 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (October 2019) |
| One80 L-style World Masters | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament information | |||
| Dates | 23–28 October | ||
| Location | Circus Tavern, Purfleet | ||
| Country | England | ||
| Organisation(s) | BDO | ||
| Format | Sets for men, Legs for women, boys and girls | ||
| Prize fund | £70,500 | ||
| Winner's share | £25,000 (men) £5,000 (women) | ||
| High checkout | 170  Scott Waites (stage matches) | ||
| Champion(s) | |||
 John O'Shea (men) Lisa Ashton (women) Keane Barry (boys) Katie Sheldon (girls) | |||
| |||
The 2019 One80 L-style World Masters was a major tournament on the BDO/WDF calendar for 2019. It took place from 23 to 28 October at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, Essex, which hosted the PDC World Darts Championship from 1994 to 2007.
Adam Smith-Neale was the reigning men's champion after defeating Glen Durrant in the previous year's final by 6 sets to 4, but lost in the Last 128 to Hannes Schnier of Austria. John O'Shea won his first major title with a 6 sets to 4 win over Scott Waites.[1] He became the third non-seeded World Master in three consecutive years. Lisa Ashton was the defending women's champion after defeating Casey Gallagher 4 legs to 2 in last year's women final. She defended her title successfully with a 5 to 4 legs final win over Anastasia Dobromyslova. The youth tournaments were won by Keane Barry and Katie Sheldon of the Republic of Ireland. It was the first time three Irish players won the Singles tournaments of the World Masters.
The tournament was beset with problems, including:[2]
- Prizemoney was not announced in advance.
- The tournament format was changed shortly before the event and the top-16 seeds had to play from the first round instead of receiving a bye to the televised stages.
- Several players boycotted the event in protest at the above. Nick Kenny and Wayne Warren were among the seeds who didn't attend.
- Other players arrived but found they were not registered as they were not aware they had to register.
- The chairman admitted that the original draw was made with fake names, which he said was in case more players showed up.
- The draw was then redone. Brian Cathcart, who never attended the event, was still in the draw for the last-32.
- There was a shortage of scorers and volunteers had to be called for.
- Participants were asked to sign a contract affirming that they would not enter the 2020 PDC World Darts Championship or its qualifiers, otherwise prizemoney might be withheld or have to be repaid. Some refused to sign and played anyway.
- BDO chairman Des Jacklin announced that he would stand down after the 2020 BDO World Darts Championship held in January.
These irregularities led to the BDO, a founder member of the World Darts Federation, being demoted to associate status by the WDF.
The tournament was the last World Masters organised by the BDO after the collapse of the organisation in September 2020.[3] Following the tournament, the World Darts Federation announced plans to launch the WDF World Masters in 2020,[4] but due to the COVID-19 pandemic these plans were pushed back to 2021,[5] and then 2022.[6]
- ^ Glennon, Michael (28 October 2019). "Master O'Shea wins to cap fine weekend for Irish darts". RTÉ.ie. Archived from the original on 2019-11-06.
- ^ Confusion reigns at World Masters as fake names, a redraw and a resignation blight BDO’s oldest major
- ^ "BDO Set to Fold. "It's All Over...." • Darts World Magazine". Archived from the original on 2020-09-26. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
- ^ "WDF – New Ranking System and Two New Majors for 2020". World Darts Federation. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
- ^ "Development of World Rankings Criteria For 2021 – WDF". World Darts Federation. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ "WORLD MASTERS CANCELLED AGAIN, NEW ATTEMPT IN DECEMBER 2022". Darts News. 3 September 2021.