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1994 WDC World Darts Championship

FieldValue
tournament_name1994 WDC World Darts Championship
dates28 December 1993 – 2 January 1994
venueCircus Tavern
locationPurfleet
country
organisationPDC (WDC)
formatSets
Final – best of 11
prize_fund£64,000
winners_share£16,000
high_checkout160
winner****
next1995

Final – best of 11 The 1994 WDC World Darts Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the 1994 Skol World Darts Championship) was held following 18 months of controversy within the sport of darts. After the 1993 BDO World Darts Championship, several players decided it was time to part company with the British Darts Organisation (who had always organised the World Championship) and form their own organisation. The new organisation was known as the World Darts Council (WDC). The WDC would later become the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).

The WDC decided to introduce their own separate World Championship, with the inaugural tournament being staged before the BDO version. The 1994 Championship started on 28 December 1993, and finished on 2 January 1994. This started a tradition for the WDC/PDC World Championship to kick off before the new calendar year begins. The tournament was staged at the Circus Tavern, Purfleet, Essex.

Dennis Priestley became the first WDC World Darts Champion, winning the final 6–1 against Phil Taylor to add to his 6–0 whitewash victory over Eric Bristow in the 1991 World Championship. 1994 was the last time that Phil Taylor would fail to win the World Championship until 2003.

The 16 defectors

Originally 16 players "defected" from the BDO to form the WDC/PDC – Phil Taylor, Dennis Priestley, Rod Harrington, Alan Warriner, Peter Evison, Richie Gardner, Jocky Wilson, Eric Bristow, Keith Deller, John Lowe, Bob Anderson, Cliff Lazarenko, Kevin Spiolek, Jamie Harvey, Mike Gregory and Chris Johns.

However, Johns and Gregory returned to the BDO without ever competing at the PDC World Championship. They were replaced with Graeme Stoddart and Kevin Burrows and the field was brought up to 24 by adding eight players who are Larry Butler, Sean Downs, Gerald Verrier, Jerry Umberger, Jim Watkins, Dave Kelly and Steve Brown from North America and Tom Kirby of Ireland.

Tournament and format

There were 24 players involved and the tournament featured an unusual round-robin format. The players were put into groups of three where the order of play was thus:

  • Player A v player B
  • Loser of match 1 v player C
  • Winner of match 1 v player C This was done so that there would usually always be something to play for in the last group game.

The group winner would progress to the quarter-finals (best of seven sets) and the tournament then became a straight knock-out event. The semi-finals were the best of 9 sets and the final was best of 11 sets.

Seeds

  1. ENG Dennis Priestley
  2. ENG Alan Warriner
  3. ENG Bob Anderson
  4. ENG Peter Evison
  5. ENG Rod Harrington
  6. ENG Phil Taylor
  7. ENG Kevin Spiolek
  8. ENG John Lowe

Prize money

The prize money for the tournament was £64,000 – significantly less than the 1994 BDO World Championship which featured a £136,100 prize fund.

Position (num. of players)Prize money
(Total: £64,000)BDO equivalent
prize money
(Total: £136,000)
Winner(1)£16,000
Runner-Up(1)£8,000
Third place(1)£5,000
Fourth place(1)£3,000
Quarter-finalists(4)£2,500
Second place in group(8)£1,500
Third place in group(8)£1,250

Tournament review

Group stage

The majority of the major players came through the group stage without trouble. Phil Taylor eased past Jamie Harvey 3–1, and Jim Watkins 3–0 to win Group 1, while 1988 World Champion, Bob Anderson, cruised into the quarter-finals for a showdown against Taylor, after a series of 3–0 wins against Americans Gerald Verrier and Dave Kelly. But there was room for an American to upset the odds, as Steve Brown, surprisingly, took Group 3, with wins against 1983 champion Keith Deller and Kevin Spiolek. Alan Warriner would go through to meet him after a couple of 3–1 wins against Richie Gardner and Cliff Lazarenko. Peter Evison showed no signs of discomfort, with consecutive 3–0 wins over Jerry Umberger and Kevin Burrows, and two 90-plus averages to go with it; the second of which, 97.56, would be the highest three-dart average in the tournament. Rod Harrington also went through after winning group 6, though not without difficulty. After a 3–1 win over five time World Champion, Eric Bristow, he narrowly defeated Sean Downs by 3 sets to 2 to go through to the last 8. Group 7 would see three-time champion John Lowe bow out, who narrowed missed out in a tight group, which saw Tom Kirby from Ireland book a quarter-final place, despite suffering defeat in his opening match to Lowe. A 3–1 win over American Larry Butler, and Lowe's 3–2 loss to Butler, ensured the Irishmen's advancement. He would be up against Dennis Priestley, after the Yorkshireman saw off Jocky Wilson 3–2 and Graeme Stoddart 3–0 to book a quarter-final place.

Quarter-finals

In a battle of two former world champions, Phil Taylor defeated Bob Anderson 4–2. Steve Brown upset the odds again to defeat 1993 runner-up Alan Warriner 4–3 and book a meeting with Taylor in the semi-finals. Peter Evison continued his good form, recording another 90-plus three-dart average while beating Rod Harrington 4–1, while Dennis Priestley ended the run of Tom Kirby with a 4–2 win.

Semi-finals and third-place play-off

Brown's dream run finally ended in the semi-finals, as Taylor beat him 5–0 to reach his third world final. The scoreline seemed harsh on Brown, however, as both players finished with the same three-dart average (91.20). In the other semi-final, Priestley beat Evison 5–3, thus reaching his second world final. Brown capped off his impressive run in fine style, beating Evison 5–1 in the third-place play-off.

Final

The final turned out to be a one-sided affair, with Taylor rarely giving Priestley any trouble at all. Priestley raced into a 5–0 lead, and eventually won 6–1 to take his second world title.

Results

Group stage

Group A

PosPlayerPWLSFSA+/-Pts
1ENG (1) Dennis Priestley22062+44
2ENG Graeme Stoddart21134−12
3SCO Jocky Wilson20236−30

26 December

95.24 (1) Dennis Priestley ENG3 – 2SCO Jocky Wilson 94.39

27 December

77.24 Jocky Wilson SCO1 – 3ENG Graeme Stoddart 78.20

28 December

86.25 (1) Dennis Priestley ENG3 – 0ENG Graeme Stoddart 86.80

Group B

PosPlayerPWLSFSA+/-Pts
1IRL Tom Kirby21154+12
2ENG (8) John Lowe2115502
3USA Larry Butler21145–12

26 December

89.95 (8) John Lowe ENG3 – 2IRL Tom Kirby 87.68

27 December

89.18 Larry Butler USA1 – 3IRL Tom Kirby 88.47

28 December

82.86 (8) John Lowe ENG2 – 3USA Larry Butler 81.24

Group C

PosPlayerPWLSFSA+/-Pts
1ENG (5) Rod Harrington22063+34
2ENG Eric Bristow21145−12
3USA Sean Downs20246−20

26 December

89.23 (5) Rod Harrington ENG3 – 1ENG Eric Bristow 78.62

27 December

82.19 Eric Bristow ENG3 – 2USA Sean Downs 79.37

28 December

90.59 (5) Rod Harrington ENG3 – 2USA Sean Downs 83.88

Group D

PosPlayerPWLSFSA+/-Pts
1ENG (4) Peter Evison22060+64
2USA Jerry Umberger2113302
3ENG Kevin Burrows20206−60

26 December

93.40 (4) Peter Evison ENG3 – 0USA Jerry Umberger 81.08

27 December

77.04 Kevin Burrows ENG0 – 3USA Jerry Umberger 81.06

28 December

97.55 (4) Peter Evison ENG3 – 0ENG Kevin Burrows 87.58

Group E

PosPlayerPWLSFSA+/-Pts
1ENG (3) Bob Anderson22060+64
2USA Gerald Verrier2113302
3USA Dave Kelly20206−60

26 December

86.97 (3) Bob Anderson ENG3 – 0USA Gerald Verrier 82.90

27 December

72.44 Dave Kelly USA0 – 3USA Gerald Verrier 74.43

28 December

83.44 (3) Bob Anderson ENG3 – 0USA Dave Kelly 75.04

Group F

PosPlayerPWLSFSA+/-Pts
1ENG (6) Phil Taylor22061+54
2USA Jim Watkins21135−22
3SCO Jamie Harvey20236−30

26 December

92.57 (6) Phil Taylor ENG3 – 1SCO Jamie Harvey 90.71

27 December

91.36 Jamie Harvey SCO2 – 3USA Jim Watkins 87.91

28 December

80.50 (6) Phil Taylor ENG3 – 0USA Jim Watkins 78.00

Group G

PosPlayerPWLSFSA+/-Pts
1USA Steve Brown22061+54
2ENG (7) Kevin Spiolek21134−12
3ENG Keith Deller20226−40

26 December

85.49 (7) Kevin Spiolek ENG3 – 1ENG Keith Deller 88.54

27 December

85.92 Steve Brown USA3 – 1ENG Keith Deller 84.57

28 December

84.05 (7) Kevin Spiolek ENG0 – 3USA Steve Brown 92.60

Group H

PosPlayerPWLSFSA+/-Pts
1ENG (2) Alan Warriner22062+44
2ENG Ritchie Gardner2114402
3ENG Cliff Lazarenko20226−40

26 December

87.93 (2) Alan Warriner ENG3 – 1ENG Ritchie Gardner 81.00

27 December

75.43 Ritchie Gardner ENG3 – 1ENG Cliff Lazarenko 77.63

28 December

85.76 (2) Alan Warriner ENG3 – 1ENG Cliff Lazarenko 85.57

Knockout stages

31 December 1 January 2 January

| score-width=20 | team-width=200px

| RD1-seed1=A1 | RD1-team1=ENG Dennis Priestley (1) 90.92 | RD1-score1=4 | RD1-seed2=B1 | RD1-team2=IRL Tom Kirby 84.02 | RD1-score2=2

| RD1-seed3=C1 | RD1-team3=ENG Rod Harrington (5) 89.36 | RD1-score3=1 | RD1-seed4=D1 | RD1-team4=ENG Peter Evison (4) 88.80 | RD1-score4=4

| RD1-seed5=E1 | RD1-team5=ENG Bob Anderson (3) 90.73 | RD1-score5=2 | RD1-seed6=F1 | RD1-team6=ENG Phil Taylor (6) 90.22 | RD1-score6=4

| RD1-seed8=G1 | RD1-team8=ENG Alan Warriner (2) 87.69 | RD1-score8=3 | RD1-seed7=H1 | RD1-team7=USA Steve Brown 88.12 | RD1-score7=4

| RD2-seed1=A1 | RD2-team1=ENG Dennis Priestley (1) 89.56 | RD2-score1=5 | RD2-seed2=D1 | RD2-team2=ENG Peter Evison (4) 82.44 | RD2-score2=3

| RD2-seed3=F1 | RD2-team3=ENG Phil Taylor (6) 91.20 | RD2-score3=5 | RD2-seed4=G1 | RD2-team4=USA Steve Brown 89.55 | RD2-score4=0

| RD3-seed1=A1 | RD3-team1=ENG Dennis Priestley (1) 94.38 | RD3-score1=6 | RD3-seed2=F1 | RD3-team2=ENG Phil Taylor (6) 85.62 | RD3-score2=1

| RD3b-seed1=D1 | RD3b-team1=ENG Peter Evison (4) 84.48 | RD3b-score1=1 | RD3b-seed2=G1 | RD3b-team2=USA Steve Brown 89.04 | RD3b-score2=5

References

References

  1. (29 December 1993). "Darts: Darts elite look to Circus in split world - Jack Massarik reports from Purfleet on the best and worst of the breakaway championship". The Guardian.
  2. (3 January 1994). "Priestley collects WDC title". The Times.
  3. "Prize money breakdown". dartsdatabase.
  4. "Averages all rounds". Darts Database.
  5. (2 January 1994). "Sport (Newslines): Shock as Beaton is beaten.". The Observer.
  6. "Flag Reference Quarter-finals onwards". Darts Database.
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