The biggest names from the world of BDO darts step onto the oche at the Lakeside Country Club for the 2015 World Professional Darts Championships and fans can watch every dart live across BBC Sport and BT Sport.
In its 30th year of hosting the World Darts Championship, the elite of BDO side of the sport will be stepping onto the iconic but daunting Lakeside stage between January 3-11.
The 2014 tournament saw the biggest line up with 56 players from all over the world and it was charteractised by the usual mix of unpredictably and surprises, with many major upsets as well as new talent and stars shining through.
Staged every year since 1978, the BDO World Championships have taken place at Lakeside Country Club since 1986 and all but one of the world champions from both sides of the darting divide have played at the Surrey venue.
This year again sees 40 men and 16 women compete for the two of the most prestigious titles in world darts, with the championships always attracting a significant following from the UK, Europe and around the globe.
Last year’s tournament saw Stephen Bunting win his first world title after beating Alan Norris 7-4, with the St Helens withstanding the challenge from his fellow Englishman as both players were playing in their first final.
With Bunting having defected across the PDC following his Lakeside title triumph, the reigning BDO champion will not be returning to defend his title.
Englishman James Wilson will be the number one seed for the first time in his career at the Lakeside while the man who defeated him last time out, 2014 runner-up Alan Norris, is second seed.
Three-time BDO world champion and Lakeside stalwart Martin Adams is back for another assault at the crown, whilst former semi-finalist Martin Phillips makes a return to the Lakeside stage after a two-year absence.
The usual Dutch contingent is led by former semi-finalist Wesley Harms and he is joined by Jeffrey de Graaf, Remco van Eijden and Rick Hofstra.
Last year’s semi-finalists Robbie Green and Jan Dekker return, while Scott Mitchell, who has won five major BDO ranking titles this year, including the recent British Open in Bridlington, will also be in contention.
In the women’s draw, the seeds are headed up by two-time runner-up Deta Hedman, whilst reigning champion Lisa Ashton is number nine in the BDO ranking table, meaning she will be drawn against any of the top 8 seeds in the first round.
Three time-time BDO women’s champion Anastasia Dobromyslova will start her campaign to retake the title as the number two seed, Aileen De Graaf appears as the number three seed whilst Lorraine Winstanley returns seeded four.
History will also be made in 2015 with the inaugural Lakeside BDO Winmau World Youth Championship, and after battling through a tough field in Hull, England’s Harry Ward and Colin Roelofs of Holland will battle it out for what will be a historic occasion.
Nine more days of spectacular darting action are set to unfold in the 30th anniversary of the BDO World Championships at the Lakeside Country Club and fans can watch all the action for free on the BBC, or for the first time with BT Sport.
For the latest news, scores and results from Lakeside, visit the BDO website.
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BBC Sport returns to Lakeside Country Club this January to cover the BDO World Darts Championships for the 38th consecutive year.
Colin Murray presents coverage across all nine days on BBC One and BBC Two alongside two-time finalist and fans favourite Bobby George.
As in 2012 and 2013, the BBC will share live coverage of the tournament with another broadcaster (BT Sport), so there will be live coverage of each of the afternoon sessions from Saturday to Friday, with BT Sport screening the evening sessions live (see below).
With live sessions again being held again on weekday afternoons at Lakeside this year, BBC Two will screen live darts from Monday to Friday, running from 1.00pm to 4.15pm each day.
Alongside the live action, there will be extended late-night highlights on BBC Two featuring the best moments from each evening session’s play, which will be followed by a further two hours of action in Darts Extra.
On the concluding weekend of the tournament, the first semi-final will be broadcast live on BBC One on Saturday afternoon, January 10.
In between the two men’s semi finals, the Lakeside Women’s Final will be broadcast live in its entirety on BBC Two from approximately 4.30pm.
Rounding off nine days of drama will the men’s World Final on Sunday, January 11, which will be shown live on BBC Two from 5.45pm.
Commentary duties throughout the week will be shared between veteran Tony Green, Vassos Alexander, Jim Proudfoot and John Rawling, plus a number of special guests including Tony O’Shea and Scott Mitchell.
Rob Walker will provide regular reports from behind the scenes at the tournament, while ‘Little’ Richard Ashdown returns as the tournament’s master of ceremonies.
All the action will be supported by additional content and live streaming of each BBC TV programme via the BBC Sport website.
Darts fans will also be able to catch up on all the action they have missed via BBC iPlayer.
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BT Sport steps onto the oche for the first time in its short history as it gets set to cover its first live darts tournament – the 2015 BDO World Professional Darts Championships.
The broadcaster will be at the famous Surrey venue to show the global elite from the BDO circuit take to the oche over the prestigious nine-day event, with over 35 hours of live coverage from January 3-11.
BT Sport will share live coverage of the BDO’s premier event with the BBC for the first time, in a similar to the arrangement for the 2012 and 2013 tournaments, when the BBC shared coverage with ESPN.
Live coverage of each evening session throughout the tournament will be shown on BT Sport 2, with the channel also screening the second men’s semi-final on Saturday, January 10, and the men’s final on Sunday, January 11.
BT Sport’s coverage from Lakeside will be presented by former BBC and ESPN darts front-man Ray Stubbs, with Helen Skelton reporting from backstage, while two-time BDO world champion Ted Hankey will provide expert analysis.
As under the previous BBC/ESPN arrangement, both broadcasters will take the same coverage and commentary feed, led by veteran darts broadcaster Tony Green, alongside Vassos Alexander and other special guests.
Commenting on BT Sport’s first foray into televised darts, Simon Green, head of BT Sport said: “We are delighted to be showing the BDO World Darts Championships, adding to the fantastic live sport and shows we have on our channels.
“We pride ourselves on offering a wide range of sport including top-flight football, first class rugby, motorsport, American sport and much more.”
In addition to BT Sport’s extensive TV coverage, subscribers can also watch all the action online via the BT Sport website and app, while daily reports and features will be available via the BT Sport website.
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Sunday 4th January DAY 2: First Round (Best of 5 sets) Afternoon Session Darryl Fitton 3-0 Paul Jennings
Anastasia Dobromyslova 2-0 Irina Armstrong (Women’s)
Ross Montgomery 3-1 Pip Blackwell
Seigo Asada 1-3 Brian Dawson (Prelim) LIVE: 1.00pm-4.45pm BBC Two Evening Session Karel Sedlacek 3-2 Paul Coughlin (Prelim)
Lorraine Winstanley 0-2 Sharon Prins (Women’s)
Mike Day 0-3 Jeff Smith (Prelim)
Scott Waites 3-2 Sam Hewson LIVE: 6.00pm-10.00pm BT Sport 2 Highlights: 11.45pm-12.35am BBC Two Darts Extra: 12.35am-2.35am BBC Two
Monday 5th January DAY 3: First Round (Best of 5 sets) Afternoon Session Jim Widmayer 3-2 Rhys Hayden (Prelim)
James Wilson 1-3 Peter Sajwani
Willem Mandigers 1-3 Daniel Larsson (Prelim) LIVE: 1.00pm-4.15pm BBC Two Evening Session Jeffrey De Graaf 0-3 Brian Dawson
Rachel Brooks 2-0 Casey Gallagher (Women’s)
Remco Van Eijden 1-3 Geert De Vos
Jamie Hughes 3-1 Michael van der Horst LIVE: 6.00pm-10.00pm BT Sport 2 Highlights: 11.20pm-12.10am BBC Two Darts Extra: 12.10am-2.10am BBC Two
Tuesday 6th January DAY 4: First Round (Best of 5 sets) Afternoon Session Robbie Green 3-1 Darius Labanauskas
Alan Norris 3-2 Daniel Mandigers
Trina Gulliver 2-0 Anneke Kuijten (Women’s)
Gary Robson 3-0 Cedric Waegemans LIVE: 1.00pm-4.15pm BBC Two Evening Session Rick Hofstra 1-3 Jim Widmayer
Fallon Sherrock 2-1 Maria Mason (Women’s)
Glen Durrant 3-1 Karel Sedlacek
Wesley Harms 1-3 Jeff Smith LIVE: 6.00pm-10.00pm BT Sport 2 Highlights: 11.20pm-12.10am BBC Two Darts Extra: 12.10am-2.10am BBC Two
Wednesday 7th January DAY 5: Second Round (Best of 7 sets) Afternoon Session Darryl Fitton 4-3 Alan Norris Aileen De Graaf 2-0 Paula Jacklin (Women’s)
Robbie Green 4-0 Peter Sajwani LIVE: 1.00pm-4.15pm BBC Two Evening Session Brian Dawson 4-3 Madars Razma Jim Widmayer 0-4 Martin Adams Geert de Vos 2-4 Scott Mitchell LIVE: 6.00pm-10.00pm BT Sport 2 Highlights: 11.20pm-12.10am BBC Two Darts Extra: 12.10am-2.10am BBC Two
Thursday 8th January DAY 6: Second Round (Best of 7 sets) Afternoon Session Harry Ward 0-3 Colin Roelofs (World Youth Final)
Anastasia Dobromyslova 2-0 Zoe Jones (Women) Gary Robson 3-4 Jeff Smith Fallon Sherrock 2-1 Aileen de Graaf LIVE: 1.00pm-4.15pm BBC Two Evening Session Sharon Prins 2-1 Rachel Brooks Jamie Hughes 1-4 Glen Durrant Trina Gulliver 0-2 Lisa Ashton Scott Waites 0-4 Ross Montgomery LIVE: 6.00pm-10.00pm BT Sport 2 Highlights: 11.20pm-12.10am BBC Two Darts Extra: 12.10am-2.10am BBC Two
Friday 9th January DAY 7: Quarter Finals (Best of 9 sets) Afternoon Session Brian Dawson v Scott Mitchell Ross Montgomery v Martin Adams LIVE: 1.00pm-4.15pm BBC Two Evening Session Lisa Ashton v Sharon Prins (Women) Robbie Green v Jeff Smith Fallon Sherrock v Anastasia Dobromyslova (Women) Darryl Fitton v Glen Durrant LIVE: 5.30pm-10.00pm BT Sport 2 Highlights: 11.05pm-11.55pm BBC Two Darts Extra: 11.55pm-1.55am BBC Two
Saturday 10th January DAY 8: Semi Finals (Best of 11 sets) Men’s Semi-Final 1 LIVE: 2.35pm-4.30pm BBC One Women’s Final LIVE: 4.30pm-6.00pm BBC Two Men’s Semi-Final 2 LIVE: 6.30pm-9.30pm BT Sport 2 Highlights: 11.50pm-12.40am BBC Two
Sunday 11th January DAY 9: Men’s Final (Best of 13 sets) LIVE: 5.45pm-8.00pm BBC Two / 4.15pm-8.30pm BT Sport 2
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