Whitlock & Heta enchantent la foule australienne lors de la soirée d’ouverture à Wollongong
Australia’s former World Cup winners Simon Whitlock and Damon Heta delighted their home crowd with memorable victories on the opening night of the PalmerBet New South Wales Darts Masters in Wollongong.
Whitlock edges out Aspinall in a thriller
Whitlock edged out World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall in a deciding-leg thriller. The partisan home crowd appeared poised to roar Whitlock on to an emphatic victory, but a tenacious Aspinall rallied, following up 84 and 80 skin-savers with a 14-dart hold to force a last-leg shoot-out. The pair then exchanged maximums in a dramatic finale, which saw both players miss match darts before Whitlock kept his cool, pinning double four to cap off a famous win.
Heta produces the performance of the night
Australian number one Damon Heta was Friday’s stand-out performer, averaging over 106 to demolish compatriot Joe Comito. The 36-year-old produced a brace of 11-darters on his way to a whitewash victory over his fellow West Australian thrower, also landing two maximums and a 171 to set up a mouth-watering quarter-final showdown against Gerwyn Price.
Other results from the first round
World Champion Michael Smith and world number three Peter Wright both secured comfortable 6-2 victories over Mal Cuming and Darren Penhall respectively. NZ Darts Masters champion Rob Cross began his bid for back-to-back World Series titles with an impressive 6-2 victory over DPNZ qualifier John Hurring.
Quarter-final line-up
The quarter-final line-up is as follows:
- Gerwyn Price vs Damon Heta
- Dimitri Van den Bergh vs Simon Whitlock
- Michael Smith vs Peter Wright
- Rob Cross vs Danny Noppert
The semi-finals and final will also take place on Saturday evening, with the action broadcast live on Fox Sports in Australia, through DAZN in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and on PDCTV in all other global territories.
