Darts showcase ‘amateur’

ERIC BRISTOW last night branded the Lakeside World Championship as “amateur darts” after Jelle Klaasen won a classic all-Dutch final 7-5 against Raymond van Barneveld.

Klaasen, 21, became the youngest ever world champion with a sublime performance to dethrone the four-time title-holder, who had invited Bristow to watch his attempt to equal the Crafty Cockney’s record of five victories in the tournament.

But even though it was one of the best finals in the 29-year history of the event, Bristow, who is now affiliated to the rival governing body, the Professional Darts Corporation, said that he was unimpressed with the standard of the British Darts Organisation’s showcase occasion.