Leighton Rees

Leighton Thomas Rees (17 January 1940 – 8 June 2003) was the first ever World Professional Darts Champion and former World No1 player.

Early life

Rees was born in the village of Ynysybwl, Glamorgan, where he spent most of his life. He attended the local Mill Street School in Pontypridd where one of his teachers famously declared on his report card that he would be "good only for reading the sports pages of the South Wales Echo". After leaving school he found work in the store room of a motor spares company, a job he did for over twenty years until he became a professional darts player in 1976.

It was during his time working as a store man that Leighton found the sport of darts, becoming a regular for his local pub and county. It was not until 1972 though that he gained any real national attention. Sid Waddell, who later became a commentator for Sky Sports, was at the time producer of Yorkshire Television's Indoor League – a show with pub games tournaments. Waddell and his researchers had heard reports of a trio of great darts players in the South Wales valleys, an area that was quickly becoming a hotbed of talent for the sport. The three names mentioned were Tony Ridler of Newport, Alan Evans of Rhondda and Leighton Rees of Ynysybwl.

Eric Bristow

Eric Bristow MBE ("The Crafty Cockney") (born 25 April 1957) is a former professional English darts player. He was ranked World No1 by the World Darts Federation a record six times from (1980–81,83–85, 90). He is a five time World Champion a five time World Masters Champion and a four time World Cup singles champion. He won twenty two WDF and BDO Major titles and seventy career titles overall. In the 1980s, Bristow's skill and personality helped turn darts into a worldwide spectator sport.

In 1993, Bristow was one of sixteen top players who broke away from the British Darts Organisation to form their own organisation, which became the Professional Darts Corporation. He retired from competitive darts in 2007 and now works as a commentator and pundit on Sky Sports' darts coverage.

Early career

Bristow won his first world championship in 1980, defeating fellow Londoner Bobby George, and so began a decade's worth of domination, in which he would retain his title in 1981 and win it again in 1984, 1985 and 1986. Like his snooker contemporary Steve Davis, however, he had to cope also with a shock defeat during this period, when young unknown Keith Deller beat him in the 1983 final, not to mention Steve Brennan in the previous year's 1st Round. He finished as runner-up on four other occasions up to 1991.

John Lowe

John Lowe (born 21 July 1945) is a former World No1 English professional darts player who was one of the most skilled and best known darts players during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the United Kingdom. Lowe is one of only six players to have won the World Championship three times, having done so in 1979, 1987 and 1993. He is the first player to have won the World Championship in three separate decades. Lowe's titles and achievements span a career of almost forty years, but he is also well known for being the first player to achieve a televised nine-dart finish (in 1984).

Biography

Lowe won the World Championship title in three different decades – 1979, 1987 and 1993. Although regarded as the gentleman of the game, he was in the shadow of Eric Bristow in the early days of darts' rise to prominence – in terms both of results and of charisma. He met Bristow six times in the World Championship in various semi-finals and finals, and it was not until his fourth attempt (in the 1987 final) that he managed to overcome his great rival. His record against the "Crafty Cockney" in majors was three wins and six defeats.