Jim Williams v Wayne Warren: 2020 BDO World Championship Final preview – Welsh duo lock horns for world title

An all-Welsh climax to the 2020 BDO World Championship sees Jim Williams and Wayne Warren collide for the right to become the first champion at The O2 Indigo on Sunday.

A Welsh winner of the BDO’s show-piece competition is guaranteed for the first time since Mark Webster’s triumph at Lakeside in 2008 as two players with a 22-year age gap face off for a place in the history books.

Number two seed Williams has gone a step further than his landmark run to the Semi-Finals at Lakeside 12 months ago and is bidding to assert his position as the BDO’s hottest property by getting his hands on this prestigious trophy.

Williams opened his account of major BDO titles by claiming glory at the World Trophy last September and has handled the added pressure of entering this event as pre-tournament favourite admirably.

The 35-year-old’s biggest scare en route to the final came at the first hurdle as he edged out Gary Stone in a tie break set before going on to whitewash Ryan Hogarth 4-0 and thrash in-form Paul Hogan 5-1 in the Quarter-Finals.

Williams then battled his way to a 6-4 victory over Belgium’s Mario Vandenbogaerde in Saturday’s Semi-Final and enters the decider with a tournament average of 89.42.

Warren, meanwhile, has proved that age is just a number by winning through to his first world final at the age of 57.

Welsh veteran Warren celebrates (Photo by Simon Cooper/PA Images)

The number five seed had previously never been beyond the Quarter-Final stage in his four previous BDO World Championship appearances but has drawn upon his clinical scoring power to stand on the brink of becoming the oldest BDO World Champion since Martin Adams in 2011.

Like Williams, Warren was also given an early scare as he came through a last-set decider against Australia’s Justin Thompson in Round One but flexed his muscles by thrashing 2012 PDC world finalist Andy Hamilton 4-1 in the Last 16.

He then overcame Dutch ace Chris Landman 5-3 before dispatching 2015 champion Scott Mitchell 6-3 in the opening Semi-Final.

Warren boasts a tournament average of 92.48 and has landed 34 maximums, 16 more than his compatriot and final opponent.

The 2020 BDO World Championship final gets underway from 7pm GMT and will be contested over the best of 13 sets, best of five legs per set.

A tie-break will be in operation, where the final set must be won by two clear legs. If the score reaches 5-5, the 11th leg will be sudden-death.

At the time of writing, the prize fund for the men’s competition remains unconfirmed.

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Player’s View

Williams: “I’m making it hard work again, my B game has dragged me through all week.

“I’m just hoping what’s left in the tank comes out in the final.

“Two years ago against Glen [Durrant] I was 4-1 up and lost, you take those hits and you learn from it.

“I’ve learned now to make the most of it when you’re in front.

“Glen’s given me some good advice again and I take it all on board.”

Warren: “It’s a dream. I’m going on 58 years of age, people say you come to end your career when you’re at that stage.

“I’ve got to be honest, I feel so confident but I can play better than that, the thing is when you do the tour it gives you massive confidence.

“I missed the World Masters, I went into the Grand Slam with nil confidence but I tried my best and spoke to Lee at Red Dragon and he made me a new set of darts; a couple of grams higher and seriously it’s done me the world of good.”