Ted Hankey reaches a BDO ranking final
Telford's Ted Hankey reached his first ranking final since rejoining the BDO but still came a cropper in the final of the Scottish Classic.
The two-time world champion got all of the way to the decider against Latvian thrower Madars Razma at the Glenrothes Recreation and Social Club.
'The Count' had to overcome Shropshire cohort Steve Ritchie, who lives in Shifnal, in the semi-finals to set up the clash with Razma, writes Craig Birch.
Hankey enjoyed a bye past the first round of the category B event, before overcoming Scot Evander Stevenson 4-2 in the last 6-4.
He then thumped Jim Russell 4-1 and recorded an even-better performance to sweep aside Martin Atkins, whitewashing him 4-0.
A 5-3 victory over Scott Robertson saw him win the Group Two board and put him head-to-head with Richie in the last four.
He prevailed from Group One with four victories, starting with a 4-0 shut-out of David Thomson, before seeing off Richard Veenstra 4-2.
Ian Jolly and Cameron Menzies were defeated by scorelines of 4-1 and 4-2 respectively, before a resounding 5-1 success over Sam Hewson in his board final.
He came out second best from his meeting with Hankey, the man based in Aqueduct going through to the final 5-2.
But he couldn't live with Razma in the final, either, as he won just a leg in a comprehensive 6-1 disappointment, averaging just 64 in the process.
Still, it's the most progress Hankey has enjoyed since he returned to the BDO in February last year, failing to qualify for the World Masters and World Championship.
