Damon Heta sent Alexandra Palace into meltdown on Friday afternoon after he struck a sensational nine-dart finish triggering a £60,000 payout to a random fan in the crowd at the PDC World Darts Championship.
The stunning moment came during his second-round clash against English player Luke Woodhouse.
But the Australian couldn’t ride his momentum, with British darts star, Woodhouse coming back from going 3-1 down to clinch nine straight legs of darts and advance to the last 16 at the World Darts Championships for the first time in his career.
Despite the defeat, Heta, raised the roof on Ally Pally and will walk away with £60k in his pocket, following his epic nine-dart feat.
For this year’s PDC World Darts Championship, Paddy Power are paying out a total of £180k for every nine-darter scored during the tournament, with the funds to be split three ways.
The player who throws the perfect leg will receive £60k, a lucky fan at Alexandra Palace will also be handed a £60k cheque, while the betting company are also set to donate £60k to Prostate Cancer UK, the official Charity partner of the tournament.
A fan in the audience who was wearing a yellow trilby hat and a Christamas-themed blazer was chosen as the lucky winner of the huge cash prize.
Damon Heta hit a sensational nine-dart finish on Friday afternoon at Alexandra Palace
The World No 9 won himself £60k with the perfect leg, with Paddy Power also now set to donate another 60k to charity and to a random fan in the crowd at Ally Pally
Hilariously another fan had been seen holding a sign behind the man that read Wayne Mardle’s iconic ‘I can’t spake’ line, which the legendary darts commentator had said following Michael Smith’s nine-darter at the 2023 World Championships.
Paddy Power are also donating £1,000 for every 180 thrown during this Year’s championship as part of their Bigger180 campaign.
Heta’s perfect leg was the second nine-dart finish at the tournament. As of this morning, Paddy Power had raised over £500,000 for charity with 462 180s having been struck at the tournament prior to the start of this afternoon’s session.
The Australian started poorly against Woodhouse, with Heta conceding the first set, being broken by his opponent in the final leg of the first set.
He hit back in the second term with an outstanding passage of play, racking off two 180s and the final the final 141 in style.
The 37-year-old Australian, who hails from Perth, leapt around the stage in jubilation and at one point even appeared to jump off the stage.
His opponent, Woodhouse, looked just as excited as Heta did, leaping up and down on the stage before showing his class, giving the Aussie star a hug and raising his hand in the air to celebrate the sensational feat.
The Brit, 36, has been hailed for his reaction to the moment online, with one fan writing: ‘Luke Woodhouse’s celebration after Heta’s nine-darter is class.’
Paddy Power later revealed the gentleman who had won the £60,000 prize pot
Heta (left) and Luke Woodhouse (right) embraced on stage after the epic moment
After Heta had gone a set down in the first exchange, his nine-dart finish saw him bounce back against his British opponent to draw level at 1-1
‘Big props to Luke Woodhouse – he’s truly buzzing for his mate! Love the sportsmanship and excitement!’ another wrote on X.
‘The way Luke Woodhousecelebrates Damon Heta’s nine-darter and raises his hand afterwards is what makes this sport so great,’ one wrote.
‘The camaraderie in darts is incredible. Just look at the way Luke Woodhouse, celebrated his opponent’s nine darter earlier,’ another said.
After the match, Woodhouse reflected on the sensational moment that saw his good friend Heta walk away with £60k.
‘Me and Damo are good friends,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘We play golf together a lot. We hang out and practice a lot…
‘I know he was gutted when he missed his double twelve in the first game.
‘So, yeah, when he hit that nine-darter the crowd went wild.
‘You couldn’t not celebrate with him!’
Elated by the sensational finish, the Australian, who hails from Perth, jumped off the stage in elation
Heta would go on to dominate in the third set, winning 3-2 and again dominating the fourth, breaking his opponent twice.
But Woodhouse, who is ranked No 35 in the world, bounced back, winning all three final sets to turn things around on his opponent and progress through to the next round.
A visibly emotional Woodhouse said after the match: ‘I’m over the moon.’
‘It’s not just me it’s my wife, my family and my boy. So [I’m doing] really good.’