"I want to shut up every hater" - Damon Heta doesn't feel he gets the recognition he deserves

Damon Heta has made an excellent start to the World Darts Championship. 'The Heat' defeated Martin Lukeman 3-1 in his opening match.

Although victorious, Heta averaged just 89.69, however, the Aussie insists winning was the most important thing. "The build-up to the World's is crazy. Like, the media just goes into meltdown about how you perform, who's done this or that, who's the favourite and honestly, who cares? Just get through the first round. A wins a win. People and their stats..."

Despite coming in as 10th seed, the 36-year-old Australian comes to the World Championship with no specific target to reach. "I've done the hard work to get to where I'm at," he insists. "I know what everything is about now and I've learned what I need to do, what needs to happen and how I need to feel in different moments of the game."

"I'm just going to play the games as they come and do my best. I know I'm a consistent player so it's going to take someone equally as consistent, if not do more and it's up to them," Heta analyses. "I've put everything in to getting where I am and I know I can get better."

Finally, Heta would like to voice his displeasure. "It's been my best year but it still gets talked down. I don't understand it. I've never really got the recognition and that just makes me more hungry, makes me fight more. I want to shut up every hater."