Noah-Lynn van Leeuwen has again set his sights on a return to the World Darts Championship after losing on his historic debut at Alexandra Palace.
Van Leeuwen, the first transgender player to play at the Worlds, averaged 87.06 and hit six maximums against Kevin Deutz, with the Dutchman raising hopes of a famous victory as he took the opening set.
Dowts leveled the match with a 33-shot victory in the second set before closing out a 3-1 victory to set up a second-round rematch with former world champion Michael Smith, the player who had knocked him out in the same round earlier. competition of the year.
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Doets and Van Leeuwen had a leg to forget in their first round match
Van Leeuwen was booed at the Grand Slam last month but received a warm welcome in London ahead of the all-Dutch clash, with the 28-year-old happy with his performance but admitting Deuts deserved to win.
“I think they just want to see some good darts,” Van Leeuwen said of the crowd.
Van Leeuwen missed opportunities to break Deuts in the second set
“I think the difference is a little bit of inexperience. He’s got a lot more experience than me. That’s what made the difference in this game. It was only one point.
“He was the best player today. I hope to get to the Pro Tour next year and be a better player, and the only way to do that is to go out on that stage. playing the Challenge Tour, playing the Pro Tour and just playing the best players out there.”
How Deutz endured to defeat Van Leeuwen
Van Leeuwen responded to lose the opening leg by firing 80 from the box in the next and hitting the Shanghai finish to break a Doets throw before pulling out the set at the fourth attempt to finish on 18 balls.
Dowts claimed an early lead in the second set but could only watch as Van Leeuwen finished with another 120 in the next game, while the turning point of the match came in the third game when both players missed multiple chances for the double.
Van Leeuwen hit two 120s on his debut at Alexandra Palace
Van Leeuwen two-putted and missed a few darts to break Dowts, who made a double toss after a couple of unlucky visits to shoot 33 balls before scoring a 74 in the follow-up to secure the second set.
It was back-to-back legs and answered Van Leeuwen’s 14-dart to take the set, and the Dutchman finished with a 76 in the fourth to move to 2-1 and a leg of victory.
Van Leeuwen fired six perfect arrows en route to a 12-dart onslaught to take the set to the final round, where Dowts held his nerve to claim a hard-fought win and advance to the second round for the second year in a row.
“It was tough, very tough, especially at the beginning,” Doets said Sky Sports. “He was playing better than me in the beginning and it was really hard.”
About the messy leg in the second set, Dowts added: “There’s a leg like that in every World Cup. Every leg I just fought, fought, fought.
“The crowd was amazing. they didn’t boo anyone, they didn’t boo me, they were great.
“I knew I had to beat Noah first, but it seems the Gods wanted to give me another chance (against Michael Smith). It’s a really good feeling and I hope I beat him on Thursday.”
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