In a display that rewrote the history books, debutant Justin Hood pulled off an unheard-of feat of 11 consecutive doubles, blasting his way to a dominant 4-0 victory over Josh Rock in the third round of the elite World Darts Championship.
The 32-year-old, competing in his maiden season on the top-tier professional circuit, continued his sensational 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. Undaunted, he composed himself to secure the victory with a superb 119 checkout in the following leg.
“This isn't a storybook – I know what I can do and it’s nice to prove it up there,” Hood stated in his on-stage interview. “The sole moment I felt any pressure was throwing the leg before the last. I’m not used to this. Usually, I get hate messages. This is mad.”
Hood sent an early message about his formidable challenge 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 career-best 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 solidified 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, having led 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 moving to world No. 4 was among them,” admitted Clayton. “Every time I looked up, Andreas was finding his doubles. It was a real battle; I didn’t play my top darts and had many 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 closing phases to secure a 4-2 win over Luke Woodhouse, earning his spot in the prestigious last eight of the championship.
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