Kevin Doets prevents shock by debutant Noa-Lynn van Leuven at World Darts Championships

Kevin Doets won the all-Dutch clash with Noa-Lynn van Leuven in the first round of the World Darts Championship 3-1. Van Leuven, making her debut at the Alexandra Palace, managed to hold her own but ultimately lost to 'Hawkeye'.

Doets started the match with a 13-darter, but missed one dart on the bullseye for a 122-finish to lead 2-0 in the first set. Van Leuven punished this immediately and threw out a great 80-finish on double 10.

The 28-year-old thundered through immediately and hit a 120-finish to take a 1-2 lead. Doets missed a dart on top for an 80-finish to equalize, after which "The Duchess" won the first set with her third dart on double 20.

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In the second set, Doets again managed to win the first leg. However, Van Leuven immediately responded with her second 120-finish of the match to tie the score. Both players then missed several doubles to get to 2-1, but in the end it was Doets who managed to win the leg in 33(!) arrows.

These many missed doubles didn't seem to bother either of them as both Van Leuven and Doets had a finish after twelve darts. Hawkeye' was the first to finish with a 74-dollar finish, bringing the score back to 1-1 in sets.

Doets had no appetite for an exciting match and stepped up a gear at the start of the third set. With a 14-darter, the 26-year-old quickly took a 2-0 lead. Van Leuven then threw a 14-darter to come back to 2-1, but missed two dimes to equalize. Doets took advantage with a double 10 to take his first lead of the match.

The first leg of set 4 was again a victory for Doets, but Van Leuven then took advantage of 2 misses by 'Hawkeye' to come back. Doets won the next leg but 'The Duchess' threw a great 12-darter to force a deciding leg.

However, this was the last trick for Van Leuven in the match as Doets decided the match via double 10 to secure his victory for good. Kevin Doets now gets one day of rest and will then take on the 2023 world champion Michael Smith in the second round on Thursday night.