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 having won the title for the first time in the 2008 final against Simon Whitlock, but he was eliminated 4–0 by John Walton in the second round. The title was eventually won by 2000 championTed Hankey, who won 7–6 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 Winmau 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 – the player that had beaten her each time – by two sets to one. The event took place from 3–11 January 2009 and for the 24th time, the tournament took place at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green.
Format and qualifiers
Men's
The televised stages featured 32 players. The top 16 players in the WDF/BDO rankings over the 2007–08 season were seeded for the tournament. They were joined by 16 other players who had either been invited by right, a standby player with 5 other qualifiers determined at the International Playoffs, which were held on 4 December 2008 in Bridlington.
Women's
The televised stages featured 8 players.
Prize Money
The 2009 World Championship featured a prize fund of £320,000 – a rise of £10,000 on the previous year. The only monetary change was that the Men's Champion received £95,000 instead of £85,000 as received by Mark Webster at the 2008 championship.
Men's
Match distances in sets are quoted in brackets at the top of each round. All sets best of five legs, unless there is a final set tie-break
The opening match of the 2009 world championships was between top seed Gary Anderson and Norway's Robert Wagner. Anderson won the match 3–2. Simon Whitlock, last year's runner-up, beat Mark Barilli 3–0. Tony O'Shea defeated Sweden's Daniel Larsson 3–0, while Darryl Fitton, the 5th seed, beat Mark Salmon 3–0 without dropping a leg. There were 3–2 wins for Edwin Max and Robert Hughes as well.
Day Two, Sunday 4 January
Men's
Six more first round matches
Women's
The two remaining quarter-finals
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 3–0. 2000 champion Ted Hankey and 2001 champion John Walton both had 3–0 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 3–1 in a match where he averaged 98. England's Alan Norris beat number 13 seed Steve West 3–0.
Day Three, Monday 5 January
The four remaining first round matches
Day three saw reigning Masters champion Martin Adams begin his 16th World Championship campaign. Adams beat Dave Chisnall 3–2 in a tiebreak. Martin Atkins also progressed by beating Joey ten Berge 3–2. Ross Montgomery saw off Martin Phillips 3–1 whilst debutant Daryl Gurney saw off number 14 seed and fellow debutant Garry Thompson 3–1.
Day four saw the start of the second round. Tony O'Shea averaged 92 as he beat Holland's Edwin Max 4–0. Darryl Fitton averaged 98 beating the previous year's finalist Simon Whitlock 4–2 while Whitlock averaged 92. Top seed Gary Anderson made the quarter-finals beating Wales' Robert Hughes 4–2. World Masters runner-up Scott Waites reached the quarter-finals with a 4–0 win over Alan Norris.
Day Five, Wednesday 7 January
The conclusion of the second round
Number three seed Martin Adams defeated Daryl Gurney 4–2. Adams had been 2–0 up before Gurney levelled the match at 2–2, but Adams edged each of the next two sets 3–2 to book his place in the quarters. 2001 World Champion John Walton knocked out the defending champion Mark Webster 4–0. Webster won four legs in the match. 2000 World Champion Ted Hankey saw off Scotland's Ross Montgomery 4–1 whilst number six seed Gary Robson saw off Martin Atkins 4–1.
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 5–3. O'Shea went into a 4–1 lead before Anderson took the next two to make it 4–3. O'Shea took the next set for the win. Darryl Fitton came from 4–1 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 2–0 wins to set up their sixth final against one another.
Day Seven, Friday 9 January
Men's
The two remaining quarter-finals
Women's
The final
Former World Champion Ted Hankey saw off 2001 champion John Walton. Hankey beat Walton – who had only dropped five legs before the match – by five sets to one. Martin Adams gave up a 3–0 lead over Gary Robson, who made it 4–4, before the Masters champion won the final set 3–0 to complete a 5–4 win and set up a semi-final clash with Hankey. This meant that all four semi-finalists were 40 or older – the first time that this had ever occurred at a World Championship, in either organisation.
Day Eight, Saturday 10 January
The semi-finals
Day Nine, Sunday 11 January
The final
Television coverage
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.
