Darts: Nine-dart finish softens defeat for Winstanley

England’s Dean Winstanley hit a nine-dart finish in his second round clash with Vincent van der Voort in the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship.

Winstanley was trailing by two sets to nil when he won the third leg of the third set in perfect style, hitting two 180s and a 141 checkout of treble 20, treble 19 and double 12. That prompted a wild celebration a at the Alexandra Palace but he quickly regained his composure to win the third and fourth sets to level the match at 2-2. The nine-dart finish will earn Winstanley a £15,000 bonus if no other player repeats the feat during the tournament to share the prize. However, Van der Voort took the next two sets to complete a 4-2 victory. Winstanley had the chance to force a deciding set but hit 20 instead of single one and Van der Voort took out double eight to seal the win.

Earlier in the afternoon, Mark Walsh overcame Justin Pipe 4-2 to reach the last 16, where he will meet Wes Newton. The third game of the afternoon also finished 4-2, with James Wade winning a tough battle with Steve Beaton.