# 1997 WDC World Darts Championship

The 1997 Red Band World Darts Championship was held between 29 December 1996 and 5 January 1997 at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, Essex. It was the fourth World Championship organised by the World Darts Council, which had acrimoniously split from the British Darts Organisation in 1992–93. As a result of an ongoing legal battle, this would be the last time that the WDC name would be used – an out-of-court settlement (Tomlin Order) in June 1997 meant that the organisation had to change its name to the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).
Paul Lim, who famously hit a nine dart finish at the 1990 Embassy Championship appeared at his first WDC World Championship – he had only managed to qualify once for the Embassy since the split, losing a second round match to John Part in 1994.
The Championship saw two tight semi-finals, the most memorable of which was the clash between mentor and protégé – Eric Bristow and Phil Taylor. Taylor emerged victorious 5–4 in sets to reach the final. He matched his mentor's feat of five World Championship titles when he beat Dennis Priestley 6–3 in the final. They were now level as the most successful players of all-time.

## Seeds

* Dennis Priestley
* Phil Taylor
* Bob Anderson
* Peter Evison
* Jamie Harvey
* Alan Warriner
* Keith Deller
* Rod Harrington

## Prize money

The prize fund was £99,500.
| Position (num. of players) | Position (num. of players) | Prize money (Total: £99,500) |
| Winner | (1) | £45,000 |
| Runner-Up | (1) | £10,000 |
| Third place | (1) | £5,000 |
| Fourth place | (1) | £4,000 |
| Quarter-finalists | (4) | £3,000 |
| Group stage runners-up | (8) | £1,500 |
| Group stage 3rd place | (8) | £1,250 |
| Highest finish bonus | (1) | £1,500 |

## Results
### Preliminary round

A best of five sets preliminary round match took place between they were tied on the rankings.
| Av. | Player | Score | Player | Av. |
| 85.89 | Ritchie Gardner | 3 – 1 | Dave Kelly | 78.20 |
| 90.00 | Paul Lim | 3 – 2 | Tom Kirby | 83.00 |
| 95.05 | Chris Mason | 3 – 0 | Peter Manley | 89.10 |
| 101.89 | Gary Mawson | 3 – 1 | Harry Robinson | 87.33 |
| 75.21 | Graeme Stoddart | 3 – 1 | Paul Knighton | 51.83 |
| 79.44 | Steve Raw | 3 – 2 | Jason Lucas | 60.10 |
| 93.99 | Dennis Smith | 3 – 0 | Jerry Umberger | 50.01 |
| 73.45 | Sean Downs | 3 – 2 | Tony Holyoake | 69.47 |

### Knockout stages

| Quarter-finals (best of 9 sets) 2–3 January | Quarter-finals (best of 9 sets) 2–3 January | Quarter-finals (best of 9 sets) 2–3 January | Semi-finals (best of 9 sets) 4 January | Semi-finals (best of 9 sets) 4 January | Semi-finals (best of 9 sets) 4 January | Final (best of 11 sets) 5 January | Final (best of 11 sets) 5 January | Final (best of 11 sets) 5 January |
| A1 | Eric Bristow 85.78 | 5 | | | | | | |
| B1 | Alan Warriner (6) 88.81 | 3 | | | | | | |
| B1 | Alan Warriner (6) 88.81 | 3 | A1 | Eric Bristow 86.97 | 4 | | | |
| | | | D1 | Phil Taylor (2) 93.73 | 5 | | | |
| C1 | Keith Deller (7) 87.39 | 1 | D1 | Phil Taylor (2) 93.73 | 5 | | | |
| D1 | Phil Taylor (2) 98.58 | 5 | | | | | | |
| D1 | Phil Taylor (2) 98.58 | 5 | | | | D1 | Phil Taylor (2) 100.91 | 6 |
| | | | | | | H1 | Dennis Priestley (1) 96.79 | 3 |
| E1 | Peter Evison (4) 91.39 | 5 | | | | | | | H1 | Dennis Priestley (1) 96.79 | 3 |
| F1 | Jamie Harvey (5) 83.96 | 3 | | | |
| F1 | Jamie Harvey (5) 83.96 | 3 | E1 | Peter Evison (4) 91.32 | 4 | Third place play-off (best of 7 sets) | Third place play-off (best of 7 sets) | Third place play-off (best of 7 sets) |
| | | | H1 | Dennis Priestley (1) 94.34 | 5 |
| G1 | Rod Harrington (8) 94.50 | 2 | H1 | Dennis Priestley (1) 94.34 | 5 | A1 | Eric Bristow 83.23 | 2 |
| H1 | Dennis Priestley (1) 94.73 | 5 | | | | E1 | Peter Evison (4) 83.25 | 4 |

## Representation from different countries

This table shows the number of players by country in the World Championship. Four countries were represented in the World Championship, one less than in the previous championship.
| | ENG | USA | CAN | SCO | IRL | Total |
| Final | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Semis | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Quarters | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Group Stages | 18 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 26 |