History UsefulNotes / Darts

The 1980s, or at least the first half of them, are widely considered as a Golden Age for darts as far as wider public popularity goes, with top players like Eric Bristow, John Lowe, Jocky Wilson and Bobby George becoming household names. The peak was perhaps the World Championship final of 1983, won by the youthful rookie Keith Deller over favourite Bristow in a major upset, watched by ten million viewers. This was also the era of ''[[Series/BullseyeUK Bullseye]]'' (arguably ''the'' quintessential 1980s British game show) which, as the title suggests, was based around darts.

* Gerwyn Price: 2021 PDC world champion and arguably one of the biggest characters in the game at the present time.

* Michael Smith: "Bully Boy". 2023 PDC world champion, long-awaited after previously finishing as runner-up in [[AlwaysSecondBest no less than eight major finals.]]

* Raymond Van Barneveld: "Barney". Five-time world champion (four times in the BDO and once in the PDC). Generally seen as the second best player in the world in the 90s and 00s after Taylor. Became a national hero in his native Netherlands and inspired the likes of Michael van Gerwen to take up darts.
* Michael Van Gerwen: "MVG". Three-time world champion and often named as the greatest player currently active.

* Peter Wright: Two-time world champion.

** The inaugural BDO World Championship is unique for two reasons. It was played over a leg format (the only instance of a World Championship, BDO or PDC being played in such a format) and it was held at the Heart of the Midlands Club in Nottingham. Subsequently, it was held at Jollees in Stoke. The event didn't actually move to the now-familar setting of the Lakeside country club in Frimley Green, Surrey, until 1986.

* PayingTheirDues: For all the talk of how the PDC is better and more successful than the BDO/WDF, all bar two of the PDC World Champions to date [[note]]Gerwyn Price and Michael Smith[[/note]] started out in BDO darts. At one point the PDC made an offer to buy out the BDO and run it as a developmental circuit[[note]]the BDO holds closer associations with the UK county system which helps them bring through players[[/note]], an offer that was rejected. Given the subsequent BDO collapse, they should probably have taken it.

* Michael Smith: "Bully Boy". As of time of writing, defending world champion, long-awaited after finishing as runner-up in [[AlwaysSecondBest no less than eight major finals.]]

* Raymond Van Barneveld: Five-time world champion (four times in the BDO and once in the PDC). Generally seen as the second best player in the world in the 90s and 00s after Taylor. Became a national hero in his native Netherlands and inspired the likes of Michael van Gerwen to take up darts.
* Michael Van Gerwen: Three-time world champion and often named as the greatest player currently active.

However, the BDO did not take this lightly and [[DisproportionateRetribution banned the 16 rebel players from darts competitions worldwide, even down to the local level]]. The ban was also applied to anyone else who associated with the rebels, including playing them in exhibitions. Two of the defectors subsequently returned to the BDO, but the other 14 held firm. The result was a long and costly legal dispute, which only ended when a compromise was reached in 1997. However, the bitterness between the two sides lingered for much longer. It is known among darts players and fans as simply [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split_in_darts The Split]] and any mention of it in darting circles is still guaranteed to generate passionate debates/furious arguments.