The 1989 BDO World Darts Championship final is one of the most dramatic coronations in darts history. Scottish player Jocky Wilson chewed wine gums through the entire match to quit smoking, while his opponent was Eric Bristow, the most dominant figure in 1980s darts. The final didn't just produce a classic scoreline, it also produced one of the sport's most quoted insults.
5-0 to 5-4: Bristow's fightback, and Wilson's 6-4 title
The final was played on 14 January 1989 at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, England. Wilson came out fast, taking the first five sets to lead 5-0, with the trophy already in sight. Then Bristow, drawing on the experience of five world titles, clawed it back to 5-4, and suddenly the whole match looked like it could flip. Wilson held his nerve when it mattered most, closing it out 6-4 for his second world title (his first came in 1982, beating John Lowe).
Quitting smoking the hard way: wine gums as a coping mechanism
Ahead of this tournament, Wilson decided to quit smoking, which meant giving up the chain of cigarettes that used to keep him focused between throws. His fix was simple: he chewed wine gums almost around the clock through the whole match, using the constant chewing to hold his concentration together. That small habit became one of the most-remembered images from his title run, and honestly it says more about who Wilson actually was than any tactical breakdown of the match: a player who threw darts better than almost anyone, and lived the rest of his life with zero regard for polish.
"There's only one wally": a grudge three years in the making
The tension between Wilson and Bristow didn't start at this final, it went back further. In 1986, after Bristow lost an upset match to the far less experienced Steve Brennan at the MFI World Matchplay, he complained to the press that he kept "losing to wallies." Word got back to Wilson, who fired back: "there's only one wally, that's Eric Bristow, and he's at home now." Three years later, the two of them met head-on in a World Championship final, and that line became the perfect footnote to the whole rivalry.
At the trophy ceremony, even his own dentures were fair game
Wilson never brushed his teeth as a young man and had lost his last one by age 28, relying on dentures ever since. After his first title in 1982, he spent £1,200 on a new set, then complained they made him belch when he drank. At the 1989 trophy ceremony, he simply joked about his own false teeth in front of the crowd and had everyone laughing. That completely unpolished sense of humor is part of why fans nicknamed him "the people's champion."
Who was Eric Bristow: the Crafty Cockney who discovered Phil Taylor
Bristow was the defining figure of 1980s darts, nicknamed The Crafty Cockney, with 5 BDO World Championships to his name (1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986) and long spells as world number one. He was also the man who discovered Phil Taylor: in 1985 he spotted Taylor, then still working in a ceramics factory, at his own pub and staked him to turn professional, setting up the run that eventually produced darts' record 16-time world champion. Read the full story in our who is Phil Taylor profile.
Wine gums to quit smoking, jokes about his own dentures on stage, and a line that's still quoted more than 30 years later — this final is proof that darts isn't only about accuracy, it's also about having the personality to back it up. Want to feel the pressure of a deciding set yourself? AI DARTS boards run self-service 24 hours, check the menu before you come, or see how the membership system tracks your own runs.