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 last 16 of the elite World Darts Championship.
The 32-year-old, taking part in his maiden season on the premier professional circuit, extended his remarkable tournament run. His perfect doubling streak only ended when he had a chance to seal the match at 2-0 up in the fourth set. Undaunted, he composed himself to secure the victory with a spectacular 119 checkout in the following leg.
“It’s not a fairytale – I am fully aware of what I can do and it’s nice to demonstrate it up there,” Hood stated in his post-match interview. “The sole moment I felt a bit of nerves was throwing the leg before the last. I’m not used to this. Ordinarily, I get negative comments. This is mad.”
Hood immediately signaled his intentions by securing the opening set with an lightning-fast break of throw. This left the favored Rock, the tournament's number 11, little to do but watch in awe as Hood stormed 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 £100,000 and brings him closer to his stated ambition of launching a Chinese restaurant.
In other last-16 action, Jonny Clayton confirmed his rise to the number four spot in the global rankings after engineering a comeback from a set down to defeat Andreas Harrysson 4-2.
The Swedish contender was made to regret for squandering key opportunities, after establishing a 2-1 advantage and then missing four darts to regain a one-set lead at 3-2.
“A number of things on my mind and becoming world No. 4 was among them,” confessed Clayton. “Every time I looked up, Andreas was hitting his doubles. It was tough; I didn’t play my top darts and had many loose attempts, but that’s what the occasion does to you.”
Joining them in the quarter-final stage is Krzysztof Ratajski, who pulled away in the later stages to secure a 4-2 win over Luke Woodhouse, earning his spot in the elite last eight of the championship.
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Donald Webb
Donald Webb