The Fist — 1983 BDO World Champion whose victory over the five-time champion Eric Bristow as a 500-1 outsider remains the greatest upset in the history of the World Darts Championship. Deller was 23, qualifier, and barely known when he arrived at Lakeside and defeated the most intimidating player of the era.
Keith Deller was born in Ipswich, Suffolk on 5 October 1961. He arrived at the 1983 BDO World Championship as an unknown qualifier, an enormous outsider against a field that included multiple world champions and the defending champion Eric Bristow. He defeated Bristow in the final with a 138 checkout finish — a composed performance of extraordinary quality for a 23-year-old under that pressure. The odds against him at the start of the tournament were 500-1. Though he never again reached a World Championship final, his place in darts history is permanently secured by a single afternoon at Lakeside that nobody who saw it has forgotten.
BDO World Champion 1983
Deller arrived at the 1983 World Championship at odds of 500-1 and won it — the biggest upset in the competition's history, sealed with a composed 138 checkout against Eric Bristow.
Did You Know?Career Honours
- BDO World Champion 1983
- Defeated five-time champion Eric Bristow in the final
- Most celebrated upset in World Championship history