Simon Whitlock quarter-finals. He then beat Brian Woods to reach the final, where he lost to the number one seed Mark Webster 7–5. He was the first Australian to reach the final since Tony David won the tournament in 2002. Whitlock entered the 2009 BDO World Darts Championship as the number 12 seed and reached the second round by beating Mark Barilli, but lost to Darryl Fitton. After many weeks of speculation, Whitlock returned to the PDC on 19 March 2009. He began playing in the AGP circuit where he won eight tournaments. He qualified for the Las Vegas Desert Classic but
1998 BDO World Darts Championship 1998 BDO World Darts Championship The 1998 Embassy World Professional Darts Championship was held from 3–11 January 1998 at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey. It saw Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld, the number one seed, win the first of four BDO world titles (and five overall), avenging his defeat by Richie Burnett in the 1995 final by beating him in a thrilling decider which went to the final set and a tiebreak. Barneveld became the first top seed to win the Embassy world title since his future rival Phil Taylor in 1992, and the second champion from outside