The Unipart British Professional Championship [1] was a darts tournament organised by the British Darts Organisation and televised by the BBC between 1981 and 1988. After the 1988 championships, the BBC withdrew their coverage of the event and it left UK terrestrial television with only one televised tournament – the World Championships. The game was at an all-time low and players eventually went on to set up the World Darts Council in an attempt to bring back sponsors and television.
| British Professional Championship | |
|---|---|
| Tournament information | |
| Venue | Fiesta Club Stockton-on-Tees (1981), Gaskins Plus One club Middlesbrough (1982), Coatham Bowl Redcar (1983–88) |
| Country |  Great Britain |
| Established | 1981 |
| Organisation(s) | BDO Major (8 editions) |
| Format | Sets |
| Final Year | 1988 |
| Final champion(s) | |
 Jocky Wilson | |
Jocky Wilson won the title a record four times – John Lowe also reached four finals but lost them all.
British Professional Championship finals edit
| Year | Champion (average in final) | Score | Runner-up (average in final) | Prize money | Sponsor | Venue | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Champion | Runner-up | ||||||
| 1981[2] | Jocky Wilson
|
6–5 |  John Lowe
|
£12,000 | £6,000 | £3,000 | Fiesta Club Stockton-on-Tees | |
| 1982[3] | Eric Bristow
|
7–3 | John Lowe
|
£26,000 | £7,000 | £3,500 | Gaskins club Middlesbrough | |
| 1983[4] | Jocky Wilson
|
7–2 | Dave Whitcombe
|
£8,000 | ? | ? | Coatham Bowl Redcar | |
| 1984[5] | Mike Gregory
|
7–5 | John Lowe
|
£29,600 | £4,000 | £2,000 | ||
| 1985[6] | Eric Bristow
|
7–4 | John Lowe
|
£34,000 | £9,000 | £4,500 | ||
| 1986[7] | Jocky Wilson
|
7–6 | Dave Whitcombe
|
£35,800 | £10,000 | £4,500 | ||
| 1987[8] | Keith Deller
|
7–5 |  Leighton Rees
|
£38,200 | £10,000 | £5,000 | ||
| 1988[9] | Jocky Wilson
|
7–2 | Ray Battye
|
£39,700 | £11,000 | £5,500 | ||
References edit
- ^ Waddell, Sid (10 November 2009). Bellies and Bullseyes: The Outrageous True Story of Darts. Random House, 2009. ISBN 9781407030449. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
- ^ "1981 British Professional Results". dartsdatabase.co.uk. Darts Database. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
- ^ "1982 British Professional Results". dartsdatabse.com. Darts Database. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
- ^ "1983 British Professional Results". dartsdatabse.com. Darts Databse. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
- ^ "1984 British Professional Results". dartsdatabse.com. Darts Database. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
- ^ "1985 British Professional Results". dartsdatabase. Darts Database. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
- ^ "1986 British Professional Results". dartsdatabase.co.uk. Darts Database. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
- ^ "1987 British Professional Results". dartsdatabase.co.uk. Darts Database.
- ^ "1988 British Professional Results". dartsdatabase.co.uk. Darts Database. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
External links edit
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