Ted Hankey quits BDO For PDC

Ted Hankey has announced he is leaving the BDO for the PDC Tour in the aftermath of a thrilling semi-final defeat to Christian Kist.

Hankey lost 6-5 having led 5-3, complaining that he lost concentration when the air conditioning was turned on
'The Count' narrowly missed a bullseye for the match at 5-4 before Kist won the next two sets for victory.
Kist faces Tony O'Shea in Sunday's final after the Englishman beat Wesley Harms 6-5 in another Lakeside thriller.

DID YOU KNOW?

Hankey, who has won the World Championship twice (in 2000 and 2009), had never previously lost a semi-final at the Lakeside

Kist started the match strongly, taking a 2-1 lead, but Hankey slowly began to find his rhythm and looked to have the contest wrapped up when he clinched the eighth set to lead 5-3.
Kist won the ninth to reduce the deficit to 5-4 but Hankey had a shot at the bull to win the match in a nerve-jangling 10th set, only for his dart to land the wrong side of the wire.
'The Lipstick' stole that set to level the scores at 5-5 before taking the final set 3-0 as Hankey lost his cool, tossing away a dart and twice complaining to officials about a draught on the oche.
Qualifier Kist was shocked to reach the final at his first attempt: "I really can't find the words to say how I feel. It's a surprise, I cannot believe it. I never give up, I just keep going on and on."

Last five BDO champions

• 2011: Martin Adams
• 2010: Martin Adams
• 2009: Ted Hankey
• 2008: Mark Webster
• 2007: Martin Adams

15-time world champion Phil Taylor recently urged Hankey to join him on the PDC circuit, saying: "Ted should show some bottle, come over and have a go. We're both Stokies and I want him to come over."
In the other semi-final, O'Shea won the first set before Harms bounced back to win three of the next four and establish a 3-2 lead.
O'Shea, a World Championship finalist in 2009, refused to back down, winning three of the next four sets to lead 5-4.
Harm levelled at 5-5 before both players, like Hankey, asked organisers to investigate a draught. This time, the match was suspended.
When the players returned for the decider, it was O'Shea who settled the quicker of the two with the Englishman going on to win the set and reach his second World Championship final.