British Professional Championship

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
VenueFiesta Club Stockton-on-Tees (1981), Gaskins Plus One club Middlesbrough (1982), Coatham Bowl Redcar (1983–88)
CountryGreat Britain
Established1981
Organisation(s)BDO Major (8 editions)
FormatSets
Final Year1988
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
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
  1. Waddell, Sid (10 November 2009). Bellies and Bullseyes: The Outrageous True Story of Darts. books.google.ae. Random House, 2009. ISBN 9781407030449. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  2. "1981 British Professional Results". dartsdatabase.co.uk. Darts Database. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  3. "1982 British Professional Results". dartsdatabse.com. Darts Database. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  4. "1983 British Professional Results". dartsdatabse.com. Darts Databse. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  5. "1984 British Professional Results". dartsdatabse.com. Darts Database. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  6. "1985 British Professional Results". dartsdatabase. Darts Database. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  7. "1986 British Professional Results". dartsdatabase.co.uk. Darts Database. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  8. "1987 British Professional Results". dartsdatabase.co.uk. Darts Database.
  9. "1988 British Professional Results". dartsdatabase.co.uk. Darts Database. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
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