The 2009 BDO World Darts Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2009 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship) was the 32nd World Championship organised by the British Darts Organisation. Mark Webster was the defending men's champion, but he was eliminated 4âÂÂ0 by John Walton in the second round.
The title was eventually won by 2000 champion Ted Hankey, who won 7âÂÂ6 against Tony O'Shea, in a match which lasted just under two and a half hours. The defending women's champion, Anastasia Dobromyslova, was due to defend her championship, having beaten seven-time champion Trina Gulliver in the 2008 final, but on 7 December 2008 she resigned from the BDO/WDF setup after her defeat in the World Masters to Francis Hoenselaar. It later emerged that she had accepted the 70th and last place into the rival PDC World Championship, replacing an Indian qualifier. This meant that for the first time, the defending women's champion would not be returning to defend her title. Hoenselaar, a five-time runner-up, won her first world title by beating Gulliver â the player that had beaten her each time â by two sets to one.
The event took place from 3âÂÂ11 January 2009 and for the 24th time, the tournament took place at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green.
The televised stages featured 32 players. The top 16 players in the WDF/BDO rankings over the 2007âÂÂ08 season were seeded for the tournament. They were joined by 16 other players who had either been invited by right (10 of the sixteen in this method), a standby player (Stephen Bunting) with 5 other qualifiers determined at the International Playoffs, which were held on 4 December 2008 in Bridlington.
The televised stages featured 8 players.
The 2009 World Championship featured a prize fund of ã320,000 â a rise of ã10,000 on the previous year. The only monetary change was that the Men's Champion received ã100,000 instead of ã85,000 as received by Mark Webster at the 2008 championship.
The opening match of the 2009 world championships was between top seed Gary Anderson and Norway's Robert Wagner. Anderson won the match 3âÂÂ2. Simon Whitlock, last year's runner-up, beat Mark Barilli 3âÂÂ0. Tony O'Shea defeated Sweden's Daniel Larsson 3âÂÂ0, while Darryl Fitton, the 5th seed, beat Mark Salmon 3âÂÂ0 without dropping a leg. There were 3âÂÂ2 wins for Edwin Max and Robert Hughes as well.
The opening match saw Mark Webster begin the defence of his title and he beat Holland's Willy van de Wiel. 2008 Masters runner-up Scott Waites also won against Ross Smith 3âÂÂ0. 2000 champion Ted Hankey and 2001 champion John Walton both had 3âÂÂ0 wins over former semi-finalists Brian Woods and Shaun Greatbatch respectively. Greatbatch was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in June 2008. He received a guard of honour and a standing ovation after his match. Former World Darts Trophy champion Gary Robson overcame Stephen Bunting 3âÂÂ1 in a match where he averaged 98. England's Alan Norris beat number 13 seed Steve West 3âÂÂ0.
Day three saw reigning Masters champion Martin Adams begin his 16th World Championship campaign. Adams beat Dave Chisnall 3âÂÂ2 in a tiebreak. Martin Atkins also progressed by beating Joey ten Berge 3âÂÂ2. Ross Montgomery saw off Martin Phillips 3âÂÂ1 whilst debutant Daryl Gurney saw off number 14 seed and fellow debutant Garry Thompson 3âÂÂ1.
Day four saw the start of the second round. Tony O'Shea averaged 92 as he beat Holland's Edwin Max 4âÂÂ0. Darryl Fitton averaged 98 beating the previous year's finalist Simon Whitlock 4âÂÂ2 while Whitlock averaged 92. Top seed Gary Anderson made the quarter-finals beating Wales' Robert Hughes 4âÂÂ2. World Masters runner-up Scott Waites reached the quarter-finals with a 4âÂÂ0 win over Alan Norris.
Number three seed Martin Adams defeated Daryl Gurney 4âÂÂ2. Adams had been 2âÂÂ0 up before Gurney levelled the match at 2âÂÂ2, but Adams edged each of the next two sets 3âÂÂ2 to book his place in the quarters. 2001 World Champion John Walton knocked out the defending champion Mark Webster 4âÂÂ0. Webster won four legs in the match. 2000 World Champion Ted Hankey saw off Scotland's Ross Montgomery 4âÂÂ1 whilst number six seed Gary Robson saw off Martin Atkins 4âÂÂ1.
Tony O'Shea reached the semi-finals of the World Championships for the second time in his career as he beat the number one seed Gary Anderson 5âÂÂ3. O'Shea went into a 4âÂÂ1 lead before Anderson took the next two to make it 4âÂÂ3. O'Shea took the next set for the win. Darryl Fitton came from 4âÂÂ1 down to beat World Masters runner-up Scott Waites and set up a semi-final clash with fellow native of Stockport, O'Shea. In the women's championship, both Trina Gulliver and Francis Hoenselaar gained 2âÂÂ0 wins to set up their sixth final against one another.
Former World Champion Ted Hankey saw off 2001 champion John Walton. Hankey beat Walton â who had only dropped five legs before the match â by five sets to one. Martin Adams gave up a 3âÂÂ0 lead over Gary Robson, who made it 4âÂÂ4, before the Masters champion won the final set 3âÂÂ0 to complete a 5âÂÂ4 win and set up a semi-final clash with Hankey. This meant that all four semi-finalists were 40 or older â the first time that this had ever occurred at a World Championship, in either organisation. (Hankey 40, Fitton 46, O'Shea 47 and Adams 52)
The tournament was again covered by the BBC in the UK. Coverage was presented by Ray Stubbs, with analysis from Bobby George and commentary from David Croft, Bobby George, Tony Green, and Ted Hankey. The tournament was also shown on SBS6 in the Netherlands and Eurosport across continental Europe.