The
1980 Embassy World Darts Championship was the third year that the
British Darts OrganisationThe British Darts Organisation, or the BDO for short, is a darts organisation.It was founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft, OBE in the front room of his home in Muswell Hill...
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 ClubJollees Cabaret Club was a cabaret venue in Stoke-on-Trent in England. At the peak of its popularity, audiences saw many international recording artists and comedians perform, including Cliff Richard, Roy Orbison, Norman Wisdom, Petula Clark, Bruce Forsyth, Matt Monro and Cilla Black.Contrary to...
in
Stoke-on-TrentStoke-on-Trent is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme and Kidsgrove, Stoke forms the The Potteries Urban Area...
.
Defending champion
John LoweJohn Lowe is an English darts player who was one of the main competitors who made darts such a huge spectator sport in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the United Kingdom.-Biography:...
, who had released a book
The Lowe Profile just before the event suffered a surprise defeat 0-2 to
Cliff LazarenkoCliff Lazarenko is an English professional darts player who competed for the British Darts Organisation and the Professional Darts Corporation. Nicknamed Big Cliff, he is well known for being a very colourful character on and off the stage.Big Cliff made his first TV appearance on the 1970s...
saying afterwards "If you miss your doubles in this one, you must expect to go out."
Eric BristowEric Bristow MBE is a British darts player, whose skill at the game in the 1980s helped turn it into a worldwide spectator sport.- Early career :...
was then immediately installed as favourite to win the event and would meet another flamboyant character of the game in the final -
Bobby GeorgeBobby George is an English darts player and pundit, who is known as one of the leading characters in the game for his flamboyant entrances and many medallions and rings.Although he became one of the sports biggest names,...
.
George, who wasn't even invited to the qualifiers the previous year appeared in a sequined shirt and when arriving on the stage was presented with a
candelabra"Candelabra" is the traditional term for a set of multiple decorative candlesticks, each of which often holds a candle on each of multiple arms or branches connected to a column or pedestal...
to complete a
LiberaceWladziu Valentino Liberace , better known by only his last name Liberace , was a famous American entertainer and pianist...
effect.
The
1980 Embassy World Darts Championship was the third year that the
British Darts OrganisationThe British Darts Organisation, or the BDO for short, is a darts organisation.It was founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft, OBE in the front room of his home in Muswell Hill...
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 ClubJollees Cabaret Club was a cabaret venue in Stoke-on-Trent in England. At the peak of its popularity, audiences saw many international recording artists and comedians perform, including Cliff Richard, Roy Orbison, Norman Wisdom, Petula Clark, Bruce Forsyth, Matt Monro and Cilla Black.Contrary to...
in
Stoke-on-TrentStoke-on-Trent is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme and Kidsgrove, Stoke forms the The Potteries Urban Area...
.
Defending champion
John LoweJohn Lowe is an English darts player who was one of the main competitors who made darts such a huge spectator sport in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the United Kingdom.-Biography:...
, who had released a book
The Lowe Profile just before the event suffered a surprise defeat 0-2 to
Cliff LazarenkoCliff Lazarenko is an English professional darts player who competed for the British Darts Organisation and the Professional Darts Corporation. Nicknamed Big Cliff, he is well known for being a very colourful character on and off the stage.Big Cliff made his first TV appearance on the 1970s...
saying afterwards "If you miss your doubles in this one, you must expect to go out."
Eric BristowEric Bristow MBE is a British darts player, whose skill at the game in the 1980s helped turn it into a worldwide spectator sport.- Early career :...
was then immediately installed as favourite to win the event and would meet another flamboyant character of the game in the final -
Bobby GeorgeBobby George is an English darts player and pundit, who is known as one of the leading characters in the game for his flamboyant entrances and many medallions and rings.Although he became one of the sports biggest names,...
.
George, who wasn't even invited to the qualifiers the previous year appeared in a sequined shirt and when arriving on the stage was presented with a
candelabra"Candelabra" is the traditional term for a set of multiple decorative candlesticks, each of which often holds a candle on each of multiple arms or branches connected to a column or pedestal...
to complete a
LiberaceWladziu Valentino Liberace , better known by only his last name Liberace , was a famous American entertainer and pianist...
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 burst his score and nonchalently 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.
The Results
THIRD PLACE MATCH (Best of 3 sets)
England
Tony BrownTony Brown is a former English professional darts player. He reached the World Professional Darts Championships semi-finals four times, losing twice to Eric Bristow and twice to John Lowe....
beat
Cliff LazarenkoCliff Lazarenko is an English professional darts player who competed for the British Darts Organisation and the Professional Darts Corporation. Nicknamed Big Cliff, he is well known for being a very colourful character on and off the stage.Big Cliff made his first TV appearance on the 1970s...
England 2-0