Christian Kist emerges as new BDO king
It happened contrary to all expectations. Darts was never as unpredictable before.
The increasingly capricious nature of this game was revealed when a road worker from Netherlands, Christian Kist, astounded everyone by winning the BDO title, defeating Tony O’Shea in the finale of the grand event.
In a thrilling grand finale that took place at Lakeside, 25-year-old Kist was able to defeat O’Shea by 7-5, grabbing a whopping 100,000 pounds, which is estimated to be 50 times his earnings made so far in his life.
Winning the final was turning out to be a piece of cake for Kist with his 6-2 lead but it was precisely the time when Tony bounced back in the game, making things a little difficult for Kist.
"I was 6-2 in front and there was no problem and then Tony came back and the nerves came," he said.
However, during the course of the championship, Kist had developed the temperament of holding his nerve, especially after the victories he achieved against players like Ted Hankey in the semis and Alan Norris in the quarter finals.
Also known as ‘Silverback’, O’Shea confronted him with all his might. He started tremendously well.
Initially, he was winning the first three legs of the game in the first set, whereas Kist was battling hard to score points at the trebles.
Not surrendering to the situation, Kist got back in the game to acquire an edge in the match.
The fourth set took crucial turns in the deciding leg as O’ Shea struggled to score a 68 darter to level the scores.
Nevertheless, Kist’s darts were in his control completely. With the help of a 12-darter checkout, he was able to gain a 4-2 lead in the match just before the interval.
The interval provided Kist the chance to regain his nerves and design a better pressure strategy through which he could maintain his lead in the game.
The strategy worked and Kist was finally able to register his name among the best amateur players of darts, not only from Netherlands but from all over the world.
It is also important to mention here that Kist was termed as the 13th best player in his country last year, but after winning the BDO event, his ranking is anticipated to surge unprecedentedly.
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