Dave Whitcombe and Lazarenko ending in a draw, Whitcombe slumped to fifth and failed to reach the semi final stage. Whitcombe failed to qualify for the 2010 Lakeside World Darts Championship and the 2009 Winmau World Masters. Dave Whitcombe Dave Whitcombe (born 27 June 1954 in Kent) is an English retired professional darts player who won several major tournaments and reached two World Championship Finals. He had a long professional career between 1980 and 1992. Whitcombe was twice a winner of the Winmau World Masters (1982 and 1985) and lost to Eric Bristow in the World Championship finals of 1984 and 1986.
News of the World Darts Championship between Jim Pike (representing the Windmill Club, Southwark) and Marmaduke Brecon (Jolly Sailor, Hanworth, Middlesex). Brecon ran out the winner by two games to one. The tournament continued to attract 250,000 entries during the post war years . There was, however no national champion of the event until after World War II. It was revived as a national competition in 1947/48, and continued to be described as ‘the championship every dart player wants to win’ until its demise in the 1990s. The News of the World was the first nationally televised darts event as ITV broadcast the latter stages of