Whitlock gutted after missing double for historic nine-darter: 'I thought it was in when it left my hand'

Simon Whitlock and Damon Heta of Australia were just a hair's breadth away from a historic moment at the World Cup of Darts on Friday night.

The duo narrowly missed out on the first nine-darter in World Cup of Darts history during their 5-2 win over Lithuania in the first round.

Whitlock started the third leg of the match between Australia and Lithuania with a 180. Teammate Damon Heta followed with a maximum score as well. Whitlock's first two arrows of the third turn were also thrown into the treble, after which the required double was missed.

"I thought it was in when it left my hand," admitted Whitlock. "It's there still to be hit. It would have been lovely to hit the nine-darter but we can try in our next match."

The Australian is one of four players who has not missed an edition of the World Cup of Darts. Whitlock's best result was a final in 2012.

"It would mean the world to me to win this," admitted the former European Championship winner. "If we could finally lift this trophy for Australia it would be amazing.

"I've got a great partner in Damon, he's overtaken me in the rankings and I'm so proud of him. He's brilliant, a great guy and a great dart player.

"He's at the top of his game and my darts are going great."