How it unfolded
The first World Championship, created by Olly Croft's British Darts Organisation, was held not in an arena but in a Nottingham nightclub. Only sixteen players were invited, the stage was built for cabaret acts, and the crowd sat at tables drinking as they watched. The final, played first to 11 of 21 legs, pitted Wales's Leighton Rees against England's John Lowe. The two already knew each other well from pub tournaments and the News of the World stage. Rees was heavily built with a slow throwing rhythm, while Lowe had a textbook stance, and the contrast between the two became the template for character pairings darts broadcasting would repeat for the next decade. Rees won 11-7 to become the inaugural world champion, making Wales the first country to leave its name on this sport. Lowe repaid him the following year by winning the same event, and went on to win world titles across three different decades, through 1987 and 1993, a feat no other player has matched.
Why it still matters
Before this match, darts had no concept of a world champion at all. The News of the World Championship had been the de facto peak, but that was an English event; from this day on the sport had a structure that produced one world champion every year. The event that started in a nightclub became, thirty years later, a three-week, £2.5 million event held at Alexandra Palace.