BDO World Championships: Bobby George on contenders
Last updated on .From the section Darts

The BDO World Championships begin on Saturday, with Christian Kist looking to defend the title he won on a remarkable Lakeside debut last year.
Kist entered the tournament as a rank outsider but defeated Tony O'Shea 7-5 in a thrilling final to win the £100,000 prize.
Among the other 31 players looking to claim this year's crown are three-times champion Martin Adams, number one seeding Stephen Bunting and 2011 World Masters champion Scott Waites.
BBC Sport pundit Bobby George, twice a finalist at the Lakeside, gives his view on some of the leading contenders.
SCOTT WAITES

Age: 35
Seeded: 3
Last year: Second round
Nickname: Scotty 2 Hotty
Bobby's view: "He played really, really well in the Grand Slam. He is the sort of guy who should have won this by now, but never has.
"He is a great darts player, plays really well in tournaments but as soon he gets to the Lakeside, he doesn't perform.
"Scott is the favourite though as far as I am concerned."
Did you know? Away from the dartboard, Scott likes to play five-a-side football, but one of his biggest passions is watching 'Emmerdale'. Every time he is away from home his partner Sally has to record every episode for him.
STEPHEN BUNTING

Age: 27
Seeded: 1
Last year: did not compete
Nickname: The Bullet
Bobby's view: "Bunting has played really well this last year. He has come all the way through the youth, didn't do particularly great but all of a sudden he has hit the right button and he is the number one seed.
"He has done really well - he has won the World Masters and been good in tournaments.
"He is playing well and has really improved his game. He does not have an easy first round though against James Wilson."
Did you know? A darts player since the age of 12, Bunting's first appearance at Lakeside was in 2004 at the age of 18.
TONY O'SHEA

Age: 51
Seeded: 4
Last year: Runner-up
Nickname: Silverback
Bobby's view: "Tony has been runner-up at this tournament before, as well as the Masters, so he is always near enough there.
"His first-round opponent, John Walton, has won the World Championships before but he can be dodgy.
"I think Tony will have enough to beat John, but it will be a really tight game."
Did you know? O'Shea is an avid Stockport County fan and has written in their home programme under the alias "Stocky on the Oche".
CHRISTIAN KIST

Age: 26
Seeded: Unseeded
Last year: Winner
Nickname: The Lipstick
Bobby's view: "He is not seeded because he has not done anything. He is world champion but I think he has been lying in bed for a year! He has won a couple of tournaments but he has not done that much.
"However, he played well in the Grand Slam, he played well against Raymond van Barneveld - there was not much in it. He is capable of winning this again. He is a dark horse, that guy.
"The first game is always the hardest and if he can overcome Robbie Green, he is in the running."
Did you know? Bobby George gave Kist his nickname. The reasons behind it being that he's a great scorer in the treble-20 bed (known as the lipstick), he has a habit of opening his mouth each time he throws, and because his name sounds like 'Kissed'."
ROSS MONTGOMERY

Age: 50
Seeded: 6
Last year: Second round
Nickname: The Boss
Bobby's view: "Ross is playing steady darts, he is a very military player - he is nice to have with you in the army. He plays the same all the time, although he struggles a little on his finishing sometimes. If he hits those doubles though he will do well.
"His first-round opponent, Paul Jennings, is a good player, very tidy, but I fancy Ross to just get through."
Did you know? A handy man by trade, Montgomery cites DIY jobs as a hobby, as well as playing computer games online.
ALAN NORRIS

Age: 40
Seeded: 9
Last year: Quarter-final
Nickname: Chuck
Bobby's view: "Alan is playing really well. This bloke only just missed a nine-darter last year. He was so unlucky.
"He is playing Wayne Warren, who has been around for a very long time. He is a very tidy player but I think Alan will just have enough.
"That will be a really good game, they are both playing good darts and Alan has improved in the last couple of years."
Did you know? Englishman Norris currently lives in Scotland, but previously lived in Sweden, where he was the number one darts player for 2007 and 2008.
THE OUTSIDERS
PAUL JENNINGS
Bobby's view:"Paul's a good player. He is up against Ross Montgomery. He is very tidy and if he can get through that first round, he has a chance.
JAMES WILSON
Bobby's view:"He is very, very dangerous. He is one of the outsiders for me and if he did happen to beat Stephen Bunting in the first round he would go a fair way. He is a very tidy player."
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Phil Taylor would be nowhere if he hadn't gone professional.
Calling the BDO event a world championship de-values it, should just be called Lakeside Championship, it clearly isn't a "world Championship" event when most of the top players are in the PDC!
We do have the right to complain about it as the BBC are spending our license money on it.
@ 31 - you're wrong unfortunately. Lewis's career started in 2003 at the BDO. Granted he only played in a few event before transferring to the PDC, but he still played as a BDO competitor prior to PDC
Standard not as good as the PDC, however a decent standard and a decent watch.
As a licence payer you have every right to comment on what the BBC show but I do find it very strange you make comments on the quality of the darts when you havn't actually watched any of the coverage.
Very strange.
Hence the argument about The Power being the greatest sportsman in the world bar none.
Darts is a ok game, but the BBC have the poor man's version, and I have not heard of any of the players
Sorry
To be fair to Harrington, he has won the World Matchplay twice. Mardle was that "good", he decided to jack it all in so he could analyse instead.