| Christian Kist | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Nickname | "The Lipstick" | ||||||||||
| Born | 21 April 1986 Mariënberg, Netherlands | ||||||||||
| Home town | Vroomshoop, Netherlands | ||||||||||
| Darts information | |||||||||||
| Playing darts since | 1998 | ||||||||||
| Darts | Loxley Darts Signature | ||||||||||
| Laterality | Right-handed | ||||||||||
| Walk-on music | "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC | ||||||||||
| Organisation (see split in darts) | |||||||||||
| BDO | 2009–2014 | ||||||||||
| PDC | 2014–2024 | ||||||||||
| Current world ranking | NR (21 April 2024) [1] | ||||||||||
| WDF major events – best performances | |||||||||||
| World Ch'ship | Winner (1): 2012 | ||||||||||
| World Masters | Last 16: 2011 | ||||||||||
| Finder Masters | Last 24 Group: 2011, 2012 | ||||||||||
| Dutch Open | Quarter Final: 2024 | ||||||||||
| PDC premier events – best performances | |||||||||||
| World Ch'ship | Last 32: 2016 | ||||||||||
| World Matchplay | Last 32: 2017 | ||||||||||
| World Grand Prix | Last 32: 2017 | ||||||||||
| UK Open | Last 16: 2014 | ||||||||||
| Grand Slam | Quarter Final: 2012 | ||||||||||
| European Ch'ship | Last 32: 2014, 2015, 2017 | ||||||||||
| PC Finals | Quarter Final: 2016 | ||||||||||
| Other tournament wins | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Christian Kist (born 21 April 1986) is a Dutch professional darts player. In 2012, he won the BDO World Darts Championship, defeating Tony O'Shea in the final. Since 2014, he has competed in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).
Kist reached the last 16 of the 2011 World Masters, where he lost 2-3 against Tony West in a deciding leg having had five darts to win. After that performance he was awarded a wild-card for the Zuiderduin Masters. [2]
Kist qualified for the 2012 BDO World Championship via the International Playoffs. [3] Kist defeated compatriot Jan Dekker 3-2 in the first round. [4] He then defeated Belgium's Geert De Vos in the second round by a scoreline of 4-2. [5] Kist followed this with a 5-1 quarter-final victory over good friend Alan Norris. [6] Kist then recovered from 5-3 down in the semi-final against two-time champion Ted Hankey, who had one dart at bullseye to win the match 6-5, to reach the final. [7] He played popular crowd favourite Tony O'Shea, who was making his second Lakeside final. [7] Kist went into the break 4-2 up, and later went 6-2 ahead, but O'Shea mounted a comeback taking the next three sets. [8] However, Kist held his nerve to record a 7-5 win and became the BDO World Champion, [9] the first Dutchman and first qualifier to lift the title since Jelle Klaasen in 2006.
He was nicknamed "The Lipstick" during the tournament by BBC commentator and former world finalist Bobby George. This was a play on words on his surname "Kist" which sounds similar to "kissed" and the lipstick is a nickname of the treble 20 segment. This nickname has stuck throughout the Dutchman's career.
Kist was knocked out in the first round against Robbie Green at the 2013 BDO World Championship. After losing in the first round to James Wilson at the 2014 Championship, Kist announced he would be switching to the Professional Darts Corporation by entering their Qualifying School. [10] Kist played in the 2022 World Masters, reaching the last 32 stage.
Kist lost 5–2 to Matt Padgett in the final round of the third day, but finished in the top 24 on the Q School Order of Merit to seal a two-year PDC tour card. [11] [12] His first quarter-final came a month later at the fourth UK Open Qualifier where he lost 6–1 to Jamie Lewis. [13] At the UK Open he saw off Antonio Alcinas 9–2 and survived as Vincent van der Voort missed match darts in three successive legs in the next round to win 9–8. [14] In the fifth round, Kist was beaten 9–6 by Mervyn King. [15] At the third Players Championship, Kist beat James Wade 6–3 to reach his first semi-final on the PDC tour where he missed four match darts against Gary Anderson and went on to lose 6–5. [16] He let 3–1 and 5–3 leads slip in the first round of the European Championship against Mervyn King to lose 6–5. [17] At the Grand Slam he enjoyed 5–2 and 5–1 wins over Andy Hamilton and Richie George to finish second in his group behind Phil Taylor. [18] In the last 16, Kist started well to be 3–0 ahead of Michael Smith, but went on to be eliminated 10–5. [19] Kist was the final qualifier for the Players Championship Finals and missed one dart at the bull to beat Anderson, instead being defeated 6–5 with an average of 100.40 to Anderson's 110.62. [20]
Kist made his debut in the 2015 PDC World Championship after qualifying through the Pro Tour Order of Merit and was knocked out 3–1 in sets by compatriot and fellow former BDO world champion Jelle Klaasen in the first round. [21] After his first year in the PDC he was ranked world number 45. [22] After trailing Ian White 6–0 in the third round of the UK Open, Kist responded to send the match into a deciding leg but lost it to be eliminated 9–8. [23] He lost in the quarter-finals of the second Players Championship 6–4 to Andrew Gilding and went a stage further at the seventh event by knocking out world number one Michael van Gerwen 6–4, but was then beaten 6–1 by Peter Wright in the semis. [24] [25] Kist lost 6–4 in the first round of the European Championship to Rowby-John Rodriguez. [26]
Kist qualified for the 2016 World Championship and punished a poor performance from Justin Pipe to eliminate him 3–0, before losing 4–1 to Dave Chisnall in the second round. [27] He could not win enough matches to qualify for the UK Open, but reached his first quarter-final of the year at the seventh Players Championship event and was beaten 6–1 by Peter Wright. [28] At the 17th event he overcame Gary Anderson, Prakash Jiwa, Kyle Anderson, Dave Chisnall, Justin Pipe and Mensur Suljović to play in his first PDC final, where he lost 6–1 to Michael van Gerwen. [29] 6–4 and 6–2 victories over Ricky Evans and Dimitri Van den Bergh progressed Kist through to the third round of the Players Championship Finals. He then beat Pipe 10–6 to reach his first quarter-final major since joining the PDC and was 8–3 down to Darren Webster, before cutting it back to 8–6, but lost 10–6. [30]
In the first round of the 2017 World Championship, Kist lost six of the final seven legs to be defeated 3–1 by Brendan Dolan. [31]
Kist lost his Tour Card at the end of the 2019 season.
In the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship, Kist was whitewashed in the first round 3–0 by debutant Luke Littler. [32]
Kist's nickname of "The Lipstick" [7] [33] was suggested by Bobby George for three reasons: the name "Kist" sounding like "kissed", the fact that the treble 20 is referred to by players as "the lipstick" as it is coloured red, and the fact that Kist has an unusual habit of opening his mouth during every throw similar to fellow professional players Colin Monk and Shayne Burgess.
Kist was a road worker by trade before becoming a professional darts player. [34]
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 2012 | World Darts Championship |  Tony O'Shea | 7–5 (s) |
| Outcome | No. | Year | Championship | Opponent in the final | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 2012 | Europe Cup Singles |  Gary Stone | 4–7 (s) |
| Tournament | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDC World Championship | Non-PDC | DNQ | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | DNQ | 1R | ||
| UK Open | Non-PDC | 5R | 3R | DNQ | 3R | DNQ | 4R | DNQ | 1R | |
| World Matchplay | Non-PDC | Did not qualify | 1R | DNQ | ||||||
| World Grand Prix | Non-PDC | Did not qualify | 1R | DNQ | ||||||
| European Championship | Non-PDC | 1R | 1R | DNQ | 1R | DNQ | ||||
| Grand Slam of Darts | QF | RR | 2R | DNQ | ||||||
| Players Championship Finals | Non-PDC | 1R | DNQ | QF | 1R | DNQ | 1R | |||
| Performance Table Legend | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DNP | Did not play at the event | DNQ | Did not qualify for the event | NYF | Not yet founded | #R | lost in the early rounds of the tournament (WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin) |
| QF | lost in the quarter-finals | SF | lost in the semi-finals | F | lost in the final | W | won the tournament |
Edward Hankey is an English former professional darts player. Nicknamed "The Count", he won the BDO World Darts Championship in 2000, was runner-up in 2001, and won the title for a second time in 2009.
Mervyn King is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tournaments. Nicknamed The King, he has reached seven PDC major finals and reached a peak of No. 4 in the PDC Order of Merit. He is also the 2004 World Master.
Martin Adams is an English professional darts player who plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) events. Nicknamed "Wolfie", he is a three-time BDO World Champion and three-time World Masters champion. He represents Cambridgeshire at county darts level and was the captain of England from 1993 to 2013, the longest any player has held that role. From his debut in 1994, Adams made a record 25 consecutive World Championship appearances, before failing to qualify for the first time in 2019. Adams was diagnosed with prostate cancer in April 2016, but by the end of the year he was given the all-clear. As well as playing, he also acts as a regular pundit and commentator for televised coverage of BDO events.
Gary James Grant Anderson is a Scottish professional darts player playing in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Nicknamed "The Flying Scotsman", after the famous steam train, he is a former BDO and WDF world number one, and a two-time PDC World Champion, having won the title in 2015 and 2016. He is regarded as one of the best darts players of all time.
Tony O'Shea is an English professional darts player. His squat figure has resulted in the nickname "Silverback". O'Shea has reached the finals of seven British Darts Organisation (BDO) major darts tournaments, but to date has never won one. He also acted as a regular commentator for televised BDO coverage.
Tony West is an English former professional darts player.
Simon Whitlock is an Australian professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) tournaments, having also played in the British Darts Organisation (BDO) between 2004 and 2009. He uses the nickname The Wizard for his matches. His walk-on music is "Down Under" by Men at Work.
Scott Waites is an English professional darts player who plays in tournaments of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He is a two-time BDO World Darts Champion having won the 2013 tournament and 2016 tournament. He is also a former Winmau World Masters champion, WDF World Cup singles' champion, Zuiderduin Masters champion. He also won the 2010 Grand Slam of Darts, becoming the only BDO representative to win the event.
Stephen Bunting is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation events. Nicknamed The Bullet, Bunting is the reigning Masters champion. He also won the 2014 BDO World Darts Championship and is a twice former BDO World Masters champion.
Robbie Green is a former English professional darts player. His nickname was Kong.
Ross Montgomery, nicknamed The Boss, is a Scottish professional darts player who played in World Darts Federation (WDF) tournaments and as of January 14th 2022 now plays on the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Montgomery also played American football in his native Scotland, having spent eleven years with Glasgow Diamonds. He was forced to retire through injury and took up the game of darts instead.
Steve West is an English darts player. He is the younger brother of 2003 World Master Tony West.
John Henderson is a Scottish darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events.
Dave Chisnall is an English professional darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked No. 7 in the world.
Ross Smith is an English professional darts player who plays in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He was the winner of the 2022 European Championship.
Alan Norris is an English darts player. He was the runner-up at the 2014 BDO World Darts Championship and also lost in the final of the 2012 Zuiderduin Masters, with Stephen Bunting prevailing on both occasions. In 2015, he switched to the PDC and, after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2016 World Championship, he was named the PDC Best Newcomer of the year.
Jan Dekker is a Dutch former professional darts player. He reached the semi-finals of the BDO World Darts Championship twice, in 2011 and 2014.
The 2012 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was the 35th BDO World Darts Championship organised by the British Darts Organisation, and the 27th staging at the Lakeside Country Club at Frimley Green. It took place from January 7th to January 15th.
Gary Stone is a Scottish professional darts player who currently plays in the World Darts Federation tournaments.
James Wilson is an English darts player who plays in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).