Underdog Justin Hood shocked the darts world by sinking an unprecedented 11 consecutive doubles, powering his way to a commanding 4-0 victory over Josh Rock in the last 16 of the PDC World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace.
The 32-year-old debutant from Glastonbury showcased remarkable composure and skill, missing his first double only while aiming for the match point up 2-0 in the fourth set. He calmly sealed the match with a stunning 119 finish in the very next leg. This triumph guarantees Hood a career-best earning of at least £100,000 and brings him a step closer to realizing his aspiration of opening a Chinese restaurant.
Reflecting on his breakthrough performance during the on-stage interview, Hood said, “It’s not a fairytale – I know what I can do and it’s nice to prove it up there. The only time I had a bit of nerves was when I was throwing the leg before the last one. I’m not used to this. I usually get hate messages. This is mad.”
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Hood set the tone from the start, winning the first set with an impressive 11-dart break of throw, leaving the 11th seed Rock stunned as Hood maintained pressure with a 101 average and hit 10 maximum 180s.
In other last-16 action, Jonny Clayton confirmed his rise to world number four with a resilient comeback win over Sweden’s Andreas Harrysson. Despite trailing a set down, Clayton capitalized on Harrysson’s missed opportunities, including four missed darts to regain the lead at 3-2, to seal a hard-fought victory.
Clayton commented on the intense battle: “There’s a lot of things on my mind and moving to world number four was one of them. Every time I looked up, Andreas was hitting doubles. It was tough, I didn’t play my best and had a lot of loose darts, but that’s what pressure does to you.”
Meanwhile, Krzysztof Ratajski secured his spot in the quarterfinals with a 4-2 victory over Luke Woodhouse, setting the stage for an exciting next round.