1980 BDO World Darts Championship 1980 BDO World Darts Championship The 1980 Embassy World Darts Championship was the third year that the British Darts Organisation had staged a world championship. Again the field was 24 players, with the top seeds receiving a bye to the last 16 stage. For the second successive year the tournament was staged at Jollees Cabaret Club in Stoke-on-Trent. Defending champion John Lowe, who had released a book "The Lowe Profile" just before the event suffered a surprise defeat 0–2 to Cliff Lazarenko saying afterwards "If you miss your doubles in this one, you must expect to go out." Eric Bristow
Tom Kirby (darts player) Tom Kirby (darts player) Thomas "Tom" Kirby (21 January 1947 – 1 December 2008) was an Irish professional darts player. Kirby was the first Irishman man to join the Professional Darts Corporation (then known as the World Darts Council) and entered its inaugural World Championship in 1994, where he won Group 7 by set difference to reach the quarter finals, losing to eventual winner Dennis Priestley. Kirby also reached the quarter finals of the 1994 UK Matchplay, beating Cliff Lazarenko in the first round before losing to Jamie Harvey. Kirby made two more appearance at the World Championship in 1995