Ted Hankey’s first world title defence was disrupted by darts’ first-ever female streaker.
‘The Count’ appeared as the defending champion at the 2001 BDO World Darts Championship where his first-round match came to a very sudden and bizarre stop.
Hankey’s first round match at Lakeside was disrupted by a fanBBC Sport BBC SportA female streaker ran on stage topless after the end of the second set[/caption]Hankey produced a dominant display to race into a two-set lead against qualifier Shaun Greatbatch.
As the players began throwing practice darts for the third set, a naked woman emerged from the crowd.
She quickly ran across stage before crossing the oche and disappearing back into the crowd.
Her appearance was met with cheers and applause from the fans in attendance.
Members of the crowd could even be heard singing ‘Who Let The Dogs Out’, but Hankey was less than impressed.
The two-time world champion had a stone-faced expression as he diverted his eyes, before stepping back to take a sip of his water.
After the match, he explained: “I’d just stepped up to throw when I heard everyone shouting.
“The girl ran across in front of me and then went round the far end of the arena.
“I was comfortable and wanted to go on playing but I asked Shaun and he wanted to go off.
“It’s taken a lot off the victory for me. Everyone seems to think it’s a big joke and a good laugh, but we wait 12 months to play here and Shaun’s broken-hearted because it was his first time here and he didn’t perform.
BBC SportHankey watched on as the crowd cheered darts’ first-ever streaker[/caption] The Count stared down the streaker before taking a sip of his waterBBC Sport“It interfered with the game. I won’t blame security because the boys do a great job. They might look at it and decide to do something about it but I certainly won’t blame them.”
Meanwhile, Greatbatch admitted: “I’ve been watching darts for 20 years, waited 18 years to play in this tournament and this goes and happens to me.
“I wasn’t nervous during the match but the streaker certainly affected my game. I just wish I’d got her name and address!
“But Ted played very well and it seemed that every time I got to a double he managed to check out.”
Hankey went on to win the match 3-0 before going on to reach the final.
He was ultimately beaten by John Walton in the showpiece match to miss out on back-to-back world titles.
The Count would eventually add another crown eight years later as he clinched the 2009 BDO World Darts Championship.
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