Lazarenko	1
													Bobby George	4
					Bobby George	2
					Dave Whitcombe	0
	Dave Whitcombe	2
	Len Heard	0
									Bobby George	3
									Leighton Rees	1
					Leighton Rees	2
					Tony Sontag	0
	Tony Sontag	2
	Rab Smith	1
																	Bobby George	3
																	Eric Bristow	5
					Tony Brown	2
					Terry O'Dea	0
	Terry O'Dea	2
	Eric MacLean	1
									Tony Brown	3
									Bill Lennard	0
					Nicky Virachkul	0
					Bill Lennard	2
	Bill Lennard	2
	Stefan Lord	1
													Tony Brown	3
													Eric Bristow	4			Third Place (3 sets)
					Jocky Wilson	2											Cliff Lazarenko	0
					Doug McCarthy	0											Tony Brown	2
	Doug McCarthy	2
	Conrad Daniels	0
									Jocky Wilson	0
									Eric Bristow	3
					Eric Bristow	2
					Tony Clark	0
	Tony Clark	2
	Alan Glazier	0

References