Dutch star Christian Kist hits a NINE-DARTER at the PDC World Championship to send the Ally Pally crowd wild and trigger a £180,000 Paddy Power bonus!
Dutch star Christian Kist hit the first nine-darter of this year’s World Championship at Alexandra Palace on Wednesday night.
Kist was playing in the first round against Latvia’s Madars Razma and the first leg was tied at two legs apiece.
But rather than feeling the pressure of a deciding leg, Kist stepped up and hit consecutive 180s before keeping his cool to hit a 141 finish to complete his nine-darter.
The Ally Pally crowd erupted as Kist’s final dart nestled into double 12, with the Dutchman punching the air in delight before being congratulated by Razma.
Kist’s feat has triggered a £180,000 bonus on offer from this year’s lead sponsor, Paddy Power.
The 38-year-old will receive £60,000, while 60,000 will go to prostate cancer and £60,000 to a fan in the crowd.
Christian Kist hit a nine-darter at the World Championship on Wednesday night
Kist’s feat triggered a £180,000 bonus from Paddy Power. He received £60,000, meaning he more than trebled his winnings from the last two years
However, it was Latvia’s Madars Razma who bounced back to pick up a 3-1 win
The lucky fan was picked out at random and was shown celebrating on the big screen in front of the whole Ally Pally crowd.
Speaking to SportsBoom afterwards, 28-year-old Chris from Sutton said: ‘I turned around to my granddad. I was like, “seriously? Is this me?” I was like, “oh my God, this is mental.” I kept going like, “this can’t be real, this can’t be real. That’s not me.” And then everyone started looking at me. It took a while to set in.
‘I knew about it [the ‘Bigger 180’ campaign] but wasn’t sure on whether it was random or how it worked. I never expected to win it.
‘No matter what, it’s going to be a good Christmas.’
Kist, who won the BDO World Darts Championship back in 2012, has only collected £19,000 in prize money over the last two years.
It was a magical moment for Kist, but it only served to fire up Razma as he went on to win the next three sets to record a 3-1 victory.
Ramza will now face another Dutch player in the second round in the shape of Dirk van Duijvenbode.
That match is due to take place on Sunday afternoon.
Kist and Ramza’s match was the second of the evening, and followed a close encounter between Jim Williams and Paolo Nebrida.
It was Nebrida who eventually prevailed 3-2 to set up a second round match with England’s Ross Smith.
