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
1997 BDO World Darts Championship 1997 BDO World Darts Championship The 1997 Embassy World Professional Darts Championship was held from 4–12 January 1997 at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey. It was won by Les Wallace, who became the second Scotsman to become World Darts Champion after Jocky Wilson won it twice in 1982 and 1989. Wallace defeated Wales' Marshall James 6-3 in the final. Wallace also became the first left-handed player to win either version of the World Darts Championship. It was also the second time in four years that two unseeded players had reached the Embassy final, and remains the most