The 1998 Embassy World Professional Darts Championship was a historical championship, especially from a Dutch point of view.
It saw Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld, the number one seed, win the first of four BDO world titles (and five overall), avenging his defeat by Richie Burnett in the 1995 final by beating him in a thrilling decider which went to the final set and a tiebreak. Barneveld became the first top seed to win the Embassy world title since his future rival Phil Taylor in 1992, and the second champion from outside the United Kingdom after John Part in 1994.
Defending champion Les Wallace lost in the second round to 1996 champion Steve Beaton and another new player showed him self at this tournament for the first time. Ted Hankey got to the quarterfinal at his first outing loosing to Colin Monk. Alongside Van Barneveld, Roland Scholten also made it to the semi finals of this years tournament. The victory of Raymond van Barneveld fuelled a darting frenzy in The Netherlands, which would colour the Lakeside Country Club orange in years to come.