1983 BDO World Darts Championship

The 1983 Embassy World Darts Championship was staged at Jollees Cabaret Club in Stoke-on-Trent from 1–8 January 1983.

Embassy World Darts Championship
Tournament information
Dates	1–8 January 1983
Venue	Jollees Cabaret Club
Location	Stoke-on-Trent
Country	England
Organisation(s)	BDO
Format	Sets Final – best of 11
Prize fund	£33,050
Winner's share	£8,000
High checkout	161 Jocky Wilson
Champion(s)
Keith Deller
«1982 1984»

The tournament saw one of the World Darts Championship's biggest upsets, when Keith Deller defeated Eric Bristow, by 6 sets to 5 in the final, to become the youngest ever World Darts Champion and the first qualifier to win the World Championship.

Deller also beat world number 3, John Lowe in the quarter-finals and defending champion and world number 2, Jocky Wilson in the semi-finals, making him the only player in history to defeat the world's top three ranked players in the World Championship.

The final featured one of darts' most memorable moments, when Bristow was left on 121. Having hit single 17 and then treble 18, Bristow decided against hitting the bullseye. Instead he hit a single 18 to leave double 16, whilst Deller was on 138. Deller had already missed seven darts at a double to win the title in the ninth set, when leading 5-3 and Bristow believed his opponent would not check out the high finish. However, Deller hit treble 20, followed by treble 18 and finally finished on double 12 to win the title. To this day commentators often refer to 138 as the "Deller checkout" if a player is left with that score.

Seeds

1. Eric Bristow
2. John Lowe
3. Jocky Wilson
4. Stefan Lord
5. Bobby George
6. Cliff Lazarenko
7. Nicky Virachkul
8. Dave Whitcombe

Prize money

The prize fund was £32,300.

Champion: £8,000

Runner-Up: £3,500

3rd Place: £500

Semi-Finalists (2): £1,750

Quarter-Finalists (4): £1,200

Last 16 (8): £700

Last 32 (16): £400

There was also a 9-Dart Checkout prize of £30,000, along with a High Checkout prize of £750. In the semi-final, Jocky Wilson missed double 18 for the 9-dart finish.

The results

Preliminary round

A best of three sets preliminary round match took place between Alan Evans of Wales and Brent Bartholomew of New Zealand as they were tied on the rankings.

Player	Score	Player
Alan Evans	2 – 1	Brent Bartholomew

Last 32

	First round (best of 3 sets) 1–2 January					Second round (best of 5 sets) 3–4 January					Quarter-finals (best of 7 sets) 5–6 January					Semi-finals (best of 9 sets) 7 January					Final (best of 11 sets) 8 January
	1	Eric Bristow 85.68	2
		Peter Masson 81.30	1
						1	Eric Bristow 95.79	3
							Dave Lee 88.53	2
		Dave Lee 85.32	2
		Tony Holyoake 75.57	1
											1	Eric Bristow 93.03	4
											8	Dave Whitcombe 87.36	3
	8	Dave Whitcombe 84.12	2
		Andy Green 75.96	1
						8	Dave Whitcombe 86.01	3
							Tony Ridler 85.20	2
		Tony Ridler 75.27	2
		Finn Jensen 68.67	1
																1	Eric Bristow 87.72	5
																	Tony Brown 84.24	1
	5	Bobby George 73.62	0
		Tony Brown 74.67	2
							Tony Brown 82.89	3
							Jerry Umberger 81.00	0
		Alan Glazier 69.15	0
		Jerry Umberger 74.64	2
												Tony Brown 83.19	4
											4	Stefan Lord 82.11	1
	4	Stefan Lord 79.98	2
		KC Mullaney 75.30	1
						4	Stefan Lord 73.68	3
							Luc Marreel 72.45	0
		Ceri Morgan 81.93	0
		Luc Marreel 82.68	2
																					1	Eric Bristow 93.81	5
																						Keith Deller 90.06	6
	2	John Lowe 97.11	2
	Q	Alan Evans 86.43	0
						2	John Lowe 87.72	3
							Terry O'Dea 86.40	2
		Peter Locke 83.19	0
		Terry O'Dea 87.51	2
											2	John Lowe 87.30	3
												Keith Deller 86.55	4
	7	Nicky Virachkul 82.47	1
		Keith Deller 85.26	2
							Keith Deller 91.14	3
							Les Capewell 80.01	1
		Les Capewell 76.23	2
		Stuart Holden 76.26	1
																	Keith Deller 85.47	5
																3	Jocky Wilson 85.74	3
	6	Cliff Lazarenko 89.07	2
		Leighton Rees 83.94	0
						6	Cliff Lazarenko 83.58	3
							Paul Lim 76.50	1
		Tony Skuse 69.06	0
		Paul Lim 70.95	2
											6	Cliff Lazarenko 81.39	2
											3	Jocky Wilson 86.13	4
	3	Jocky Wilson 76.44	2
		Steve Brennan 78.63	0
						3	Jocky Wilson 79.11	3
							Kevin White 79.98	0
		Rab Smith 75.54	1
		Kevin White 79.17	2

Third-place match

• Jocky Wilson 90.30 (3) 2–0 Tony Brown 79.95

(Bristow) played the percentage shot. Living dangerous, Bristow – he's banking on Deller not doing this. But the shot's on for the title. Double 12 for the title..... I am telling ya, I'm telling ya, I've seen nothing like it in my life. Keith Deller of Ipswich, 23 years old, he had to qualify to get here. Bristow did a percentage shot, Deller did the business. He's now the World Champion!

BBC commentator Sid Waddell describes the 138 finish that gave Keith Deller the 1983 World Title