Who won the inaugural BDO World Darts Championship in 1978?

Leighton Rees won the inaugural BDO World Darts Championship in 1978.

The first championship was staged at the Heart of the Midlands nightclub in Nottingham, England. Welsh player Rees defeated England’s John Lowe in the final, establishing the event as the first major darts world championship to be played under the British Darts Organisation.

Rees was one of the leading players of the early professional era and became the first name engraved on the tournament’s roll of honour. He reached the final again in 1979 but lost to England’s Eric Bristow.

The event is sometimes confused with the later PDC World Championship, which began in 1994 after a split in professional darts. The BDO championship continued as a separate tournament, traditionally taking place at Lakeside Country Club from 1986 until its later years.