1979 BDO World Darts Championship

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Embassy World Darts Championship
Tournament information
Dates 2–9 February 1979
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
High checkout 161 England Tony Brown
161 Wales Ronnie Davies
Champion(s)
England John Lowe
«1978 1980»

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]

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. England John Lowe
  2. England Eric Bristow
  3. Wales Leighton Rees
  4. England Tony Brown
  5. United States Nicky Virachkul
  6. Sweden Stefan Lord
  7. Wales Alan Evans
  8. Scotland 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 Patrick Clifford as only the second Irishman to pay in the World Championship, looked comfortable in his 2-0 win over Murray Smith, whose long trek to Stoke from New Zealand was over before it had begun.

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

The results

  Round 1
Best of 3 sets
Round 2
Best of 3 sets
Quarter-finals
Best of 5 sets
Semi-finals
Best of 5 sets
Final
Best of 9 sets
                                               
 England Charlie Ellix 69.21 1     1  England John Lowe 88.83 2  
 England Doug McCarthy 70.20 2      England Doug McCarthy 71.73 0  
  1  England John Lowe 83.46 3  
  8  Scotland Jocky Wilson 78.18 1  
 New Zealand Murray Smith 68.73 0 8  Scotland Jocky Wilson 70.83 2
 Republic of Ireland Jim McQuillan 72.39 2      Republic of Ireland Jim McQuillan 73.50 1  
  1  England John Lowe 89.22 3  
  4  England Tony Brown 88.17 2  
 United States Andy Green 70.32 1     5  United States Nicky Virachkul 86.61 1  
 England Alan Glazier 79.32 2      England Alan Glazier 83.55 2  
   England Alan Glazier 84.57 2
  4  England Tony Brown 84.45 3  
 Australia Barry Atkinson 72.00 1 4  England Tony Brown 83.40 2
 Wales Ceri Morgan 79.92 2      Wales Ceri Morgan 70.23 0  
  1  England John Lowe 87.42 5
  3  Wales Leighton Rees 76.62 0
 England Cliff Lazarenko 79.59 0     2  England Eric Bristow 79.08 2  
 Australia Terry O'Dea 81.42 2      Australia Terry O'Dea 65.40 0  
  2  England Eric Bristow 69.33 1
  7  Wales Alan Evans 82.65 3  
 England Tony Sontag 84.36 0 7  Wales Alan Evans 79.74 2
 Wales Ronnie Davies 89.40 2      Wales Ronnie Davies 82.32 0  
  7  Wales Alan Evans 81.72 1
  3  Wales Leighton Rees 82.83 3  
 United States Conrad Daniels 72.30 1     6  Sweden Stefan Lord 79.47 1  
 Scotland Rab Smith 74.70 2      Scotland Rab Smith 79.35 2  
   Scotland Rab Smith 74.52 0
  3  Wales Leighton Rees 83.16 3  
 England Bill Lennard 76.17 0 3  Wales Leighton Rees 75.93 2
 Wales Tony Clark 77.79 2      Wales Tony Clark 72.15 1  

John Lowe won the final 5-0 (3-1, 3-0, 3-0, 3-2, 3-0)and won the 1979 Embassy World Darts Championship. The third place match didn't take place due to illness of Alan Evans so Tony Brown took the third spot.

References

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