Profile:Eric Bristow

ERIC BRISTOW: 
Age: 51 (born April 25 1957)
Home town: Leek, Staffordshire
Nickname: The Crafty Cockney
Biggest achievement in darts: World champion 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986

Eric Bristow was considered the greatest darts player of all time until Phil Taylor began to dominate the game.

He was an unmistakable figure on the oche with his distinctive facial features and blond highlighted-hair, familiar red shirt with a policeman depicted on the back and a throwing style in which his little finger jutted out to the side.

Renowned for his arrogance on stage and attempts to wind up opponents, Bristow was loved and hated by darts fans in equal measure.

He was the world No 1 until the mid-to-late 1980s when struck by ‘dartitis’, a condition where the player struggles to release the dart.