Every BDO World Darts Championship winner, every finalist, every score. From Leighton Rees lifting the inaugural trophy in 1978 to Wayne Warren’s win in the final edition at Lakeside in January 2020. No filler — just the complete record, with notes on the moments that deserve more than a row in a table.
A few entries here other sites get wrong, or list without context. That bothers me. These results are the history of the sport for a generation of fans — they deserve to be accurate.
Men’s BDO World Champions 1978–2020
Forty-three editions. Seventeen different champions. The tournament ran at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green from 1986 onwards — but started at the Heart of the Midlands Club in Nottingham for its first eight years. The full record:
| Year | Champion | Country | Finalist | Score | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Leighton Rees | Wales | John Lowe | 11–7 (legs) | First ever champion. Legs format used in year one only. |
| 1979 | John Lowe | England | Leighton Rees | 5–0 | |
| 1980 | Eric Bristow | England | Bobby George | 5–3 | Bristow’s first title. He was 22. |
| 1981 | Eric Bristow | England | John Lowe | 5–3 | |
| 1982 | Jocky Wilson | Scotland | John Lowe | 5–3 | |
| 1983 | Keith Deller | England | Eric Bristow | 6–5 | 500/1 outsider. Deller was 23 and virtually unknown. Arguably the biggest upset in the tournament’s history. |
| 1984 | Eric Bristow | England | Dave Whitcombe | 7–1 | |
| 1985 | Eric Bristow | England | John Lowe | 6–2 | |
| 1986 | Eric Bristow | England | Dave Whitcombe | 6–0 | Fifth and final world title. First edition at Lakeside. |
| 1987 | John Lowe | England | Eric Bristow | 6–4 | |
| 1988 | Bob Anderson | England | John Lowe | 6–4 | |
| 1989 | Jocky Wilson | Scotland | Eric Bristow | 6–4 | Bristow knew his game was going. Wilson was brilliant that week. |
| 1990 | Phil Taylor | England | Eric Bristow | 6–1 | Taylor’s first world title. His last under the BDO banner before the PDC split. |
| 1991 | Dennis Priestley | England | Eric Bristow | 6–0 | |
| 1992 | Phil Taylor | England | Mike Gregory | 6–5 | A tight final. Taylor and Gregory both members of what would become the WDC breakaway group the following year. |
| 1993 | John Lowe | England | Alan Warriner | 6–3 | Lowe’s third title. His last at Lakeside. |
| 1994 | John Part | Canada | Bobby George | 6–0 | First non-British, non-Welsh, non-Scottish champion. |
| 1995 | Richie Burnett | Wales | Raymond van Barneveld | 6–3 | |
| 1996 | Steve Beaton | England | Richie Burnett | 6–3 | |
| 1997 | Les Wallace | Scotland | Marshall James | 6–3 | |
| 1998 | Raymond van Barneveld | Netherlands | Richie Burnett | 6–5 | Barneveld’s first title. The Dutch crowd had started making their presence felt at Frimley Green. |
| 1999 | Raymond van Barneveld | Netherlands | Ronnie Baxter | 6–5 | |
| 2000 | Ted Hankey | England | Ronnie Baxter | 6–0 | Dominant final. Hankey’s first of two world titles. |
| 2001 | John Walton | England | Ted Hankey | 6–2 | |
| 2002 | Tony David | Australia | Mervyn King | 6–4 | First Australian world champion. |
| 2003 | Raymond van Barneveld | Netherlands | Ritchie Davies | 6–3 | Third title for Barneveld. |
| 2004 | Andy Fordham | England | Mervyn King | 6–3 | |
| 2005 | Raymond van Barneveld | Netherlands | Martin Adams | 6–2 | Barneveld’s fourth and final BDO title. He joined the PDC the following year. |
| 2006 | Jelle Klaasen | Netherlands | Raymond van Barneveld | 7–5 | Klaasen was 21. Youngest BDO world champion on record. He beat the defending champion in the final. |
| 2007 | Martin Adams | England | Phill Nixon | 7–6 | Adams’ first title. Long time coming. |
| 2008 | Mark Webster | Wales | Simon Whitlock | 7–5 | |
| 2009 | Ted Hankey | England | Tony O’Shea | 7–6 | Hankey’s second title, nine years after the first. |
| 2010 | Martin Adams | England | Dave Chisnall | 7–5 | |
| 2011 | Martin Adams | England | Dean Winstanley | 7–5 | Adams’ third consecutive title. Three in a row — only Bristow had done that before. |
| 2012 | Christian Kist | Netherlands | Tony O’Shea | 7–5 | |
| 2013 | Scott Waites | England | Tony O’Shea | 7–1 | |
| 2014 | Stephen Bunting | England | Alan Norris | 7–4 | |
| 2015 | Scott Mitchell | England | Martin Adams | 7–6 | Tight final. Mitchell held his nerve. |
| 2016 | Scott Waites | England | Jeff Smith | 7–1 | Waites’ second title. |
| 2017 | Glen Durrant | England | Danny Noppert | 7–3 | Durrant’s first title. Middlesbrough’s finest hour at Frimley Green. |
| 2018 | Glen Durrant | England | Mark McGeeney | 7–6 | Second title. McGeeney pushed him all the way. |
| 2019 | Glen Durrant | England | Scott Waites | 7–3 | Third consecutive title. Durrant joins a very short list. |
| 2020 | Wayne Warren | Wales | Jim Williams | 7–4 | The last BDO World Champion. Warren was 57. The BDO entered administration later that year. |
A note on 2015: I see this listed incorrectly as Scott Waites on several sites. It was Scott Mitchell — Waites won his second title in 2016. Small detail, but it matters if you’re keeping a proper record.
Women’s BDO World Champions 2001–2020
The Women’s World Championship began in 2001. Trina Gulliver won it. And then she won it again. Seven times in the first nine editions — a period of dominance that has no real equivalent in the men’s game.
| Year | Champion | Country | Finalist | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Trina Gulliver | England | Mandy Solomons | 2–1 |
| 2002 | Trina Gulliver | England | Francis Hoenselaar | 2–1 |
| 2003 | Trina Gulliver | England | Anne Kirk | 2–0 |
| 2004 | Trina Gulliver | England | Francis Hoenselaar | 2–0 |
| 2005 | Trina Gulliver | England | Francis Hoenselaar | 2–0 |
| 2006 | Trina Gulliver | England | Francis Hoenselaar | 2–0 |
| 2007 | Trina Gulliver | England | Francis Hoenselaar | 2–1 |
| 2008 | Anastasia Dobromyslova | Russia | Trina Gulliver | 2–0 |
| 2009 | Francis Hoenselaar | Netherlands | Trina Gulliver | 2–1 |
| 2010 | Trina Gulliver | England | Rhian Edwards | 2–0 |
| 2011 | Trina Gulliver | England | Rhian Edwards | 2–0 |
| 2012 | Anastasia Dobromyslova | Russia | Deta Hedman | 2–1 |
| 2013 | Anastasia Dobromyslova | Russia | Lisa Ashton | 2–1 |
| 2014 | Lisa Ashton | England | Deta Hedman | 3–2 |
| 2015 | Lisa Ashton | England | Fallon Sherrock | 3–1 |
| 2016 | Trina Gulliver | England | Deta Hedman | 3–2 |
| 2017 | Lisa Ashton | England | Corrine Hammond | 3–0 |
| 2018 | Lisa Ashton | England | Anastasia Dobromyslova | 3–1 |
| 2019 | Mikuru Suzuki | Japan | Lorraine Winstanley | 3–0 |
| 2020 | Mikuru Suzuki | Japan | Lisa Ashton | 3–0 |
Hoenselaar reached five consecutive women’s finals from 2002 to 2007 and lost all five. She finally won in 2009 — beating Gulliver, who’d beaten her so many times. That 2009 win deserves more recognition than it gets.
Dobromyslova in 2008 was the first non-British, non-Dutch women’s champion. She did it three times in total — 2008, 2012, 2013. Suzuki’s back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2020 were the final chapter: the first Asian champion in the event’s history.
Records and Milestones
Men’s Records
Most titles — Men’s: Eric Bristow, 5 (1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986). Three were at Lakeside. He won his last at 28. After that, the focal dystonia that affected his throwing arm effectively ended him as a serious contender, though it took years to accept it.
Three consecutive titles: Bristow won three in a row (1984–1986). Martin Adams matched it exactly (2009–2011). Glen Durrant then did it again (2017–2019). Three men, three eras.
Multiple title winners: Bristow 5, van Barneveld 4, Lowe 3, Adams 3, Durrant 3, Wilson 2, Taylor 2, Hankey 2, Waites 2.
Youngest men’s champion: Jelle Klaasen in 2006, aged 21. He beat the man who’d won it four times in the final. Remarkable result.
Oldest men’s champion: Wayne Warren in 2020, aged 57. The oldest world champion in the tournament’s history and, as it turned out, the last.
First non-British champion (men’s): John Part, Canada, 1994.
Women’s Records
Most titles — Women’s: Trina Gulliver, 10 (2001–2007, 2010, 2011, 2016). No player in either the men’s or women’s game comes close to that proportion of titles won from editions entered.
Most finals reached (women’s): Francis Hoenselaar, who reached the final six times — and won once, in 2009.
Lisa Ashton’s four titles (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018) are often underrated. She’s the second most successful women’s champion, and she did it across two separate spells.
First non-British women’s champion: Anastasia Dobromyslova, Russia, 2008 — breaking a seven-year English monopoly on the title.
First Asian champion (women’s): Mikuru Suzuki, Japan, 2019.
