In a display that rewrote the history books, debutant Justin Hood achieved an unprecedented feat of 11 consecutive doubles, powering his way to a commanding 4-0 victory over Josh Rock in the last 16 of the prestigious World Darts Championship.
The 32-year-old, competing in his maiden season on the premier professional circuit, continued his remarkable tournament run. His perfect doubling streak finally concluded when he had a chance to seal the match at 2-0 up in the fourth set. Unfazed, he regrouped to clinCH the victory with a superb 119 checkout in the following leg.
āItās not a fairytale ā I am fully aware of what I can do and itās nice to prove it up there,ā Hood remarked in his post-match interview. āThe only time I felt a bit of nerves was on my throw the leg before the last. Iām unaccustomed to this. Usually, I get hate messages. This is mad.ā
Hood immediately signaled his formidable challenge by winning the opening set with an 11-dart break. This left the higher-seeded Rock, the tournament's number 11, little to do but watch in awe as Hood stormed to victory, registering a formidable 101 average and firing in 10 maximum 180s.
This historic win ensures the newcomer a career-best payday of at least £100,000 and brings him closer to his stated ambition of opening 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 subsequently wasting four darts to re-establish a one-set lead at 3-2.
āThereās a lot on my mind and becoming world No. 4 was one of them,ā admitted Clayton. āWhenever I looked up, Andreas was finding his doubles. It was a real battle; I didnāt play my top darts and had many loose throws, but thatās what the occasion does to you.ā
Joining them in the quarter-final stage is Krzysztof Ratajski, who found an extra gear in the later stages to secure a 4-2 win over Luke Woodhouse, earning his spot in the prestigious last eight of the championship.
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