Count Kist Goodbye

Christian Kist 6 – 5 Ted Hankey

Christian Kist made it through to the World Championship final after beating Ted Hankey in a thrilling encounter at the Lakeside.

The Dutch debutant, who is nicknamed The Lipstick, battled back to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat after Hankey had led 5-3.

Kist, a road-worker by trade, began the game well, taking a 2-1 lead but Hankey, who was chasing a third title, stormed into a two set lead and looked set to maintain his perfect record in Lakeside semi-finals.

Kist pulled a set back and The Count just missed the bull, a shot that would have sent him through to the final, before The Lipstick capitalised to level the match.

The Dutchman then coasted to victory, winning all three legs in the final set. Two-time champion Hankey was aggrieved when he felt a draft was affecting his throw and threw away several darts as his opponent sealed the win.

The game almost didn’t go ahead at all after a dispute over prize money, leading to speculation that The Count is destined to join the PDC.

If that was to be Hankey’s BDO swansong, it wasn’t the one he would have dreamed of as it is Kist who will play in Sunday’s final.

The Dutchman is ranked 106th in the BDO rankings and will hope to follow in the footsteps of compatriot Jelle Klaasen, who won the title as a rank outsider in 2006.

Hooray for O’Shea

O’Shea 6 – 5 Harms

Crowd favourite Tony O’Shea remains on course to claim his first World Championship after beating Wesley Harms in a gripping semi-final at Lakeside.

Silverback, who lost his only previous final appearance three years ago, secured another shot at glory with a 6-5 victory over his Dutch opponent, who was making his Lakeside debut.

O’Shea left the stage to a rousing chorus of his walk-on song ‘Hey Baby’ from his army of adoring fans.

The players couldn’t be separated in the early exchanges with the score locked at two sets all. O’Shea narrowly missed the bull for 164 checkout to take the fifth set before Harms saved it and snatched the set with two perfect shots at double 16.

Silverback responded in style, winning all three legs in set six to level the match once again, but the Dutchman took the next set to edge in front. O’Shea hit a brilliant eleven darter on his way to winning the eighth set, again taking all three legs to draw level.

The 2009 Finalist took out a splendid 103 finish and a stunning 121 on the bull as he took himself within a set of victory. Sparky refused to be beaten though, winning the next set against the darts to force a decider.

To add to the drama, a break was called because of a draft caused by the air conditioning affecting the darts. They also changed the board before the deciding set due to an unprecedented number of bounce outs.

Silverback put one foot in the final by winning against the throw in the first leg of the final set before holding. Harms took the next leg but O’Shea progressed, hitting double ten to seal victory.

O’Shea will have to beat another Dutch opponent in Christian Kist if he his to realise his title dream.

Date : 15-01-2012