Back British Darts Organisation Czech British Darts Organisation German Organización Británica de Dardos Spanish British Darts Organisation French British Darts Organisation Hungarian ブリティッシュ・ダーツ・オーガナイゼイション Japanese British Darts Organisation Dutch British Darts Organisation SIMPLE Британська організація дартсу Ukrainian
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| Abbreviation | BDO |
|---|---|
| Formation | 7 January 1973 |
| Defunct | September 2020 |
| Type | Professional darts organisation |
| Headquarters | Tonypandy, Wales, United Kingdom |
| Website | bdodarts |
The British Darts Organisation (BDO) was a darts organisation founded on 7 January 1973 by Olly Croft. Made up of 66 member counties, it oversaw professional, semi-professional and amateur darts competitions in Britain. The BDO was a founder member of the World Darts Federation in 1974. It also staged a World Professional Darts Championship from 1978 to 2020.
In the early 1990s, a dispute between Olly Croft and the top darts players over the decline in TV coverage and sponsorship led to an acrimonious split in the game, with the players breaking away to form their own governing body which became the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Henceforth, the BDO and PDC ran their own separate tours, each with its own world championship.
The BDO suffered an increasing number of problems in its later years. Many of its top players defected to the more lucrative PDC. Irregularities at the 2019 World Masters led to the BDO being demoted to associate member status by the World Darts Federation.[1] Financial issues led to prize money for the 2020 World Championship being greatly reduced. The BDO subsequently went into liquidation in September 2020.
- ^ "WDF – World Darts Federation" (PDF). 21 January 2024.