The DEATH of BDO Darts - TROPHYGATE Incident

[@Mitjitsu]

BDO peaked in 1983 and the decline started in 1987. Interesting that the players in the early 90's said that BDO would be dead in 30 years if it carried on the way it did. The rise of satellite TV was probably the main reason the PDC succeeded. While Croft refused to move away from the working men's clubs of the 80's.

[@misternobodywhatsoever4752]

Is anyone else reminded of the T.V show Bo’Selecta when they see a picture of Paula Jacklin or is it just me?

[@pen2199]

I wa gunna say, proper bo proper bo

[@eclectica1]

Proper bo I tell thee!!!

[@jubeaumont6305]

>translate to English 😂

[@danieltucker6922]

Been to a few local tourys where Wayne has played! Absolute awesome man! Deserved to keep trophy as he couldn't defend it!

[@jasontuck-smith3896]

I loved the intimacy of the BDO and Lakeside is iconic. It's sad how badly wrong it all went.

[@JoeBloggz-x2j]

The arrogance of Oly drove it into the ground.

[@jubeaumont6305]

Christmas and new year time just hasnt been the same for me. And leaving the lakeside - well, the writing was on the wall right then. That was a stupid and ominous decision.

[@BricktopsPigs]

The days of pub darts,your star player playing for the county side and we all knew of guys in our league who qualified for Lakeside. Such a straightforward path to get there.Now its so convoluted.

[@idi0tdetectioninprogress]

A much easier route more like. As its now proved, it wasn't progress and it wasn't the way to develop real talent. Fred the plumber qualifying for Lakeside is a nice story, but it didn't promote the game, nor create the professional image needed to move things forward into being recognised as a professional game.

[@BricktopsPigs]

@@idi0tdetectioninprogress I absolutely agree with you. Pro Darts was the way forward. My comment echod your sentiments about the plumber getting to Lakeside. But i was talking about a time before pro darts(im old). The Lakeside was a huge deal back then.Sad to see it decline. I still stand by my comment that its more difficult to get to the top in darts nowadays as there is very little prize money in the lesser tournys and if you dont do well then trying to turn pro without winning prize money is very difficult. Even the guys from Q school can struggle financially to make it as the cost of hotels,transport etc can be too much. Many still need to have a job to support their grind to make it to the stage where they dont need to work. Darts has come such a long way since the breakaway. The masters series,the euro tour,the pro tour,the premier league and the majors-plus i really enjoy the Modus Super Series. If you have access to the right equipment like i do you can be watching competitive darts nearly every week now. But i digress. I agree with you lol.the path is straightforward but difficult to navigate.

[@LukeD-Always]

The BDO was stuck in the 80’s, Jacklin might have buried it but its fate was sealed a long long time ago. They were too arrogant to accept their place and paid the price.

[@jubeaumont6305]

Yeah , I have to agree with you there, I really dont want to but it's true. The way they acted with Phil Taylor and the PDC lot was really old fashioned and arrogant. I just had a soft spot for BDO because I never had sky tv so Christmas time at the lakeside was pretty much the only time I could see darts on tv back then. I dont watch tv at all these days and haven't since my dad died or really kept up with the darts.

[@MatadorDarts]

I wonder what would have happened if Schena became chairman. He's got money and business sense but not sure what good that would have done by that point

[@jubeaumont6305]

Makes you wonder doesn't it. If the BDO could've just bowed out gracefully and the old trophies been sold or gifted , somehow incorporated into some kind of continuation it would have been great. What actually happened is just so sad. All that history all those moments and memories. I wonder where they ended up?😕

[@brynleyoakley6990]

Never beat the Lakeside for Atmosphere. It's not the same now, All Greed.

[@Haterade420]

The Jacklins should be banned from darts.

[@Jaygraterthanyou]

Watching the BDO at The Lakeside on BBC felt like it never advanced past 1982, zero atmosphere from the crowd, zero enthusiasm from the players, and the commentary was like listening to someone talk about crap you had no interest in.

[@JoeBloggz-x2j]

Couldn't disagree more. The atmosphere was always great unless you prefer the circus/zoo of drunks at the Ally/pally. Booing players on their shots is a disgrace.

[@simonhughes6772]

​@@JoeBloggz-x2jI agree mate, to many casuals or non darts fans there now just for the piss or to sing stupid chants over and over lakeside had that cosy feel to it shame what happened In the end but the quality of darts has never been better.

[@garywallace5602]

The Ally Pally has zero darts fans. Full of drunks singing 🎶Football's Coming Home!🎶....missed their Wembley Stadium station stop!

[@jubeaumont6305]

I loved the lakeside lot, the crowd had fun and were loud enough without being obnoxious. People would dress up and have a laugh but kept it family friendly, you would often see families with little kids in the crowd. It was nice, man !

[@lauriebluesguy]

An amateur company that could never compete with the professional version setup by Hearn. Surprised that it lasted as long as it did.

[@DartsWorldyt]

True

[@Mitjitsu]

BBC propped it up for a number of years, but once they dropped coverage after 2016. The nail was in the coffin.

[@mecat62corner55]

Didn't glen durrant purchase the mens world championship trophy ??

[@steveirvinejr1672]

I miss the bdo

[@NicolaiAwesome]

The BDO never stood a chance once Hearn & co moved in. Now I’m sure Olly Croft didn’t see it that way at the time but up until the split, the road had been almost laying itself. Darts grew and grew and money - especially in the 80’s - was pouring in. You didn’t have to be a genius promoter and business man, just keep on doing the same thing year after year and you were fine. Then when darts’ star started to wain, it was the perfect time for someone like Hearn to come in and “pick it up cheap” so to speak and slowly the WDC/PDC juggernaut got going. It’s easy to be overly critical of Croft and the BDO in hindsight but really he - and more importantly, the game of darts - would’ve been best served by him accepting his fate.

[@gamesbloke]

What I want to see after all this is a venue become the centre of professional darts. Like The Crucible for Snooker. You have the lively venues for day to day and then you have the prestige of a large historic venue with all the ceremony that comes with it. "Quiet please while the players throw" etc. In my mind as a long time watcher of Darts on 'free' TV I would argue its Lakeside. Your opinion may vary there. I would watch Darts religiously on BBC year after year and I personally would not want changes or adaptation. Its classic for a reason. But thats just me. The truth is the BDO stagnated. The PDC grew. Its all a business and your players are your talent and your talent pulls in the crowds and the crowds bring in the money and the money pays your talent and bills. Everything I have seen has shown me that the BDO failed to maintain the talent across many years. A major link is weakened. Collapse is inevitable without reflection and change. What people have done to keep the talented players moving forward in the sport is remarkable and amazing. I miss the product of the BDO in terms of the tournaments and the players. But its representatives that were public facing made grave errors.