BDO /WDF World BDO World Championship Australian and New Zealand Representatives 1978 – Barry Delbridge (NZ), Barry Atkinson, Tim Brown, Bill Rose, Matt Banovich (Aus) 1979 – Barry Atkinson, Terry O’Shea (Aus) 1980 – Alan Grant, Terry O’Dea (Aus) 1981 – Gordon Allpress (NZ), Tim Brown, Kevin White, Terry O’Dea (Aus) 1982 – Gordon Allpress (NZ), Tim Brown, Kevin White, Terry O’Dea (Aus) 1983 – Terry O’Dea, Kevin White (Aus) 1984 - Terry O’Dea, Kevin White, Russell Stewart (Aus) 1985 - Terry O’Dea, Russell Stewart (Aus) 1986 - Terry O’Dea, Russell Stewart (Aus) 1987 - Terry O’Dea, Russell Stewart (Aus) 1988 - Terry O’Dea, Russell Stewart, Horrie Seden (Aus) 1989 – Russell Stewart, Wayne Weening (Aus) 1990 - Russell Stewart, Wayne Weening (Aus) 1991 - Russell Stewart, Keith Sullivan (Aus) 1992 - Wayne Weening, Keith Sullivan (Aus) 1993 – Peter Hunt (NZ), Wayne Weening, Keith Sullivan (Aus) 1994 - Russell Stewart, Wayne Weening (Aus) 1995 – Peter Hunt (NZ), Russell Stewart, Wayne Atkins (Aus) 1996 – Wayne Weening, Darren Webster (Aus) 1997 – Peter Hinkley, Graham Hunt (Aus) 1998 – Peter Hinkley, Wayne Weening (Aus) 1999 – Graham Hunt, Steve Duke Snr (Aus) 2000 - Graham Hunt, Steve Duke Snr (Aus) 2001 – Peter Hinkley, Tony David (Aus) 2002 – Russell Stewart, Tony David** (Aus) 2003 – Peter Hunt (NZ), Tony David, Wayne Weening (Aus) 2004 - Peter Hunt (NZ), Tony David, Steve Duke Snr (Aus) 2005 – Tony David, Simon Whitlock (Aus) 2006 – Simon Whitlock (Aus) 2007 - Simon Whitlock (Aus), Carol Forwood (Aus) 2008 – Tony David, Simon Whitlock* (Aus) 2009 – Simon Whitlock, Eddy Sims (Aus) 2010 – Tony Fleet (Aus) 2011, 2012, 2013 – None 2014 – Mike Day (NZ), Harley Kemp (Aus) 2015 – Mike Day (NZ), Eddy Sims (Aus) 2016 – Craig Caldwell (NZ), Tina Hammond (NZ), Rob Modra (Aus), Corrine Hammond (Aus) 2017 – Craig Caldwell, Mark McGrath (NZ), Raymond Smith (Aus) Corrine Hammond (Aus) 2018 - Craig Caldwell (NZ), Justin Thompson (Aus) Corrine Hammond (Aus) 2019 - Mark McGrath (NZ), Justin Thompson, Mal Cuming (Aus) Corrine Hammond (Aus) 2020 – Darren Herewini (NZ), Justin Thompson (Aus) Corrine Hammond, Tori Kewish (Aus) 2022 - Donovan Lottering (Aus) Haupa Puha (NZ) Justin Thompson (Aus) Landon Gardiner (NZ) Corrine Hammond (Aus) Desi Mercer (NZ) Tori Kewish (Aus) 2023 - Brian Corbett (NZ) Danny Porter (Aus) Jonny Tata (NZ) Peter Machin (Aus) Kym Mitchell (Aus) Nicole Regnaud (NZ) Victoria Monaghan (NZ) Wendy Harper (NZ) 2024 - Brandon Weening (Aus) Craig Brown (NZ) Danny Porter (Aus) Howard Jones (Aus) Ky Smith (Aus) Michael Cassar (Aus) Peter Machin (Aus) Amanda Loch (Aus) Desi Mercer (NZ) Nicole Regnaud (NZ) Wendy Harper (NZ) ** Champion * Finalist
Australia (28 representatives)
Barry Atkinson 1978 2 Tim Brown 1978 3 Bill Rose 1978 1 Matt Banovich 1978 1 Terry O’Shea 1979 10 Alan Grant 1980 1 Kevin White 1981 4 Russell Stewart 1984 11 Horrie Seden 1988 1 Wayne Weening (Aus) 1989 8 Keith Sullivan 1991 3 Wayne Atkins 1995 1 Darren Webster 1996 1 Peter Hinkley 1997 3 Graham Hunt 1997 3 Steve Duke Snr 1999 3 Tony David 2001 6 Simon Whitlock 2005 5 Carol Forwood 2007 1 Eddy Sims 2009 2 Tony Fleet 2010 1 Harley Kemp 2014 1 Corrine Hammond 2016 6 Rob Modra 2016 1 Raymond Smith 2017 1 Justin Thompson 2018 4 Mal Cuming 2019 1 Tori Kewish 2020 2 Donovan Lottering 2022 1 Peter Machin 2023 2 Danny Porter 2023 2 Kym Mitchell 2023 1 Brandon Weening 2024 1 Howard Jones 2024 1 Ky Smith 2024 1 Michael Cassar 2024 1 Amanda Loch 2024 1 New Zealand (8 representatives)
Barry Delbridge 1978 1 Gordon Allpress 1981 2 Peter Hunt 1993 4 Mike Day 2014 2 Craig Caldwell 2016 3 Tina Osborne 2016 1 Mark McGrath 2017 2 Darren Herewini 2020 1 Landon Gardiner 2022 1 Haupai Puha 2022 1 Desi Mercer 2022 2 Brian Corbett 2023 1 Jonny Tata 2023 1 Nicole Regnaud 2023 2 Victoria Monaghan 2023 1 Wendy Harper 2023 2
BDO/WDF Men’s World Championships
The very first BDO World Championship, the 1978 Embassy World Darts Championship, had five of the 16 entrants come from Australia and New Zealand. Barry Delbridge and Barry Atkinson, as well as Tim Brown and Bill Rose, took on each other in the first round. Matt Banovich lost to Bobby Semple of Scotland in the opening round as well. Atkinson won his match 5-4 but lost to the great Leighton Rees in the next round. Tim Brown was the only player left from Australia, having defeated Kiwi Rose 5-2 and then namesake Tony Brown, of England, 6-3 in the next round. He then lost to John Lowe 6-1 in the quarter-finals. Rees and Lowe went on to play the first BDO Final, at the Heart of the Midlands Club in Nottingham for the only time, which Rees won 11-7.
The following year, in 1979, the tournament expanded to 24 players, but only two came from Downunder, and both were Australian. The great Terry O’Dea won his opening match 2-0 against Cliff Lazarenko no less, before losing to a cocky young man named Eric Bristow 2-0. Barry Atkinson also backed up from the previous event but lost 2-1 to Ceri Morgan in the first round. The event was held in Stoke at the Jollee’s Cabaret Club and the BBC covered it for the first time. The Final was a replay of the previous one, but Lowe defeated Rees five sets to nil.
In 1980 Alan Grant debuted in the World Championships and upset World Masters finalist Allan Hogg 2-0 in the opening round before Ceri Morgan took an Australian scalp for the second successive year (2-0). Once again Terry O’Dea won his first match, 2-1 against Eric Maclean, but he lost 2-0 to Tony Brown in the second round. Eric Bristow defeated Bobby George five legs to three in the Final.
A ten-year veteran by 1981, Gordon Allpress was the second Kiwi to make the BDO World Championships but lost 2-0 to Jocky Wilson in the first round. Tim Brown (who lost 2-0 to Leighton Rees in the first round), Kevin White (who defeated Stefan Lord of Sweden 2-1 before losing 2-1 to Allpress’s conqueror Jocky Wilson), and Terry O’Dea (who lost for the first time in the first round, 2-0 to defending champion Eric Bristow) all represented Australia. With three players drawing the power of Wilson, Bristow and Rees, and then Wilson taking out our last player in the next round, it could only be hoped draws improved in the future! Bristow went on to defeat John Lowe 5-3 in the Final.
In 1982 all four players from Downunder backed up again. Allpress lost 2-1 to Dave Miller in round one, whilst Tim Brown lost 2-1 to Joe Dodd at the same stage. Terry O’Dea and Kevin White played each other, and O’Dea won 2-0 in that opening round. He then defeated Angus Ross 2-0 in the second round to join Tim Brown as the only players from Downunder to make the third round in the World Championships. O’Dea lost to John Lowe 4-1 in the third round. Lowe made the Final where Jocky Wilson defeated him 5-3.
In 1983 only O’Dea and White returned, with both players winning their first-round matches (against Peter Locke (2-0) and Rab Smith (2-1) respectively) before the horror draws struck again as Jocky Wilson took out Kevin White 3-0 and John Lowe defeated Terry O’Dea 3-2 in a very tight affair. Neither victor made the Final though, as Keith Deller made his first appearance in the Final and upset Eric Bristow six legs to five to become World Champion. This was the match that saw Bristow at 5-5 not go for the bull as Deller was on 138, and he thought, based on what had happened throughout the match, his opponent could not check it out. Deller threw the total (treble 20, treble 18, double 12) to win the match in what is now dubbed by many as the ‘Deller Checkout’.
Of the 32 entrants in 1984, three were Australian. Russell Stewart joined Terry O’Dea and Kevin White. O’Dea lost 2-0 to Jocky Wilson in the first round (Wilson would become even more famous for an unfortunate event later in the tournament). Steve Brennan beat Kevin White 2-1, whilst on debut Stewart lost 2-0 to Peter Locke. Eric Bristow returned to usual form by winning the Final (7-1 over Dave Whitcombe).
In 1985 Terry O’Dea drew John Lowe and the only other player from Downunder, Russell Stewart, drew Leighton Rees. Lowe defeated O’Dea 2-1 in a tight affair. Stewart notched his first win in the World Championships, beating Rees 2-1. It seemed hardly fair his reward was a match with Jocky Wilson, which Wilson went on to win 3-1. Eric Bristow dealt more heartbreak to John Lowe in the Final by defeating him 6-2. It was the last BDO World Championship match held at Jollee’s Cabaret Club in Stoke. I n 1986 the very first tournament took place at what became the spiritual home of the World Championships, the Lakeside Country Club, Frimley Green, Surrey. Two Australians represented once more, with Russell Stewart losing 3-1 to Malcolm Davies in the first round and Terry O’Dea defeating Richie Gardner 3-1. O’Dea went on to beat Dave Lee in Round Two and thus made it to the third round for the second time in his career. In a tight match, Alan Glazier defeated O’Dea in a deciding set (4-3). Glazier lost to Bristow in the semi-finals and the crafty Cockney won a successive hat-trick of titles with a 6-0 whitewash of Dave Whitcombe in the Final.
In 1987 O’Dea and Stewart represented again, but both lost in the first round, Stewart in a deciding set to Lazarenko (3-2), and O’Dea 3-1 to American Rick Ney. John Lowe made some amends for previous pain by defeating Eric Bristow 6-4 in the Final.
In 1988 debutant Horrie Seden, originally from Darwin, joined his compatriots Stewart and O’Dea at Lakeside. He lost to Bob Sinnaeve of Canada 3-2 in the first round. O’Dea’s unfortunate luck with the draw continued as he faced, and lost to, Jocky Wilson 3-1 in the first round. Stewart had better luck, defeating Johnny Deley 3-1 in the first round. He then lost to Bob Anderson in the next round, with Anderson going on to win the whole thing, defeating John Lowe 6-4 in the Final.
In 1989 debutant Wayne Weening joined Russell Stewart (ranked seventh in the tournament) for the World Championships. Stewart defeated Eric Burden in the first round 3-1 but was upset by Dennis Hickling 3-0 in the second round. As Stewart did, Weening won his debut match at the tournament, upsetting Cliff Lazarenko 3-2 before falling to Stewart’s conqueror the previous year in the same round, Bob Anderson, 3-1. Anderson made the semi-finals but lost to Jocky Wilson at that stage, Wilson going on to defeat Eric Bristow 6-4 in the Final.
The following year Weening and Stewart represented again, but neither made it to the second round. Steve Gittins defeated Weening 3-0, whilst sixth-ranked Stewart fell 3-1 to a debutant named Phil Taylor. Taylor went on to win the event, defeating his mentor Bristow 6-1 in the Final. Taylor had started the event at 125–1 to win the BDO World Championship in 1990.
1991 saw Keith Sullivan join Russell Stewart as Australians at Lakeside. Both players won their opening matches, Stewart 3-0 over Knud Nilsen, and Sullivan also 3-0 over a player named Raymond van Barneveld in a match of debutants at this tournament. Had they both won their next round match it would have guaranteed a semi-finalist from Australia for the very first time. However, Sullivan lost 3-1 to Warriner and Stewart lost to his old nemesis, Bob Anderson, in a deciding set, 3-2. Bristow made another Final but for the third successive year lost, this time to Dennis Priestley, 6-0.
In 1992 Wayne Weening returned and Keith Sullivan joined him, as for the first time since 1983, Russell Stewart was not part of the tournament. Sullivan defeated Peter Evison 3-1 but then lost 3-2 to Rod Harrington, whilst Weening lost to Mike Gregory 3-2. Gregory went on to make the Final for the first time, losing 6-5 to Phil Taylor. It was the first Final that neither John Lowe nor Eric Bristow had made since the first event in 1978. Bristow lost to Martin Phillips in the second round and Taylor defeated Lowe in the semi-finals.
1993 saw two Australian players take part, during increasing upset in the world of darts: Keith Sullivan and Wayne Weening, and they were joined by debutant Kiwi Peter Hunt. Ronny Sharp defeated Hunt 3-0, whilst Bobby George took care of Sullivan 3-1 in the opening round. Weening, however, became only the third player to make it to the third round from Downunder (joining Tim Brown and Terry O’Dea (twice)). Weening defeated Rod Harrington 3-2, then Albert Anstey of Canada 3-0. In the quarter-finals he fell to Alan Warriner 4-1. Warriner went on to lose in the Final to John Lowe (6-3). Weening’s progress to the third round was better than three former world champions in Bristow, Taylor and Priestley, who all fell in the second round. None of those three ever played in the BDO World Championships again.
With a slew of players having quit the BDO, the 1994 event saw Wayne Weening ranked number four at Lakeside, and he was joined by the returning Russell Stewart, who was ranked eighth. Weening lost in the opening round to Magnus Caris 3-2, whilst Australian involvement was ended in that round by Bobby George, who defeated Stewart 3-0. George went on to make the Final for the first time since 1980, where he lost to Canadian John Part 6-0.
In 1995 Stewart once again made the second round by defeating Alan Brown but lost 3-2 to Welshman Richie Burnett in that second round. Burnett had defeated a debutant in the first round, Peter Wright, who would become a world champion 25 years later. Aussie debutant Wayne Atkins also appeared in 1995 but lost to Ian Brand 3-0 in his opening match. Kiwi Peter Hunt returned to the championships and became the first New Zealander to record a win at the event, defeating Stefan Eeckelaert 3-0. His next match was a close loss, as he fell to Colin Monk 3-2. Burnett, having defeated Wright and Stewart, then defeated other names that would become legendary in the BDO in Paul Hogan and Andy Fordham before winning the Final 6-3 over Raymond van Barneveld. It was the first Final in the history of the championships not to have included an Englishman.
1996 saw the return of Wayne Weening, only for him to draw and then lose 3-0 to reigning BDO World Champion Burnett in the opening round. Debutant Darren Webster joined Weening from Australia but lost 3-1 to Martin Adams in the first round. Burnett returned to the Final but lost 6-3 to Steve Beaton in that match.
For the first time since 1983, the 1997 event was the first without either Stewart or Wayne Weening participating. Instead, debutants Peter Hinkley and Graham Hunt played from Downunder. For the third year in a row Burnett could count an Aussie as one of his victims (having taken out Stewart and Weening in the previous two years), the Welshman defeating Hinkley 3-1. Aussie Graham Hunt also lost 3-1 in the opening round to Mervyn King. Les Wallace became the second Scotsman to have won a Final, after Jocky Wilson, when he beat Welshman Marshall James 6-3 in the Final.
1998 saw the return of Weening, alongside Hinkley being the only representatives from the Pacific. Both lost in the first round, Weening 3-0 to Ted Hankey and Hinkley 3-1 to Sean Palfrey. Burnett and van Barneveld returned to the Final and in a classic match it was the Dutchman who came away victorious, 6-5.
1999 saw two Australians seeded for the event with Graham Hunt ranked fourth and Steve Duke Snr ranked eighth. Duke defeated former world champion Steve Beaton 3-0 in the opening round, whilst Graham Hunt defeated Andy Jenkins 3-1 in the same round. Unfortunately, neither player could break the curse of the second round for so many Aussies, Duke losing 3-1 to 1997 finalist Marshall James and Martin Adams defeating Hunt 3-1. Van Barneveld made another Final and successfully defended his crown in another 6-5 Final win, this time over Ronnie Baxter.
In 2000 both Hunt and Duke Snr returned, but Hunt could not replicate the result Duke had over Beaton the previous year, losing 3-0 instead. Duke was able to make the second round for the second successive year after defeating Sean Palfrey 3-2. He lost to Mervyn King 3-0 in the second round. Ronnie Baxter made his second successive Final but lost six sets to nil to Ted Hankey in the Final. It was a return to two Englishmen in the Final for the first time since the BDO/WDC split.
2001 saw Peter Hinkley return to the Lakeside oche and he defeated Nick Gedney in the first round. He met the reigning world champion Ted Hankey in the second round and was eliminated after a 3-0 loss. Hankey went on to make the Final once more but lost to John Walton in that match, 6-2. Australia also had debutant Tony David as a representative. Unlike names like Stewart and Weening, he was unable to win his debut match, losing 3-0 to Andy Fordham, but his future was brighter than any Downunder player before him.
In 2002 Russell Stewart returned to the tournament, only to lose 3-1 in the opening round to a man making quite a habit of defeating Australians at Lakeside, Mervyn King. King did not hold his 100% record against Australians at Lakeside for long though. Tony David got through his first round match against Ritchie Davies 3-1. He then finally broke the second round hoodoo, held since Wayne Weening’s win in the same round in 1993, by beating Marko Pusa 3-1. He then did something no player from Downunder had ever done: winning in the third round, surviving a tight battle with Bob Taylor 5-4. Despite ill health, David took on Martin Adams in the semi-final and defeated him 5-4. He had turned the ship around after leading 4-1, only to see Adams win three sets in a row to tie the match at 4-4. At two legs all in the final set, Adams missed two darts at double 16 and David held his nerve to hit tops for the win. In the Final he was up against the Aussie slayer, King. A twelve-dart finish in the deciding leg of the first set gave David an early lead. King then won the next set before David took four successive legs to lead 5-1. King then won three sets himself to move back within a set in the match. A double ten secured the fourth leg of the next set and thus David won the match 6-4, becoming the first Australian World Champion in darts, and only the second player outside Europe to win the event (the other being Canadian John Part). David was dubbed ‘The People’s Champion’ by some in the media. The media coverage included a young reporter covering his first darts event at the time. That gentleman these days commentates on the F1, David Croft. Tony David remains the only Australian to be crowned World Champion by any darting organisation.
Lakeside held the BDO World Championship for the 18th time in 2003 and Tony David returned to the scene as reigning champion. He defeated Brian Sorensen in the first round before defeating young Dutchman Vincent van der Voort 3–1 in the second to become only the second Australian, behind Wayne Weening, to have made the third round twice. In his third-round match he was upset by Ritchie Davies 5–0. Davies went on to defeat a young Scotsman, and future world champion, by the name of Gary Anderson, 5–2 in the semi-finals. Peter Hunt of New Zealand returned to the event but could not repeat his first-round heroics of 1995, losing 3–0 to Bob Taylor in round one. Raymond van Barneveld defeated Ritchie Davies in the Final of the event to win 6–3 and take the world champion crown from Australia’s Tony David.
2004 was the first time a tobacco company’s name was not linked to the BDO World Championships. Tony David returned once more, this time ranked fourth, but fell at the first hurdle, losing in a deciding set, 3–2, to Darryl Fitton. Kiwi Peter Hunt also returned but lost to defending champion van Barneveld 3–1 at the first attempt. Steve Duke also returned and won his first-round match 3–1 over Albertino Essers. He then lost in a close encounter, 3–2, to previous finalist Ritchie Davies, who would then fall to Mervyn King in the next round. King made yet another Final but lost once more, this time to Andy Fordham 6–3.
The 2005 event holds a place in history for Australians as the only two men to have played in a BDO World Championship Final played in the same event (it would occur again in 2008). Tony David once again fell in the first round, 3–2 to Tony Eccles. His compatriot would have more success. Simon Whitlock, in his debut World Championship, defeated Tony Martin 3–1 in his first match, and then, by defeating Marko Kantele 3–1 in the next round, became the fourth Australian to make the third round of this event (Tim Brown – inaugural championship year, 1978; Weening – twice; and David – twice being the others). He then matched David’s effort of 2004 by winning his third-round match (5–1 over Andre Brantjes) but was whitewashed five sets to nil by Martin Adams in the semi-final. Adams fell in the Final to the van Barneveld machine, 6–2.
2006 saw only one player from Downunder for the first time in the 29-year history of the event. Simon Whitlock was the man, and he won his first-round fixture against Andy Fordham, 3–0, before succumbing to the second-round curse, losing 4–2 to Scotsman Paul Hanvidge. This year was dominated by Dutchmen. Raymond van Barneveld made another Final, but it was another Dutchman, Jelle Klaasen, who took all the headlines when he defeated his compatriot 7–5 in the Final.
2007 saw Whitlock ranked seventh for the event, being the only Downunder representative for the second successive year, although Carol Forwood was a part of the Women’s World Championship that year. With Fordham withdrawing due to ill health, Whitlock received a first-round bye. His first actual match came in the second round, where he lost 4–3 to Niels de Ruiter. Second-round hoodoo returning? We would see. This Final saw the return of two Englishmen to the Final for the first time since Fordham and King in 2004, as Martin Adams defeated Phil Nixon in a close match in the deciding set, 7–6. Before the event, another young Dutchman had been seen as favourite for the event, Michael van Gerwen, but he lost on his debut. The day after the Final he, and fellow Dutchmen Vincent van der Voort and Jelle Klaasen, all defected to the PDC.
In 2008 Tony David returned to the event but lost in the first round 3–1 to Gary Robson, who had ended van Gerwen’s debut campaign in the BDO World Championships the year before. Simon Whitlock was set to take on pre-tournament favourite Gary Anderson in the second round and made short work of Edwin Max, 3–0. However, Anderson lost, and thus Whitlock faced Fabian Roosenbrand. Whitlock won 4–1 to end any more second-round nonsense for Aussies and thus became the third Australian to make the third round twice (joining Weening and David). He then etched his name in Australian darting history as the first to win two third-round matches when he beat Ted Hankey 5–0. In the semi-final he saw off Englishman Brian Woods 6–3. In the Final he took on Welshman Mark Webster. Webster got off the mark quickly to take a three-set lead before Whitlock won two of his own. Whitlock later took the 11th set to move back to within one set of a deciding set, but Webster held his nerve and won the 12th set to win the match 7–5 over the Aussie.
In 2009 Whitlock returned, this time with Eddy Sims, who was debuting in the tournament. Whitlock defeated Scot Mark Barilli 3–0 before losing to Darryl Fitton 4–2 in the second round, the man who had eliminated the other Aussie BDO finalist (to that point), Tony David, in 2004. Like Whitlock the previous year, Sims was on course for a second-round clash with Gary Anderson, but it didn’t eventuate. However, on this occasion Anderson won, and Sims lost (to Robert Hughes, 3–2) in the first round. Tony O’Shea and Ted Hankey made the Final, and it was Hankey who won the deciding leg to take the match 7–6 and his second BDO World Championship title (the other in 2000).
2010 saw Tony Fleet be the only Australian to qualify for the tournament. It was the shortest tournament with Aussie or Kiwi involvement, as he fell in the first round 3–0 to Martin Adams. It proved to be not as bad as it could have been, as Adams went on to beat Daryl Gurney, Garry Thompson, Martin Phillips, and then Dave Chisnall to win the World Championship, defeating Chisnall 7–5 in the Final. This was the year Simon Whitlock made the PDC World Championship Final, whilst the man who slayed him, Mark Webster, lost to Phil Taylor in the semi-final, thus avoiding a repeat of the 2008 BDO World Championship Final. Unfortunately for Aussie fans, the Final was a repeat though, as Whitlock fell in the Final once more, this time to Taylor.
2011 was the first time in history an Aussie or Kiwi was not involved in the BDO World Championships, with Adams retaining his title, defeating Dean Winstanley in the Final 7–5.
2012 continued these dark days for Downunder players, with no one representing from Australia or New Zealand. Christian Kist defeated Tony O’Shea 7–5 in the Final in an upset result to become the third Dutchman to win the event, behind van Barneveld and Klaasen.
For the third year in a row, 2013 saw no Downunder representation. Tony O’Shea made his second successive Final but lost to Scott Waites, 7–1. Thus, O’Shea made three BDO World Championship Finals but did not win any of them. Only Eric Bristow and John Lowe lost more Finals (five each), but they also won their fair share (five and three respectively).
After the preliminary round (the first in the tournament’s history), a Kiwi made the main draw in 2014 — Mike Day becoming the fourth New Zealander to play in the tournament’s history. Day had won his preliminary match against Sam Head 3–0, whilst Aussie young star Harley Kemp fell in the preliminary round against Michael Meaney of Ireland, 3–0. Day lost to future World Champion Glenn Durrant 3–0 in the first round. However, on this occasion Durrant fell to Alan Norris in the next round. Norris went on to make his first Final and take on another man new to the Final, Stephen Bunting. It was Bunting who came away as champion with a 7–4 victory in the Final at Lakeside. Neither player returned to a BDO World Championship Final, as by 2015 both were in the PDC ranks.
The preliminary round of 2015 saw Eddy Sims of Australia and Mike Day of New Zealand lose 3–0 (to Cedric Waegemans and Jeff Smith respectively). Scott Mitchell defeated Martin Adams 7–6 in the Final.
In 2016 Rob Modra of Australia lost in straight sets, 3–0, to John Walton, whilst Kiwi Craig Caldwell (fifth Kiwi ever in this competition) defeated his Scottish opponent, Alan Soutar, 3–1 to make the first round. Caldwell drew defending champion Scott Mitchell and came close to an upset but lost the deciding set to lose 3–2. Scott Waites made it back to the Final for the first time since 2013 and, as then, he won the match — this time 7–1 over Canadian Jeff Smith to become a two-time BDO World Champion.
2017 saw the rise of a new name to dominate the BDO World Championships. Middlesbrough-born Glen Durrant defeated Dutchman Danny Noppert 7–3 in the Final to win his first World Championship. The preliminary round of that tournament saw two Kiwis in the same event for the very first time. They had mixed fortunes, with Craig Caldwell unable to repeat his success of the previous year in that round, losing 3–1 to Dennis Harbour, whilst debutant Mark McGrath beat Roger Janssen. In the opening round it was Scott Mitchell taking on a Kiwi for the second successive year (this time McGrath), and the result was a 3–0 win to Mitchell. Australian Raymond Smith had gone straight to the first round, but he lost to Geert De Vos 3–0.
2018 saw Craig Caldwell return to the preliminary once more, but the Kiwi lost 3–0 to Daniel Day. Justin Thompson won his preliminary round match 3–2 over Chris Gilliland of England. He then lost to a man who continued to enjoy defeating Aussies — Darryl Fitton. Fitton lost in the next round to Glen Durrant, who then beat Jim Williams and Scott Waites to make a second successive Final. He took on Mark McGeeney and, in a close match, Durrant took the deciding set and won the match 7–6 to successfully defend his BDO World Champion crown.
2019 saw the return of three Downunder players to the event, although they were all in the preliminary stage and only two could possibly go through, as the two Aussie players, Justin Thompson and Mal Cuming, took on each other. Thompson defeated Cuming 3–0, whilst McGrath secured the same 3–0 scoreline in defeating Adam Smith-Neale. Thompson lost in the opening round for the second successive year, this time 3–2 at the hands of German Michael Unterbuchner. The German went on to lose in the semi-finals to Scott Waites. Mark McGrath drew defending two-time champion Glen Durrant and lost his match 3–0. Durrant then went on to make his third Final. The Final saw Durrant complete a hat trick of successive BDO World Championship titles by winning 7–3 over Waites. He matched Eric Bristow’s BDO record of a hat trick of successive world titles but became the first player in history to win his first three BDO World Championship Finals. This year saw the end of a remarkable run as Martin Adams missed the championships for the first time since his debut in 1994, marking the end of a 25-year run. It was also the last BDO World Championship event held at the Lakeside, held there since 1986, a 34-year run. Unfortunately for the BDO, a bigger run would soon come to an end.
The 2020 tournament was held at its fourth ever venue, the Indigo at the O2 in London. It was not without controversy, as some speculated about the future of the BDO. Both representatives from Down Under, Justin Thompson of Australia and Darren Herewini of New Zealand (the eighth Kiwi player in the history of the men's or women's tournament), won their preliminary round matches. Thompson defeated Scott Williams 3-0, while Herewini overcame Simon Stainton 3-1. Both players were looking to become the first male players from either country to make the second round since Simon Whitlock in 2009. (It seemed the second round curse had become the first round curse for players from Down Under.) Unfortunately, neither did so—Herewini lost to a resurgent Andy Hamilton 3-1, while Thompson just missed out on claiming Wayne Warren’s scalp, falling in a deciding set 3-2. It was a real shame—they were drawn to face each other in the next leg, which would have guaranteed a Down Under quarter-finalist. Instead, Warren went on to defeat Hamilton and progressed to the Final, where he would meet fellow Welshman Jim Williams. The veteran Warren would win the Final and claim the BDO World Championship title for the first time—the third Welshman behind legend Leighton Rees, three-time finalist and one-time winner Richie Burnett, and the man who slayed the Wizard of Oz in the 2008 Final (Simon Whitlock) in Mark Webster, to hold the title.
There was then a break in these championships, with WDF taking the name of these championships post-pandemic era and a return to Lakeside, although it was not played in it’s usual December timeslot.
The first day of the 2022 event, April 2nd, saw Haupai Puha fall 2-1 to Ben Hazel before his Kiwi compatriot fell 2-1 to Jim McEwan. Justin Thompson rounded out the day with a famous win over legendary darts player Paul Hogan. The next day, the other Aussie fell in the second match, 2-0 to Donovan Lottering. Thompson fell in the second match, 3-0 to Neil Duff. Duff would go on to make the Final, against Frenchman Thibault Tricole, which he won 6-5 in a thrilling Final to be crowned the first WDF World Champion.
The 2023 edition moved back to December and was still at Lakeside. It saw a lot of changed players for the Oceanic representatives from those that were originally eligible to participate. Aaron Morrison (personal) and Raymond Smith (medical) both withdrew. Ben Robb and Haupai Puha opted to play in the PDC World Championships. Reserves Brandon Weening and Ky Smith both withdrew as reserves for medical reasons. Danny Porter came into the draw as he was second reserve, joining compatriot and Australian Darting World Cup winner and legend of the game, Peter Machin. The two Kiwis were Brian Corbett and Jonny Tata. Day One of the event saw Tata defeat Shaun McDonald 2-1, before Porter lost 2-0 in the last match of the night against Arjan Konterman. The next day, Brian Corbett lost 2-0 to US darting legend Leonard Gates. On the Monday, 12th seed Peter Machin opened the second round and the session with a match against James Richardson, a match the Englishman won 3-0. Jonny Tata did pick up a win later in the session, winning a deciding leg to take his match against Barry Copeland 3-2. Thursday saw Tata collect another win, 3-0 over American Jim Widmayer. In the quarter-finals, Tata fell 4-2 to Andy Baetens, ending the best ever run by a Kiwi at any World Championship of Darts. The Belgian went on to make the Final against Dutchman Chris Landman, with Baetens winning 6-1 and being crowned the first Belgian World Darts Champion.
2024 saw Danny Porter seeded number one in the tournament, with Brandon Weening seeded four and Peter Machin five. Howard Jones and Ky Smith both qualified as major winners, whilst Craig Brown (New Zealand) and Michael Cassar (Australia) both also qualified. Both Brown and Cassar lost 2-0 in the opening session (to Scott Walters and Francois Schweyen respectively). Porter then lost to Schweyen 3-0 in the second round on the next day. Then on Sunday, Ky Smith fell 2-0 to Mike Gillet—the match before Howard Smith lost by the same margin to Dennis Nilsson (albeit it was the next day). That evening, however, saw back-to-back Aussie success. Weening defeated Jun Matsuda 3-1, and Machin put paid to Gillet with a convincing 3-0 result. In the third round, Weening lost 3-0 to Shane McGuirk, but Machin continued his winning ways with a 3-1 win over Cliff Prior. McGuirk then put paid to the last Australian challenge when he defeated Machin 4-0. Having dismissed two Australians in two rounds, McGuirk went on to make the Final against veteran Paul Lim. McGuirk would triumph—and with that, put to bed the chance of the oldest and youngest ever World Darts Champions being crowned within the space of a month. BDO / WDF Ladies World Championship The first event in 2001 saw four players compete, and in the Final Trina Gulliver defeated the only unseeded player, Mandy Solomons, 2–1.
The 2002 event saw Trina Gulliver retain, defeating Francis Hoenselaar (the previous year’s second seed) 2–1 in the Final of the expanded eight-woman event.
2003 and Trina Gulliver became the champion for a third successive time, winning 2–0 in the Final over Anne Kirk.
2004 and Trina Gulliver repeated the victory in the Final over Francis Hoenselaar from two years previous, although on this occasion she won 2–0, as she had the year before.
2005 and Trina Gulliver exactly replicated the set score of the Final the previous year, once more against Francis Hoenselaar, to be five-time champion.
2006 remarkably saw the same result with the same combatants in the Final, thus Trina Gulliver a six-time champion with the same 2–0 result over Francis Hoenselaar for three years running. The competition was still held between eight players.
2007 and finally downunder had an Australian representative, with Carol Forwood playing a first-round match. She drew Francis Hoenselaar and lost it 2–1. Francis Hoenselaar went on to win a set off Trina Gulliver in the Final, but it was not enough as the Englishwoman beat the Dutchwoman 2–1 in the Final to take her seventh successive world title crown.
2008 and Trina Gulliver made her eighth consecutive Final. In that match, Anastasia Dobromyslova became the first player to defeat Trina Gulliver in a BDO World Championship match, defeating her 2–0 in the Final to become the second-ever player crowned Ladies World Champion of darts.
2009 and things had returned to normal as Trina Gulliver and Francis Hoenselaar made the Final again. However, after all the years of pain, it was time for the Dutchwoman to inflict some, as she won 2–1 for Francis Hoenselaar finally to be crowned Ladies World Champion. 2009 also saw a future star in Lisa Ashton make her World Championship debut, losing to Trina Gulliver in the first round.
2010 and the PDC held their first (and only) Ladies World Championship, with 32 players competing and Stacy Bromberg from the United States winning it. Neither Francis Hoenselaar nor Trina Gulliver played in the PDC event. In the BDO event — held with a field of eight — Trina Gulliver and Francis Hoenselaar were remarkably drawn to play each other in the first round. Trina Gulliver won it 2–0 and went on to defeat Welshwoman Rhian Edwards 2–0 in the Final to pick up her eighth BDO World Championship.
In 2011 Trina Gulliver replicated her 2–0 Final win over Rhian Edwards to be nine-time BDO World Champion.
2012 saw Trina Gulliver fall at the semi-final point to one of only two other Women’s World Champions, Anastasia Dobromyslova (2–0). Deta Hedman had seen off the other finalist from the previous two years, Rhian Edwards, 2–1 in the first round, and after moving past Lorraine Farlam 2–1, she faced the Russian. Anastasia Dobromyslova won her second BDO World Championship 2–1.
Anastasia Dobromyslova then defeated Trina Gulliver in her 2013 semi-final and faced Lisa Ashton in the Final. Dobromyslova won the match 2–1 to take her third world title. However, this would be the start of a changing of the guard.
There were 16 contestants for the first time in 2014, although none from downunder. Trina Gulliver lost in the first round 2–0 to Tamara Schuur. Francis Hoenselaar had not been a part of this tournament since her first-round loss to Trina Gulliver in 2010. Anastasia Dobromyslova, who had defeated Fallon Sherrock 2–1 in the quarter-finals, lost to Lisa Ashton 2–1 in the semi-finals. Lisa Ashton went on to defeat Deta Hedman 3–2 in the expanded Final format.
2015 saw Lisa Ashton take on Fallon Sherrock in the Final. For the second successive year, Ashton came away the winner, this time 3–1.
2016 had the first-ever Kiwi representative in the event, as New Zealander Tina Osborne took on Zoe Jones of England in the round of sixteen. Zoe Jones took the match 2–1. Corrine Hammond became the second-ever Aussie to play in the event but lost to previous year’s finalist Deta Hedman, 2–0. Deta Hedman would go on to make the Final but would lose once again, this time to the remarkable Trina Gulliver, who took her tenth BDO World Championship title, and her first since 2011.
Corrine Hammond returned in 2017, and her run would see her become the third player from downunder to make a World Championship Final (alongside Tony David and Simon Whitlock — with two: 1 BDO, 1 PDC). She defeated Canadian Patricia Farrell 2–0 in the first round, Casey Gallagher of England 2‐0 in the second, and then three-time World Champion Anastasia Dobromyslova 2‐0 in the third. Hammond therefore took her place in the Final, against Lisa Ashton. The Englishwoman came out of the blocks hard and won the first set without losing a leg, 3‐0. The second set was a much closer affair, but Corrine Hammond was unable to win the critical deciding leg. Two sets to nil down and it was obviously a much different affair to one all. Lisa Ashton went on to win the third set 3–1 to wrap the match up 3‐0, Ashton crowned champion once more.
2018 and Corrine Hammond was back but fell in the first round, 2–1 to Fallon Sherrock, who would go on to make great waves at the PDC World Championships two years later. The Final in 2018 would see two multiple champions take on each other, with Lisa Ashton defeating Anastasia Dobromyslova 3–1. She had lost the first set three legs to nil. Then she won nine of the next ten legs to win the match and her title, as Glen Durrant had done in the Men’s competition the same year.
2019 and Corrine Hammond would lose again to Fallon Sherrock in the opening round, this time 2–0. Two new names were in the Final as Lorraine Winstanley and Mikuru Suzuki faced off against each other. It would be the Japanese sensation who would take the match 3‐0 and be crowned the first non-European Ladies BDO World Champion (US player Stacy Bromberg had won the PDC’s only attempt at a Women’s World Championship in 2010). Not bad for a player who only made it into the event as a qualifier!
In 2020 Corrine Hammond again made the tournament, this time as a qualifier, looking to replicate Mikuru Suzuki’s success as a qualifier the previous year. She was joined by Tori Kewish, who replaced Trina Gulliver after she withdrew due to ill health. It was amazing for Australia’s young rising star. For Trina Gulliver and the event it was a shame, as it would be the last BDO Women’s World Championship and the only one Trina Gulliver would not be involved in over its whole history. Tori Kewish took on Beau Greaves but lost 2‐0, the experience alone being helpful to the development of her game. The coming closure of events due to the pandemic meant she would not be able to build on it immediately. Corrine Hammond had more success as she eliminated Vicky Pruim (who had only come into the event after Fallon Sherrock withdrew — a shame for Corrine Hammond who was ready to hand out punishment to the now superstar after her two previous defeats in round one to her). After winning 2‐0 in the first round, Corrine Hammond won 2‐0 over player-turned-commentator Laura Turner in the quarter-finals. Corrine Hammond became only the second ever Australian (or New Zealand) player to play in two semi-finals in the World Championships (Simon Whitlock the other), but she lost to Lisa Ashton 2‐0 in the match. Thus, Lisa Ashton chased her fifth world title. The other semi-final had seen Beau Greaves progress to it but then lose to defending champion Mikuru Suzuki. In what would be the final match of the tournament’s 21-year history, Mikuru Suzuki defeated Lisa Ashton 3‐0 and thus became the fourth woman to hold multiple titles with two (behind Trina Gulliver with ten, Lisa Ashton with four, Anastasia Dobromyslova with three, and ahead of Francis Hoenselaar, the only player to hold just a single title in the tournament’s 20-year history).
The Ladies competition was also revived in 2022 under the WDF name officially. Tori Kewish was up on stage straight after her compatriot Donovan Lottering, and she pulled off a great victory, 2‐0 over Lorraine Hyde. Three matches later Kiwi Desi Mercer (she had come into the tournament after number one ranked player Wendy Harper declined her invitation) could not repeat these heroics, falling 2‐0 to Vicky Pruim. Monday saw Corrine Hammond also hit the stage. She entered in Round Two, having gained a seeded position after the withdrawal of Fallon Sherrock (two matches after a young 15-year-old won his first match — his name Luke Littler). Corrine Hammond lost the first set to Rhian O’Sullivan but won the second to set up a final deciding set, which she lost 3‐0, ending downunder representation in the Ladies tournament. Another young star, Beau Greaves, went on to win the Final 4‐0 over Kirsty Hutchinson, aged eighteen at the time.
2023 saw Wendy Harper (seeded 6), Nicole Regnaud, and Victoria Monaghan all qualify from New Zealand, and Kym Mitchell qualify from Australia. Kym Mitchell was the first up, but she lost 2–1 to Priscilla Steenbergen. Victoria Monaghan fell 2‐0 to Suzanne Smith two matches later. Three matches on again and Nicole Regnaud did progress, with a 2–1 win over Anna Forsmark, thus there were two Kiwis in the second round. In that round Nicole Regnaud lost 2–1 to Aileen de Graaf, whilst Wendy Harper lost 2‐0 to defending finalist Kirsty Hutchinson. Aileen de Graaf was the one who made the Final against Beau Greaves in 2023, losing 4–1 to the defending champion.
2024 saw Nicole Regnaud, Desi Mercer and Wendy Harper return to the World Championships, with Australian Amanda Loch joining the downunder charge. In Round One Wendy Harper defeated Greta Tekauer 2‐0. Three matches later Amanda Loch fell 2‐0 to Kirsi Viinikainen of Finland. Wendy Harper’s win set up an all-New Zealand clash that saw Nicole Regnaud come away victorious by 2‐0. Desi Mercer lost her second-round match (she had been seeded eighth) 2‐0 to Jitka Cisarova of the Czech Republic. Nicole Regnaud’s quarter-final was against darting royalty, Englishwoman Deta Hedman, and it was the legend who came away with a 2‐0 win. Deta Hedman would lose her semi-final 3‐0 to Beau Greaves. Beau Greaves went on to continue her dominance by defeating Scotswoman Sophie McKinlay 4–1 in the Final. She remained the only winner under the WDF label of this tournament.
Greaves’ back-to-back-to-back titles under the WDF banner cement her as the dominant force in the modern era of the women’s game.