• BDO World Championship

Hankey left in tears by Kist in Lakeside semi

Ted Hankey had a dart at the bull for victory in his BDO World Championship semi-final, but he contrived to blow a two-set advantage as Christian Kist roared back to reach his maiden Lakeside final.

Hankey appeared set for victory when, at 5-4, he lined up the bull for the match. However, he missed and then never recovered mentally, with Kist eventually winning a 6-5 thriller.

Having won the tournament on two previous occasions, Hankey was the more experienced player in Saturday's first semi-final, but he could not have got off to a worse start as Kist whitewashed him in the first set. A 107 checkout was the highlight for the Dutchman, who would go on to win six of the first nine legs.

Hankey managed to level at 1-1 but was whitewashed once again in the third as Kist moved 2-1 ahead. Both players began to land 180s as the match moved through the gears, and it was no surprise that Hankey restored parity, finding a 75 finish against the throw.

The scores progressed to 3-3 before Hankey appeared to have made the decisive move, flashing into a 5-3 lead as he upped his checkout success rate.

Kist managed to shorten the deficit to 5-4, but then Hankey's match dart arrived after a 116 checkout left him needing one more leg. Kist threw a 74 to stave off defeat, but then in the next leg Hankey missed bull for the match, and from that point he never recovered.

Kist levelled at 5-5 and then completely dominated the final set, setting up a final with Tony O'Shea, who triumphed in another thriller during the evening session against Wesley Harms.

The key moment in O'Shea's victory came with the scores locked at 5-5, when play was suspended due to a draught affecting the flight of the darts. When the players returned O'Shea immediately broke Harms' throw, which proved enough for a 6-5 win in what effectively turned into a first-to-three-legs shootout.

O'Shea and Harms matched each other throughout the contest as the lead changed on more than one occasion. When play was suspended at 5-5 Harms sportingly offered to change the board, having seen numerous darts from O'Shea bounce out, but good men sometimes finish second and that was the case as Harms missed four darts at the double to hand O'Shea the decisive break in the last set.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.