Ted Hankey
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| Ted Hankey | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Nickname | The Count |
| Born | |
| Home town | Telford |
| Darts information | |
| Playing darts since | 1978 |
| Darts | 14g |
| Laterality | Right-handed |
| Walk-on music | Be On Your Way by DJ Zany |
| Organisation (see split in darts) | |
| BDO | 1984 |
| Current world ranking | 22 (WDF) |
| WDF major events – best performances | |
| World Ch'ship | Winner 2000, 2009 |
| World Masters | Semi finalist 1997 2003,2004 |
| World Trophy | Quarter-finalist 2004 |
| Other tournament wins | |
| Tournament | Years |
| Dutch Open England Open | 1999,2003 2003, 2007 |
| Updated on 11 October 2007. | |
Edward "Ted" Hankey (born 20 February 1968 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire) is an English darts player who won the BDO Embassy World Professional Darts Championship in 2000 and again in 2009. His nickname is The Count and his walk on music is Be On Your Way by DJ Zany. Hankey built up a large following due to his obsession with and resemblance to Dracula. His entrance is typically marked by him wearing a black cape and throwing rubber bats into the crowd, while he plays his darts with a trademark scowl. Though highly praised for his heavy scoring and consistency, Hankey has also been criticised for his on-stage antics and temper tantrums.
In 2000, he whitewashed Ronnie Baxter 6-0 in the Embassy World Final, winning the match with a spectacular 170 checkout (which is the highest three-dart finish achievable). The final lasted only 46 minutes, the shortest in the tournament's history. Ted reached the final again the following year, but lost to John 'Boy' Walton 6-2.
Hankey failed to reach another final until the 2009 BDO World Championships. In 2002, he was knocked out in the second round by Wayne Jones and suffered a first round exit the following year to 'Silverback' Tony O'Shea. Ranked number two for the 2004 tournament, he was defeated in the quarter finals, again losing to O'Shea 5-1. This was a huge disappointment for a man who had won four Open events that year. Hankey again reached the quarter finals in 2005, this time falling to England captain Martin Adams 5-3, despite at one stage in the contest having led by 3-1 in sets. In the 2006 tournament, Hankey had an uncharacteristic "bad day at the office", crashing out at the first hurdle to Dutchman Albertino Essers. Seeded eighth for the 2007 championship, he defeated Mario Robbe of the Netherlands by 3-0 in the opening round. He then hit another 170 checkout in his tight 4-3 victory over qualifier Davy Richardson, before losing to Martin Adams, again by 5-3, although he had several darts to remain in the match. Despite this setback, Ted remained positive and upbeat about his darts future after the game.
Hankey won his first round match of the 2008 BDO World Darts Championship over Steve West 3-2. He twice found himself behind in the match, recovering from 1-0 and 2-1 down to win the final two sets in succession. Afterwards, Ted attributed his erratic form to a minority of the crowd which had jeered him throughout the match. Despite this, his campaign for a second BDO world crown remained on course as he defeated Andy Boulton in the second round. Ted then lost in the quarter finals to Australian Simon Whitlock 0-5. Again, he expressed his disaffection with elements of the crowd for displaying poor order during the game. Midway through the contest, however, Hankey himself had received a warning from match referee, Barry Kilby, for punching the dartboard as this was deemed unsporting and contrary to the tournament promoter's code of conduct. After the match, an emotional Hankey informed the BBC's Ray Stubbs that he was considering quitting the game and needed to assess his future.
The following day, however, he clarified his future plans in a frank BBC interview with Stubbs and Bobby George. Although hugely disappointed with his performance against Whitlock, he indicated that his future still lay in darts and vowed to return after a month-long sabbatical, during which time he was to work on and refine a number of fundaments to his game.
However, controversy continued to follow Ted during the BDO International Open (formerly the England Open) on 15 June 2008 which was shown live on Setanta Sports. During a quarter final match with former PDC player Robbie Green, Ted complained about the air conditioning being turned off. However, Green requested the air conditioning be turned off, as his much lighter darts were affected mid-flight, causing them to drift. This caused yet another erratic reaction from Hankey who threw his darts onto the board without much thought. Commentator David Croft labelled Hankey's latest antics as 'disgraceful'. Hankey went on to lose the match 2-1 in sets in the deciding leg.
Personal life
Ted and his wife Sarah reside in Telford, Shropshire. They have a daughter (born 2004) and a son born on 1 June 2006. Sarah's son (born 1999) from a previous relationship also lives with them. Ted has a further four children from an earlier marriage.
BDO World Championship Results
- 1997: Quarter Final (withdrew-claiming the bullseye looked like elton john winking at him and it put him off)
- 1998: 2nd round (lost to Chris Mason 1-3)
- 1999: Won (beat Ronnie Baxter 6-0)
- 2000: Runner-up (lost to John 'Boy' Walton 2-6)
- 2001: 2nd round (lost to Wayne Jones 2-3)
- 2002: 1st round (lost to Tony O'Shea 2-3)
- 2003: Quarter Final (lost to Tony O'Shea 1-5)
- 2004: Quarter Final (lost to Martin Adams 3-5)
- 2006: 1st round (lost to Albertino Essers 1-3)
- 2008: Quarter Final (lost to Martin Adams 3-5)
- 2009: Won (beat Tony O'Shea 7-6)
External links
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