In a display that rewrote the history books, debutant Justin Hood achieved an unheard-of feat of 11 consecutive doubles, powering his way to a dominant 4-0 victory over Josh Rock in the third round of the prestigious World Darts Championship.
The 32-year-old, taking part in his first ever season on the top-tier professional circuit, continued his remarkable tournament run. His perfect doubling streak finally concluded when he was throwing to seal the match at 2-0 up in the fourth set. Unfazed, he composed himself to secure the victory with a superb 119 checkout in the following leg.
“This isn't a storybook – I am fully aware of what I can do and it’s incredibly satisfying to demonstrate it up there,” Hood remarked in his on-stage interview. “The sole moment I felt any pressure was on my throw the leg before the last. I’m not used to this. Ordinarily, I get hate messages. This is absolutely insane.”
Hood sent an early message about his intentions by winning the opening set with an lightning-fast break of throw. This left the higher-seeded Rock, the tournament's 11th seed, little to do but watch in awe as Hood charged to victory, posting a impressive 101 average and firing in 10 maximum 180s.
This historic win guarantees the newcomer a life-changing payday of at least ÂŁ100,000 and brings him closer to his avowed ambition of opening a Chinese restaurant.
In other last-16 action, Jonny Clayton solidified his rise to fourth in the global rankings after engineering a fightback from a set down to defeat Andreas Harrysson 4-2.
The Swedish contender was made to regret for failing to capitalize on key opportunities, after establishing a 2-1 advantage and then missing four darts to re-establish a one-set lead at 3-2.
“A number of things on my mind and moving to world No. 4 was among them,” confessed Clayton. “Whenever I looked up, Andreas was finding his doubles. It was tough; I didn’t play my best darts and had a lot of loose attempts, but that’s what pressure does to you.”
Joining them in the next round is Krzysztof Ratajski, who found an extra gear in the later stages to secure a 4-2 win over Luke Woodhouse, booking his place in the elite last eight of the championship.
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