Labanauskas' nine-darter is the 12th in PDC World Championship history; the 2020 quarter-finalist is the tenth different player to achieve perfection at Alexandra Palace
Saturday 18 December 2021 18:54, UK
Darius Labanauskas landed the second nine-darter within 24 hours at the World Darts Championship, before he was sent packing from Alexandra Palace by Mike De Decker on Saturday afternoon.
Labanauskas sent the capacity crowd in North London into raptures by producing the nine to wrap up the opening set, but De Decker was undeterred, winning the final three sets to complete a hard-fought victory.
William Borland hit the headlines after achieving perfection in his deciding-leg victory over Bradley Brooks on Friday, and Labanauskas also etched his name into the history-books with his own moment of magic.
In the fourth leg of set one, the Lithuanian followed up visits of 174 and 180 by producing a nerveless 147 checkout to register the first nine-darter of his career.
'Lucky D' becomes the tenth player to hit a nine-darter at the PDC World Championship, with Raymond van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis achieving perfection twice in the sport's showpiece event.
However, of the 12 nine-darters to have been hit at Alexandra Palace, six have now been in losing causes, as Labanauskas suffered his first opening-round defeat at this event.
De Decker suffered a chastening experience at last month's Grand Slam of Darts, but he displayed impressive resolve to set up a second-round clash against last year's semi-finalist Dave Chisnall.
'The Real Deal' originally failed to qualify for this year's event, but he was handed a reprieve after South Africa's Charles Losper was forced to withdraw due to Visa issues, and he took full advantage of his opportunity.
Labanauskas - a quarter-finalist in 2020 - also fired in 164 and 116 checkouts in consecutive legs midway through set three, but it wasn't enough to overcome the battling Belgian.
Elsewhere, Ian White ended a run of three consecutive opening-round exits at the World Championship to set up a mouth-watering third round tie against Gary Anderson.
'The Diamond' averaged 90.92, posted four 180s and converted 55 per cent of his attempts at double to defeat Dutch qualifier Chris Landman 3-1, and he'll return to take on two-time winner Anderson after the Christmas break.
Callan Rydz punished a profligate display from Japanese qualifier Yuki Yamada to secure a straight sets win with a 91 average, four 180s and a sparkling 148 checkout.
'The Riot' has enjoyed a breakthrough 2021 campaign, winning two Pro Tour titles and reaching the World Matchplay quarter-finals on debut, and his reward is a meeting with Brendan Dolan - a semi-finalist at last month's Players Championship Finals.
In Saturday's opener, Raymond Smith secured his first victory on the Ally Pally stage to extend Jamie Hughes' miserable record in the capital.
'The Guru' closed out a 3-1 victory in a high-quality affair which featured six ton-plus finishes, and he will take on 28th seed Devon Petersen for a place in round three.
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