Christian Kist etched his name into PDC World Championship history by hitting a nine-darter during his defeat to Madars Razma.
The former Lakeside world champion only qualified for this tournament through his performances on the Challenge Tour and hit four 180s during a mesmeric first set in which he averaged in excess of 112.
Kist's perfect leg came in the decider, sending the crowd wild as he converted a 141 checkout, but that was as good as it got for the Dutchman.
Razma stormed back to take nine of the following 13 legs to set up an intriguing showdown with Dirk van Duijvenbode in the second round.
🚨 KIST HITS A NINE-DARTER! 🚨
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 18, 2024
Christian Kist hits a nine-darter! 👏
Incredible scenes at Ally Pally! 🤯
📺 https://t.co/pIQvhqYxEj#WCDarts | R1 pic.twitter.com/1NFk4M4xvs
What else happened on Wednesday night?
Nathan Aspinall, the 12th seed for this event, is in desperate need of a strong tournament having failed to reach a single major quarter-final all year.
However, he was able to overcome the first hurdle in Leonard Gates, the American being denied across four competitive sets in a 3-1 defeat.
Aspinall felt on the ropes when being pegged back to 1-1 after averaging just 77 in the second set, but 12 missed doubles across the next two sets would cost Gates.
After Gates failed to earn a shot at a double when trying to check out 94 in the deciding leg of the fourth, Aspinall took full advantage to book his place in the third round.
The evening had begun with Paolo Nebrida of the Philippines coming through in a last-leg decider against Wales' Jim Williams, who squandered five match darts.
Ricky Evans' encounter with Gordon Mathers appeared to be on the way to the same conclusion, only for Evans to take out 109 in the fourth leg of the fifth set to come through with a 3-2 victory.
Darren Plant
