In a performance that rewrote the history books, debutant Justin Hood achieved an unprecedented feat of 11 consecutive doubles, powering his way to a dominant 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 flawless doubling streak finally concluded when he was throwing to seal the match at 2-0 up in the fourth set. Undaunted, he regrouped to clinCH the victory with a spectacular 119 checkout in the following leg.
“It’s not a fairytale – I am fully aware of what I can do and it’s incredibly satisfying to prove it up there,” Hood remarked in his post-match interview. “The sole moment I felt a bit of nerves was throwing the leg before the last. I’m unaccustomed to this. Ordinarily, I get hate messages. This is absolutely insane.”
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 11th seed, little to do but watch in amazement as Hood charged to victory, registering a impressive 101 average and firing in 10 maximum 180s.
This record-breaking win guarantees the newcomer a career-best payday of at least £100,000 and brings him closer to his avowed ambition of launching a Chinese restaurant.
In other third round action, Jonny Clayton confirmed his rise to fourth 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 failing to capitalize on key opportunities, having led a 2-1 advantage and subsequently wasting four darts to re-establish a one-set lead at 3-2.
“There’s a lot on my mind and becoming world No. 4 was among them,” admitted Clayton. “Every time I looked up, Andreas was hitting his doubles. It was a real battle; I didn’t play my best darts and had many loose throws, but that’s what pressure does to you.”
Joining them in the quarter-final stage 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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