Hats off to Kim Whaley-Hilts of Ontario & Terry Hayhurst of Alberta as they both captured their respective Canadian Open Singles titles in Thunder Bay, Ontario over the weekend!

Kim Whaley-Hilts	Terry Hayhurst
Ladies Singles Champion	Men's Singles Champion

The Ladies;

Whaley-Hilts took out Saskatchewan's Bonnie Lapierre on her way to gold in her semi finals match. Taking it to the distance Whaley Hilts took legs 1, 3, and 5 in 27, 18, & 18 darts respectively to move on. Lapierre was right there pushing the match all the way winning legs 2 & 4 but it was not enough as Whaley-Hilts took off in leg 5 checking out 16 while Lapierre could only watch as she sat on 35.

Cindy Pardy of Alberta also made it to her semi finals along with Nova Scotia's Debbie Lewis Christmas. These ladies were very fast shooters and in no time the match was wrapped up with Pardy taking it 3-0. Pardy took out leg 1 in 17 darts, leg 2 in 14 darts and in leg 3 Pardy was sitting on 85 after 12 darts. Lewis Christmas kept the pressure on and at dart 27 Pardy checked out 4 to meet Whaley-Hilts in the finals. Tho the score line may not show it, Lewis Christmas was sitting on a finish in legs 2 & 3 with shots to win plus she also knocked out some top ladies on her way to the stage. Way to go Debbie and Bonnie!

After winning the triple crown during the Nationals, Pardy had her sites set on making it 4 wins in a row.

Whaley-Hilts vs Pardy Finals

Whaley-Hilts had other plans as she checked out a 150 finish 60, 54, double 18 in leg 1 to set the stage on fire & rattle Pardy she did. Legs 2 & 3 Whaley-Hilts knocked down in 22 darts each with Pardy close by sitting on 4 & 91 respectively. Pardy took out 50 on dart 17 in the 4th leg to get herself on the scoreboard. With a 3-1 score line, victory was in site for Whaley-Hilts as she finished 18 to win the match 4-1 over Pardy. A great match by both ladies!

Ladies Knock-Out Bracket

The Kiss!

The Men;

In the best of 7 semi finals Kiley Edmunds of Nova Scotia stepped to the oche against Alberta’s Kenny MacNeil. The gents took legs 1 & 2, both in 15 darts to move into the third leg with a 1-1 score line. MacNeil with a nice 14 darter checked out 40 to move onto the next leg. A 49 finish in another 14 darts moves MacNeil ahead 3-1. 18 darts later with a 40 out as MacNeil moves into the finals over Edmunds, who was just one shot behind in each leg.

Another Alberta – Nova Scotia showdown in semi #2 as Terry Hayhurst and Seymour Dixon battle for their spot on the finals stage. 17 darts in leg one for Hayhurst as he checks out with Dixon sitting back at 113. Leg 2 goes to the Nova Scotian in a 15 darter and a 92 finish. Another 17 darter for Hayhurst and leg 3 is his. The game of the match was leg 4 as Hayhurst shot 100, 180, 140, 81 finish to chalk up a 12 darter.  Against the darts Hayhurst took the 5^th leg and the match with a 14 darter on 32 with Dixon sitting at 56 after 15 darts. A well fought match for Dixon but it was the youngin who was moving onto the finals.

MacNeil VS Hayhurst Finals

In the best of 9, this round was set up to be a match made for TV! Kicking it off MacNeil fires off a maximum 180 to leave 36 however Hayhurst was not giving his fellow Albertan any shots as he took out 25 on dart #15 for the first leg. Hayhurst also took leg 2 in a 16 darter while MacNeil came back in leg 3 to get on the score board finishing off a 19 darter. Leg 4 is where the match went haywire! MacNeil finishes off at 110 in 15 against the darts while Hayhurst was looking at 20 missing 56 for a possible 13 darter. Tied up 2 all the 5^th leg went to Hayhurst who missed a 167 finish to leave 25 to finish. An 85, 180, 100, 96 and a 40 out for a 13 darter and 4-2 lead for Hayhurst. The pressure was on for MacNeil now and with 3 missed turns at a finish he left the door open for Hayhurst as he knocked out an amazing 152 finish to take the match and the Canadian Open Singles title!

Men's Knock-Out Bracket

Check out all the 2012 Canadian Open results here

Article by Catherine Haycock, contributor Mary Dezan