Stephen Bunting has progressed through to the last 16 of the PDC World Championship with a 4-1 victory over Madars Razma.
The eighth seed is bidding to round off a strong 2024 by going deep at the Alexandra Palace, his aim being to earn a second appearance in the Premier League.
Bunting produced one of the performances of the tournament on Friday afternoon, averaging 100.06 across 20 legs to see off the challenge of his Latvian opponent.
To Razma's credit, he magnificently checked out 119 to save the match in the fourth set and hit a 149 finish to extend the fifth to a deciding leg.
However, Bunting held his nerve with a timely 96 checkout - not his first of the match - to move through to the fourth round.
HEROIC HETA HITS THE NINE! 🔥
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 27, 2024
UNBELIEVABLE SCENES! 🤯
Damon Heta lands the second nine-darter of the tournament to raise the roof at Alexandra Palace! #WCDarts pic.twitter.com/DW6rhvFqez
Heta hits nine-darter in Woodhouse defeat
Damon Heta became the second player of the tournament to hit a nine-dart leg in his showdown with Luke Woodhouse, only to blow a 3-1 lead to bow out.
The Australian is another battling for a place in the Premier League and appeared well on course after earning his slice of history in the second set.
Instead, from leading 3-1, the ninth seed lost nine legs in a row to gift the match to Woodhouse, who was able to miss 19 darts at a double during the closing three sets and still set up a meeting with Bunting.
Jonny Clayton's clash with Daryl Gurney was also settled in a deciding set, Gurney fighting back from 3-0 down before running out of steam in the seventh.
With the Northern Irishman having the momentum, he had been the favourite to go through at that point in the contest, yet he proceeded to miss 14 darts at a double.
Clayton, the seventh seed, was able to capitalise despite missing nine darts of his own to strengthen his own ambitions of regaining a spot in the Premier League.
Darren Plant
