Only held 5 times between 1984 and 1988, but a tournament that has left a lasting impression. The MFI World Matchplay has nothing to do with the later variant organised by the PDC and held in Blackpool. The MFI, as the tournament was known was held the first two years at the Fulcrum Centre in Queenmere in Berkshire and the last three years at the Festival Hall in Baseldon in Essex. Only the best 16 players in the world could participate in this elite tournament. Only 4 of them received a seeding and because the format in the first round was best of three sets, there were always many surprises to emerge. Still only the big names won this tournament. Twice Eric Bristow. John Lowe, Mike Gregory and Bob Anderson all once. The MFI is perhaps most famous because John Lowe threw the first ever televised nine darter in this tournament in 1984. He earned 102,000 pounds with these nine perfect darts and eternal fame, of course. The other remarkable thing about this tournament is that the winner got a bigger cheque than the winner of the official World Championships "the Embassy". Tagged “the richest prize in darts”, it made this tournament very popular with the players too.