Seedings were introduced for the first time in 2007 at the behest of the BBC to ensure the top players were present for the televised stages of the event.
[5] The new WDF version of the event changed the format from setplay to legplay for the first time, with significantly shorter matches.
Bob Anderson and Martin Adams have both won 3 times (also both achieving 'hat tricks' by winning in three consecutive years), while Dave Whitcombe, John Lowe, Raymond van Barneveld, Stephen Bunting, Glen Durrant and Wesley Plaisier have all won the Masters twice.
Bob Anderson (1987–88), Richie Burnett (1994–95), John Walton (2000–01), Martin Adams (2009–10 and 2010–11), Stephen Bunting (2013–14) and Glen Durrant (2016–17) were the others.
There are 15 players who have won the Masters and the BDO World Championship during their careers: John Lowe, Eric Bristow, Bob Anderson, Phil Taylor, Dennis Priestley, Richie Burnett, Steve Beaton, Raymond van Barneveld, Les Wallace, John Walton, Andy Fordham, Martin Adams, Scott Waites, Stephen Bunting, and Glen Durrant.