The Split
The P.D.C. / B.D.O. Split in Darts
In early 1993 when I was the current World No.1 and had just reached the World Championship Final, I with 15 other of the top professionals were banned by the B.D.O., Why!! you might ask.
Just before this in 1992, darts manufacturers, players,managers etc. decided that the sport of darts was dying and something had to be done about it, there was only one t.v. event (The World Championships) where as five years previous to this there was plenty and the future looked good. So the W.D.C. was formed in 1992 to promote the professional game and get more darts on T.V., some early I.T.V. events were the Lada Classic (Anglia T.V.), Samson Darts Classic (Tyne Tees) and the UK Masters (Yorkshire T.V.), things were starting to move where they were stagnant before, but the B.D.O. didn't like this and in 1993 the B.D.O. banned all the players who had joined the W.D.C. from County darts, Super league, all B.D.O. Tournaments & Internationals
unless they pledged their loyalty to the B.D.O., they even told other B.D.O. members that if they played a W.D.C. player in an event or exhibition even a charity night they would be banned aswell, so this put a lot of pressure on everyone, but all stuck together in the W.D.C. except 2 players, Mike Gregory and Chris Johns who were both promised the world but ended up with nothing,and have ended up with obscurity.
I myself was unable to play Super league and County darts which i had done for years with who i thought were my friends(now i know how ceaser felt in the ides of March) even if I was doing an exhibition they would not just refuse to go but tell everyone else not to go either or they would then be banned, or they would then be banned, and for people who only played Super league they did as they were told by the B.D.O. like sheep as they proved to be, I will never forget the things that some people did and
said!!. From this we decided to take the B.D.O. to court and a few years and a lot of money later the court case was won and the Tomlin Order was in motion (preventing restraint of trade) so we could then play in anything we wanted except the "2" World Championships we had to choose "1" only, so I chose what i thought was the future of darts the W.D.C. (now P.D.C.) which has now proved right, after the court case hearing was announced "Yes" The phone began to ring with all the smiling assassins to say hello again!!. The P.D.C. now is the future of the game and we now will have "6" T.V. events next year with more to come, when we were all banned in 1993 players who would probably never have made it or even been on T.V.were given the chance by our stand against the B.D.O. for the future of the game, and made money or a name for themselves, but i am sure none of them would ever thank us, would they. Funny Old World.
