"That 142 finish in the last set really nailed me" - Kevin Doets falls just short of shock win on opening night at the World Darts Championship

Despite a valiant effort, Kevin Doets failed to pull of a shock on the opening night of the World Darts Championship. The 25-year-old Dutchman went down 3-2 in the second round against reigning world champion Michael Smith.

Doets had defeated American Stowe Buntz by a clear 3-0 score in the opening match of the World Darts Championship. Afterwards, Doets declared that he would play much better against Smith later in the evening anyway. "And I did," Doets told Viaplay.. "I threw a very good game. For my feeling I was actually even the better player. With a 2-1 lead in sets everything was going well, then he wins the set he was allowed to start. In the first leg of the last set I'm on a double and then all of a sudden he throws out 142, that really nailed me, that was a sledgehammer blow."

That Smith, too, realizes he had come away well was evidenced by the huge roar after throwing the winning double. "Pffff, I'm throwing the game of my life here, but it just wasn't to be," said Doets.

Smith must now wait almost two weeks until his next match. In the third round, he may meet 32nd-seeded Madars Razma, who will take on the winner of the duel between Mike De Decker and Dragutin Horvat in the second round.