Sir Chris Hoy tells Christian Kist 'you will help save thousands of lives' as Olympic hero lauds 'special' nine darter
Sir Chris Hoy says darts ace Christian Kist has saved “thousands of lives” with his perfect Ally Pally leg.
The Dutch star smacked a nine-darter during his defeat to Madars Razma on Wednesday night. BIGGER 180 ambassador Hoy has congratulated Kist for triggering the £180,000 Paddy Power bonus. As well as the player collecting £60,000 for the achievement, one lucky random fan named Kris, a 28-year-old from Sutton, got another £60,000. Most importantly, another £60,000 went to Prostate Cancer UK.
Hoy, who announced two months ago that his cancer is terminal, is scheduled at the Ally Pally on Finals night to give out the Ballon d’Art trophy which the sponsors are awarding to the player who has the most 180s through the showpiece event. But, on Kist’s stellar work, Hoy said: “A huge well done to Christian. What he did will help save thousands of lives.
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“This money will go on to fund Prostate Cancer UK’s revolutionary screening trial TRANSFORM and every pound raised through the BIGGER 180 campaign is crucial. My own darting skills mean just hitting the board is a good result.
“To throw nine perfect darts under the Alexandra Palace lights with the eyes of the world on you is an incredible achievement. I faced plenty of pressure in my own career but to keep calm and throw a nine-dart leg is something special. Congratulations also to the fan in the crowd who shares in the spoils.”
As well as the £180,000 nine-dart bonus, Paddy Power are also donating £1,000 for every 180 scored at Ally Pally. Twelve 180s were thrown in Kist’s match alone, meaning that one single match raised £72,000 for the charity.
Alongside partners Sky Sports and the PDC, The BIGGER 180 campaign is calling on 180,000 men to take 30 seconds to check their risk of prostate cancer using the Prostate Cancer UK online risk checker.
Prostate Cancer UK chief executive Laura Kerby said: “This perfect leg of darts means Christian has etched his name in the darting history books, but he’s also helped raise an incredible £180,000 to be split between himself, one lucky fan and Prostate Cancer UK, thanks to Paddy Power.
“With every 180 hit by players in the tournament Prostate Cancer UK earns £1,000 and this wonderful windfall will go towards our groundbreaking screening trial, TRANSFORM.
“Led by world-leading experts, TRANSFORM will find the best way to screen men for the disease, so that one day all men will be invited for regular tests and more men will find it early enough to be cured.
“This iconic tournament has seen us make a huge difference to men affected by prostate cancer, one maximum at a time.
“We thank Paddy Power for their incredible life-changing support and Christian for his incredible accuracy, and long may the iconic call of ‘180’ from the Ally Pally stage continue.”
Kist, meanwhile, admitted afterwards he didn’t know that he had banked the bonus and said: “The nine-darter was an amazing moment, hitting the double 12 felt amazing. Maybe I will go on vacation next month with the prize money!”
