Luke Woodhouse celebrates his nine-darter

Darts results: Watch Luke Woodhouse hit the PDC's first ever tournament nine-darter in a house against Gerwyn Price

By Chris Hammer

Darts

Sat April 18, 2020 · 5y ago

Luke Woodhouse made history by hitting the first nine-darter of the PDC's Home Tour as he thrashed Gerwyn Price 5-0 with an astonishing average of 114 on Saturday.

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If the PDC's admirable remedy to provide fans with an actual live darts tournament to enjoy for at least a month of lockdown got off to a shaky start in the eyes of the harshest of critics on Friday due to technical and connectivity issues, it could have broke the internet for all the right reasons 24 hours later.

All eyes were on world number three Price but he suffered the same shock fate as world champion Peter Wright by crashing out of the groundbreaking event in the group stages, which will run for 32 consecutive nights and feature 128 players, thanks to an inspired display from rising star Woodhouse in what proved to be the pivotal match.

Both players were playing out of their respective kitchens and despite a huge rankings gap, the world number 57 was by far the sharper as he fired in his magical perfect leg to go 4-0 up in a thumping whitewash.

Woodhouse's route consisted of back-to-back visits of 177 before a stunning finish of 147 - strangely on the day the World Snooker Championship was meant to start - while he also averaged a mesmerising 113.

Coupled with averaging around 90 in both of his 5-2 victories over Ted Evetts and Rowby-John Rodriguez either side of this stunning display, the Worcestershire thrower advanced to next month's second round with a 100% record.

Ironically, just before his match with Price, it was the two-time Grand Slam of Darts champion who had been asked by commentator and host Dan Dawson whether it was true to assume that top players hit more perfect legs from the comfort of their own home than in a competitive environment.

"I did hit a nine-darter at home when live on Instagram but my phone died before I completed it! I probably hit more nine-darters in matches than I do in practice to be honest," said the 35-year-old former rugby player, who hit two during the 2019 season.

Price, a winner of two Players Championship events in 2020 and UK Open finalist prior to the coronavirus pandemic bringing the sporting calendar to a standstill, finished runner-up on the night having started and ended his campaign with 5-2 wins over Rodriguez and Evetts, recording averages of 97 and 102 respectively.

The Welshman, so often the pantomime villain throughout his rise to prominence, was a great sport throughout the night with jovial banter exchanged with each of his opponents, including the man who "always saves his best when he plays me".

However, perhaps the most amusing revelations of the night came from Rodriguez, who first admitted he needed special permission from his neighbours in Vienna to play past 8pm because the sound of him practicing is too loud.

Then, when asked if he'd watched Woodhouse's nine-darter ahead of his final match of the night, the Austrian replied: "I heard it, but I was on the toilet at the time."

It's these features - as well as being able to see where the players master their trade away from the big venues - that makes this innovative concept so endearing and engaging for both the darts nuts and casual fans to enjoy...if they give it a chance of course.

Some of them had taken to social media the previous night to vent their frustrations with the PDC's streaming problems and image quality while there were journalists in the national press quick to pen articles mocking the venture.

To the reasonable minded, these complaints were unfair to say the least and show a lack perspective when you consider why this event is even taking place in the first place, plus there's enough spare time on everyone's hands to be more patient with the inevitable teething issues.

Price said he'd moved his usual practice board, surround and oche to his kitchen, where his WiFi was stronger, while he'd also had to tell his daughters not to go on YouTube during the whole evening.

All of the 128 competing players, which won't include Gary Anderson and Daryl Gurney due to poor WiFi strength or Michael van Gerwen because of a newborn baby and three dogs in his house, will have to go through through their own processes of how best to set up their cameras and lighting to gain the right results.

It's obviously not going to be anywhere near the presentation 'quality' of a glitzy televised event with expert production teams and stage technicians working their magic so that the real stars can just turn up and throw.

Have a read of Paul Nicholson's recent column about the logistics - and testing - of the Modus Icons of Darts Live League that he's been involved with just to appreciate the potential difficulties that goes into staging an event like this, and why we should embrace its rough round the edges feel.

Those who did keep the faith were rewarded in emphatic fashion tonight, and will no doubt tune in for more in the coming days and weeks ahead.

Each night’s action begins at 1930 BST, and will include webcam footage of each player and their dart board, live score graphics and commentary from Dan Dawson. All PDC Home Tour action will be broadcast live on PDCTV for FREE to ALL registered PDCTV users, regardless of whether you have a paid or free membership