| Ted Hankey | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Edward Hankey | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | "The Count" | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1968-02-20)20 February 1968 (age 57) Stoke-on-Trent, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Darts information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing darts since | 1977 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Darts | 13g Signature | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Laterality | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Walk-on music | "Be on Your Way" byDJ Zany | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Organisation (seesplit in darts) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| BDO | 1996–2012, 2014–2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| PDC | 2009–2011, 2012–2013 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| WDF | 2014–2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| WDF major events – best performances | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championship | Winner (2):2000,2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Masters | Semi-final: 1997, 2003, 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Trophy | Quarter-final: 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Int. Darts League | Quarter-final: 2003, 2004, 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Finder Masters | Runner-up: 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| PDC premier events – best performances | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| UK Open | Last 64:2013 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam | Quarter-final:2011,2013 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other tournament wins | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Edward Hankey (born 20 February 1968) is an English former professionaldarts player and convicted sex offender. Nicknamed "the Count", he won theBDO World Darts Championship in2000 and2009 and was runner-up in2001.
He moved to theProfessional Darts Corporation (PDC) in 2012 but suffered amini-stroke while playingMichael van Gerwen at the2012 Grand Slam of Darts and took three months away from the sport to recuperate. He lost his PDC tour card in 2014, when he was 94th on thePDC Order of Merit, and returned to the BDO, where he failed to impress in the latter years of his playing career. He made his last appearance at the BDO World Darts Championship in2016, losing 3–0 in the first round.
Hankey struggled financially in his later career and was declared bankrupt in 2018. In September 2021, he sexually assaulted a girl who was aged over 16 but under 18 at the time. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced in May 2022 to two years in prison and placed on thesex offender registry for ten years.
In the2000 BDO World Darts Championship, after beatingBob Taylor, Steve Douglas,Kevin Painter andChris Mason, HankeywhitewashedRonnie Baxter 6–0 in the final, winning the match with a spectacular 170 checkout – the highest three-dart finish achievable.[1] The final lasted only 46 minutes, the shortest in the tournament's history. In the semi-final v Chris Mason, he scored a championship record 22 x 180s in a match. (The next highest are 15 and 14, which he also holds, in matches vTony O'Shea in the final andMartin Adams in the semi-finals respectively, both in 2009.) He also scored a record 48 x 180s during the 2000 tournament.[1]Hankey reached the final again in2001, but lost toJohn Walton 6–2. After this Hankey went through a fairly barren spell at theLakeside and did not reach another major final or World Championship semi-final until his victory in the 2009 BDO World Championships.[1]
In2002, he was knocked out in the second round byWayne Jones and suffered a first round exit in2003 to 'Silverback'Tony O'Shea.[1] Ranked number two for the2004 tournament, he was defeated in the quarter-finals, again losing to O'Shea 5–1.[1] Hankey again reached the quarter-finals in2005, this time falling to England captain Martin Adams 5–3, despite at one stage in the contest having led by 3–1 in sets.[1] In the2006 tournament, Hankey had an uncharacteristic "bad day at the office", crashing out at the first hurdle to DutchmanAlbertino Essers.[1]
Seeded eighth for the2007 BDO World Darts Championship, he defeatedMario Robbe of theNetherlands 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 Adams, again by 5–3.[1] Despite this setback, Hankey remained positive and upbeat about his darts future after the game. He achieved the 9-Darter in the Scottish open 2011.[2]
Hankey won his first round match of the2008 BDO World Championship overSteve West 3–2.[1] as he defeatedAndy Boulton in the second round.[1] He then lost in the quarter-finals to AustralianSimon Whitlock 0–5.[1]
However, controversy continued to follow Hankey during the BDO International Open (formerly the England Open) on 15 June 2008.[1] During a quarter-final match with formerPDC playerRobbie Green, Hankey went on to lose the match 2–1 in sets in the deciding leg.[1]
Hankey began the 2009 Lakeside Championships with a first round victory over close friendBrian Woods with a scoreline of 3–0.[1] He then went on to win the Championship, beating his problems with "oche rage" as well as opponents such as former World Champion Walton and England darts team captain Adams, winning the final 7–6 in sets against O'Shea.[1] Hankey led 4–2 at the interval, but missed several darts to win the match at 6–5, but he finally closed out the match 3–1 in the final set.[1]
As a result of his world title win, Hankey was invited to the2009 Grand Slam of Darts, which is organised by the PDC. He accepted the invitation and was drawn in group E withScott Waites,Wayne Mardle andSimon Whitlock.[1] He lost his opening group game 3–5 to Waites, but went on to win againstWayne Mardle, and was defeated by Simon Whitlock 5–4.[1]
In the2010 BDO World Darts Championship Hankey beatGary Robson 3–0 andWilly van de Wiel 4–1 before being knocked out of the competition in the quarter-final byDave Chisnall with a scoreline of 5–4 on sets, despite at one point leading 4–1.[1]
In the2010 Grand Slam of Darts he defeatedPhil Taylor 5–4 in the group stages, giving him 2 wins out of 2.[1] He then went on to defeatMichael van Gerwen, also 5–4, to proceed to the knockout stage of the competition.[1] Hankey was knocked out of the competition bySteve Beaton in the first knockout stage.[1] He won theIsle of Man open but was unable to follow that up. Although he did get to the semi-finals of theEnglish Open.[1]
Hankey qualified for the 2011Grand Slam of Darts. He managed to win 2 of his 3 group matches to qualify for the last 16.[1] He playedMichael van Gerwen winning the match by 10 legs to 9 before losing narrowly againstMark Walsh 14–16, after making a comeback from a 9–15 deficit.[1]
In the2012 BDO World Darts Championship, Hankey defeated newcomer Clive Barden 3–2 in sets, then the man who knocked him out of the previous year's tournament,Scott Waites 4–3 to qualify for the quarter-final.[1] In the quarter-final, Hankey defeatedMartin Atkins 5–1.[1] In the semi-final, Hankey led against débutant and eventual championChristian Kist 5–3 and had a dart at bullseye to win 6–4, but Kist recovered to win the match 6–5.[3] After the match Hankey announced he did not plan on returning to Lakeside the following year and would instead join the BDO's rival organisation, theProfessional Darts Corporation (PDC).[4] Hankey also controversially suggested that the air conditioning was deliberately turned on when he was throwing for the match in the tenth set so as to prevent him from leaving the BDO as World Champion.[4]
The day after Hankey's announcement that he was leaving the BDO, the PDC announced on its website that it was offering two-year tour cards to the 2012 BDO World Darts Championship semi-finalists. This meant that Hankey automatically received a tour card to play in the PDC and itsPro Tour, rather than having to play through the qualifying school tournament (usually a requirement to all new PDC players).[5] His first event on the tour was the opening Players Championship of 2012, The Spanish Darts Trophy, where he lost 4–6 toMatthew Edgar in the preliminary round.[6] Hankey then won his first matches in the PDC by defeatingSteve West 6–5 andToon Greebe 6–1 in the first UK Open qualifier in Crawley, before losing 6–4 toConnie Finnan. In May, Hankey had his best finish on the tour to date, reaching the last 16 of thePlayers Championship Event 5, losing 1–6 toRaymond van Barneveld.[7] In his first major event on the tour, theUK Open, Hankey beat qualifier Danny Dutson 4–0 andAndy Jenkins 4–1, but then lost to his old BDO rivalMervyn King 1–4 in the second round.[8]
Hankey was drawn in Group B of the2012 Grand Slam of Darts withMichael van Gerwen,Robert Thornton andSteve Beaton.[9] He was whitewashed 0–5 by Thornton but defeated Beaton 5–3 to stay alive in the group.[1] However, requiring a 5–0 or 5–1 victory over Van Gerwen in his last game to have a chance of progressing, Hankey visibly struggled with a three-dart average of 59, missing five successive shots at a single in the first leg (including two that missed the board completely) to set up a double. Hankey was then seen rubbing his left eye repeatedly and losing his balance, and Van Gerwen eventually won the match 5–0 with a 90 average. Two days later it was revealed that Hankey had suffered atransient ischemic attack, had very high cholesterol and diabetes and needed six to eight weeks' rest, which ruled him out of the qualifier for the2013 World Championship.[10][11]
Hankey returned to competitive darts for the first time in three months in February 2013, in an attempt to qualify for the first European Tour event of the year, theUK Darts Masters. He beat Wayne Atwood in the last 96, before losing 3–6 to Keith Rooney.[12] He produced encouraging displays at the secondPlayers Championship by beatingJohn Henderson 6–3, world number 15Paul Nicholson 6–5 and world number fourJames Wade 6–1 to reach the fourth round. Hankey facedDennis Smith and lost 5–6, missing one dart for the match in the deciding leg to play in his first PDC quarter-final.[13] Hankey qualified for theUK Open and beatBernd Roith and Dave Weston before seeing a 3–1 lead turn into a 4–9 defeat in the third round toJohn Part.[14] He qualified for his first European Tour event in July but was forced to withdraw from it in September due to whiplash injuries suffered in a minor car crash.[15] He returned for theGrand Slam of Darts and lost 5–3 in his opening group game toScott Waites.[16] However, Hankey produced a superb performance in his next game againstDave Chisnall as from 3–3 he hit a 170 finish and then scored 177 in the next leg to set up 32 and a 5–3 win.[17] He then defeated 2013 World Youth championMichael Smith 5–1 in his final game to progress to the knock-out stages, where he facedSimon Whitlock.[18] Hankey made an amazing fightback from 6–1 down to win 10–9 and reach the quarter-finals of the event for the second time in his career.[19] He played Waites once again and his run came to an end with a 16–10 defeat.[20]
Hankey's two-year tour card expired after the2014 World Championship and with him being ranked world number 94, well outside the top 64 who retain their professional status, he lost his position in the PDC.[21] He registered to Q School, but withdrew from the event before it began.[22] It was announced soon after that Hankey had decided to end his unsuccessful stay in the PDC and would return to the BDO.[23]In his first season back in the BDO, his best results were two quarter finals as he narrowly failed to automatically qualify for the Lakeside, being ranked 29 in the BDO (top 28 qualified). He also failed to qualify for the Masters, Lakeside and the World Trophy in the qualifying tournaments held in Hull. In 2015 he qualified for the2015 BDO World Trophy but was beaten in the first round by Sam Hewson 6–4.[1]
Hankey has three children.[24] Following a stroke in 2012, his earnings from tournaments declined and he was declared bankrupt in June 2018.[25] As of May 2022, he and his wife were in the process of divorcing.[24]
In March 2022, Hankey was charged withsexual assault; the prosecution said his female victim was over 16 but under the age of 18.[26][27] The incident took place in September 2021 and was captured on film.[24] He pleaded guilty to the charge on 14 April 2022 and was released on conditionalbail.[27] On 12 May 2022 atChester Crown Court, he was sentenced to two years in prison and placed on thesex offender registry for ten years.[28]
| Legend |
|---|
| World Championship (2–1) |
| Zuiderduin Masters (0–1) |
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score[N 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 2000 | World Championship |  Ronnie Baxter | 6–0 (s) |
| Runner-up | 1. | 2001 | World Championship | John Walton | 2–6 (s) |
| Runner-up | 2. | 2004 | Zuiderduin Masters |  Raymond van Barneveld | 1–5 (s) |
| Winner | 2. | 2009 | World Championship | Tony O'Shea | 7–6 (s) |
| Tournament | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BDO World Championship | DNQ | QF | 2R | W | F | 2R | 1R | QF | QF | 1R | QF | QF | W | QF | 1R | SF | DNP | 1R | DNQ | |||||
| BDO World Trophy | Not held | DNQ | 1R | 1R | DNQ | |||||||||||||||||||
| International Darts League | Not held | QF | QF | 2R | QF | DNP | Not held | |||||||||||||||||
| World Darts Trophy | Not held | 2R | 1R | QF | 2R | 1R | DNP | Not held | ||||||||||||||||
| Winmau World Masters | 2R | 3R | SF | 4R | 2R | 2R | 3R | 4R | SF | SF | 4R | 4R | QF | 6R | 6R | QF | 2R | DNP | 4R | 3R | 4R | 4R | 1R | |
| Finder Darts Masters | Not held | RR | QF | QF | QF | F | SF | NH | RR | RR | RR | QF | DNP | RR | DNP | |||||||||
| UK Open | Not held | DNP | 2R | 3R | DNP | |||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Slam of Darts | Not held | DNQ | RR | 2R | QF | RR | QF | DNQ | ||||||||||||||||
| Performance Table Legend | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | Won the tournament | F | Finalist | SF | Semifinalist | QF | Quarterfinalist | #R RR Prel. | Lost in # round Round-robin Preliminary round | DQ | Disqualified |
| DNQ | Did not qualify | DNP | Did not participate | WD | Withdrew | NH | Tournament not held | NYF | Not yet founded | ||