The WDC decided to introduce their own separate World Championship, with the inaugural tournament being staged before the BDO version.

Originally 16 players "defected" from the BDO to form the WDC/PDC – Phil Taylor, Dennis Priestley, Rod Harrington, Alan Warriner, Peter Evison, Richie Gardner, Jocky Wilson, Eric Bristow, Keith Deller, John Lowe, Bob Anderson, Cliff Lazarenko, Kevin Spiolek, Jamie Harvey, Mike Gregory and Chris Johns.

They were replaced with Graeme Stoddart and Kevin Burrows and the field was brought up to 24 by adding eight players who are Larry Butler, Sean Downs, Gerald Verrier, Jerry Umberger, Jim Watkins, Dave Kelly and Steve Brown from North America and Tom Kirby of Ireland.

Phil Taylor eased past Jamie Harvey 3–1, and Jim Watkins 3–0 to win Group 1, while 1988 World Champion, Bob Anderson, cruised into the quarter-finals for a showdown against Taylor, after a series of 3–0 wins against Americans Gerald Verrier and Dave Kelly.

But there was room for an American to upset the odds, as Steve Brown, surprisingly, took Group 3, with wins against 1983 champion Keith Deller and Kevin Spiolek.

After a 3–1 win over five time World Champion, Eric Bristow, he narrowly defeated Sean Downs by 3 sets to 2 to go through to the last 8.

He would be up against Dennis Priestley, after the Yorkshireman saw off Jocky Wilson 3–2 and Graeme Stoddart 3–0 to book a quarter-final place.

Steve Brown upset the odds again to defeat 1993 runner-up Alan Warriner 4–3 and book a meeting with Taylor in the semi-finals.

Peter Evison continued his good form, recording another 90-plus three-dart average while beating Rod Harrington 4–1, while Dennis Priestley ended the run of Tom Kirby with a 4–2 win.