William Borland nine-darter: Scot stuns Ally Pally in PDC World Darts Championship debut

Scotland’s William Borland has described his sensational nine-dart finish on his dream debut at the World Championship as “the best night of my life”.

William Borland reacts to his nine dart finish in the final leg of his victory over Bradley Brooks in the William Hill World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace. (Photo by Luke Walker/Getty Images)

The 25-year-old from East Calder made darting history by producing a fairytale finish to his match as he edged out fellow youngster Bradley Brooks in a thrilling first-round tussle.

With the scores level as 2-2, Borland hit three treble 20s before grabbing another two and a treble 19 on his second visit.

He finished off with two more treble 20s and a double 12 to clinch a 3-2 win and send the crowd wild at Alexandra Palace in London.

"Unbelievable," he told Sky Sports. "This is the best night of my life."

He added: "It was good to be up there and hopefully many more years to come. I hope this is the stepping stone in my career."

At 25 years of age, he’s the youngest to achieve the most difficult of tasks in the sport.

Borland becomes only the 11th player to join the nine-dart club at the World Championships, along with Raymond van Barneveld's double to Gary Anderson and Michael van Gerwen as well as Adrian 'Jackpot' Lewis cashing out in the 2011 final.

Borland rose to the occasion even with fans cheering on Englishman Brooks.

He added: “Bradley had a couple of bad legs and I was just thinking to myself, keep going, keep going and we’ll see what happens and then to hit the nine-darter was just unbelievable, I’m loving it,” he said.

“Everyone was singing ‘Scotland get battered everywhere they go’ and that just kind of got me going.

“Bradley played a brilliant game, we both struggled at times and I feel I just did the right thing at the right time to get over the line.

“The crowd are just happy to see a nine-darter anywhere and to hit it on the biggest stage of them all, it’s unbelievable.”

Even 16-time world champion Phil Taylor took to Twitter to congratulate the debutant.

Next up, Borland will face 'Heavy Metal' Ryan Searle in the second round next Wednesday afternoon in what should be another classic.

Get a year of unlimited access to all The Scotsman's sport coverage without the need for a full subscription. Expert analysis of the biggest games, exclusive interviews, live blogs, transfer news and 70 per cent fewer ads on Scotsman.com - all for less than £1 a week. Subscribe to us today