Darts Legend Eric Bristow Dies at Age 60

Five-time darts world champion Eric Bristow has died aged 60 after suffering a heart attack.

The Professional Darts Corporation confirmed the news in a statement on their official website, in which they describe Bristow as "arguably the sport's first superstar player."

In the bulletin, PDC chairman Barry Hearn paid tribute to Bristow's influence on darts.

"Eric will always be a legend in the world of darts and British sport," he said. "He was a tremendous player and a huge character and even after his retirement fans would travel for miles to meet him and see him play."

Two-time world champion and current world No. 1 Michael van Gerwen paid his respects to Bristow on Twitter:

As noted by the Live Darts Twitter account, at the ongoing Premier League Darts event in Liverpool, fans hailed the man known as the Crafty Cockney:

The PDC's Dan Dawson summed up the type of character Bristow was:

The darts legend dominated the sport in the early and mid-1980s, as his five world titles came between 1980 and 1986. He was also a founder player of the PDC, which was formed in 1993 and helped transform the sport.

As noted in the PDC statement, Bristow is said to have been key in the development of 16-time world champion Phil Taylor. The two met in the 1990 world final, with Taylor coming out on top. Bristow's final appearance on the oche came in 2007.