In a performance that rewrote the history books, debutant Justin Hood achieved an unprecedented 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 premier 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 regrouped to clinCH the victory with a spectacular 119 checkout in the following leg.
“This isn't a storybook – I am fully aware of what I can do and it’s nice to prove it up there,” Hood remarked in his on-stage interview. “The only time I felt a bit of nerves 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 intentions 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 stormed to victory, registering a formidable 101 average and hammering 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 last-16 action, Jonny Clayton confirmed his rise to the number four spot in the global rankings after mounting a fightback 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.
“There’s a lot on my mind and moving to world No. 4 was among them,” admitted Clayton. “Whenever I looked up, Andreas was hitting his doubles. It was a real battle; I didn’t play my top darts and had a lot of loose throws, but that’s what the occasion does to you.”
Joining them in the next round is Krzysztof Ratajski, who pulled away in the later stages to secure a 4-2 win over Luke Woodhouse, booking his place in the prestigious last eight of the championship.
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