Ted Hankey is back in the BDO's big time
Telford's Ted Hankey is heading back to the big time - with certain passage to the BDO World Masters and every chance he will be in the next World Championship.
Hankey's run to the semi-finals of the Luxembourg Open on Saturday gleaned 12 valuable ranking points that put him in a strong position,
'The Count' is nailed on for the organisation's second-biggest tournament, the Masters, which starts at Hull City Hall for three days from October 8.
The 47-year-old, who lives in Aqueduct, has got a stranglehold on 27th place in the BDO rankings, with the four darters below him going into the Masters and Lakeside play-offs.
That's in large part to his weekend exploits, where only a 5-0 whitewash to eventual winner Thomas Junghans could halt his challenge.
Hankey made the trip especially with his position in mind and, in the current standings, only someone below him winning the Masters would stop him going back to Lakeside.
The two-time world champion has gone all of the way at Frimley Green in 2000 and 2009, leaving for the PDC in 2012 before returning two years later.
The last BDO World Championship was the first to take place with Hankey in their ranks and not involved since 1997.
