Number nine seed Damon Heta hit a nine-darter as the PDC World Championship resumed after Christmas – but was still eliminated.
The Australian hit double 12 to complete the perfect game in the second set of his third round match with Luke Woodhouse and earn a handsome £60,000 payday.
But Woodhouse fought back to reach the last 16 with a 3-1 victory.
HEROIC HETA STRIKES THE NINE! 🔥
INCREDIBLE SCENES! 🤯
Damon Heta lands the second nine dart of the tournament to raise the roof of Alexandra Palace! #WCDarts pic.twitter.com/DW6rhvFqez
– PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 27, 2024
“I have no words at all – the crowd was fantastic,” Woodhouse told Sky Sports. “I don’t think it was the greatest match in the world, but I managed to get through it. I’m over the moon.
“I was just trying to put as much pressure on him as possible. I just wanted to stay up to date with him as much as possible and then see what happened from there.
Heta was millimeters away from throwing a nine-darter in the previous round when he missed the double 12, but he made no mistake this time in the first match after the Christmas break.
He chained successive 180s with a triple 20 and a triple 19 before sending his ninth dart to the right side of the wire.
“You couldn’t not celebrate.”
Heta’s feat was the second time a nine-darter had been thrown at the 2025 tournament and the 16th ever at the World Championship, following Christian Kist’s effort before Christmas.
Woodhouse took his opponent’s feat in good humor, hugging the Australian and raising his arm in the air.
Woodhouse added: “Me and Damo are good friends. We go and play a lot of golf together, we spend a lot of time and we practice a lot.
“I know he was gutted when he missed the double 12 the previous round, so that was great. The crowd was wild and we couldn’t not celebrate.
