MFI World Matchplay
The MFI World Matchplay championship was a major darts tournament organised by the British Darts Organisation.
| MFI World Matchplay | |
|---|---|
| Tournament information | |
| Venue | Fulcrum Centre, Slough (1984-85), Festival Hall, Basildon (1986-88) |
| Country |  England |
| Established | 1984 |
| Organisation(s) | BDO Major (5 editions) |
| Format | Sets |
| Final Year | 1988 |
| Final champion(s) | |
| Eric Bristow | |
The tournament only lasted for five years but is historic in darts as it featured the first ever televised nine-dart finish on 13 October 1984 when John Lowe won £102,000 for the perfect game of darts against Keith Deller. Lowe went on to win the title that year.
MFI World Matchplay finals
The complete list of final results:[1]
| Year | Champion (average in final) | Score | Runner-up (average in final) | Prize money | Sponsor | Venue | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Champion | Runner-up | ||||||
| 1984 | John Lowe |
5–3 | Cliff Lazarenko |
£36,000 | £12,000 | £5,000 | MFI | Fulcrum Centre, Slough |
| 1985 | Eric Bristow |
5–4 | Bob Anderson |
£41,000 | £15,000 | £6,000 | ||
| 1986 | Mike Gregory |
5–1 |  Jocky Wilson |
£41,000 | £15,000 | £6,000 | Festival Hall, Basildon | |
| 1987 | Bob Anderson |
5–1 | John Lowe |
£47,400 | £18,000 | £7,000 | ||
| 1988 | Eric Bristow (92.91) |
5–1 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Bob Sinnaeve (88.38) |
£52,000 | £21,000 | £7,500 | ||
Finalists
| Rank | Player | Won | Runner-up | Finals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Bristow |
2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2 | Bob Anderson |
1 | 1 | 2 |
| John Lowe |
1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 4 | Mike Gregory |
1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | Cliff Lazarenko |
0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bob Sinnaeve |
0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Jocky Wilson |
0 | 1 | 1 |
Nine-dart finish
John Lowe threw the first ever televised nine-dart finish on 13 October 1984 against Keith Deller. As well as for being the first, it stands out for the rarity of the final visit combination.
| Player | Year (+Round) | Method | Opponent | Result | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Lowe |
1984, Quarter-Final | 3 x T20; 3 x T20; T17, T18, D18 | Keith Deller |
3-1 | £102,000 |
Media coverage
The tournament was broadcast on ITV and originally came from The Fulcrum Centre, Slough, before moving to Festival Hall, Basildon.[2] The tournament ceased after the 1988 tournament due to ITV announcing that they were pulling out of darts coverage altogether.
Sponsors
| Sponsor | Years |
|---|---|
| MFI | 1984-88 |
References
- "MFI World Matchplay Winners". DartsDatabase. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- "Darts Results - MFI World Matchplay - Darts Mad". Retrieved 21 December 2015.