Damon Heta sent Alexandra Palace into meltdown on Friday afternoon, after he struck a sensational nine-dart finish triggering, a £60,000 payout to a random fan in the crowd, at the PDC World Darts Championship. <br /><br />The stunning moment came during his second-round clash against English player Luke Woodhouse. <br /><br />But the Australian couldn't ride his momentum, with British darts star, Woodhouse coming back from going 3-1 down to clinch nine straight legs of darts and advance to the last 16 at the World Darts Championships for the first time in his career. <br /><br />Despite the defeat, Heta will walk away with £60k in his pocket, following his epic nine-dart feat. <br /><br />For this year's PDC World Darts Championship, Paddy Power is paying out a total of £180k for every nine-darter scored during the tournament, with the funds to be split three ways. <br /><br />The player who throws the perfect leg will receive £60k, a lucky fan at Alexandra Palace will also be handed a £60k cheque, while the betting company is also set to donate £60k to Prostate Cancer UK, the official Charity partner of the tournament. <br /><br />A fan in the audience who was wearing a yellow trilby hat and a Christamas-themed blazer was chosen as the lucky winner of the huge cash prize. <br /><br />Hilariously another fan had been seen holding a sign behind the man that read Wayne Mardle's iconic 'I can't spake' line, which the legendary darts commentator had said following Michael Smith's nine-darter at the 2023 World Championships. <br /><br />Paddy Power is also donating £1,000 for every 180 thrown during this Year's championship as part of their Bigger180 campaign. <br /><br />Heta's perfect leg was the second nine-dart finish at the tournament. As of this morning, Paddy Power had raised over £500,000 for charity with 462 180s having been struck at the tournament before the start of this afternoon's session. <br /><br />The Australian started poorly against Woodhouse, with Heta conceding the first set, and being broken by his opponent in the final leg of the first set. <br /><br />He hit back in the second term with an outstanding passage of play, racking off two 180s and the final 141 in style. <br /><br />The 37-year-old Australian, who hails from Perth, leaped around the stage in jubilation and at one point even appeared to jump off the stage. <br /><br />His opponent, Woodhouse, looked just as excited as Heta did, leaping up and down on the stage before showing his class, giving the Aussie star a hug and raising his hand in the air to celebrate the sensational feat. <br /><br />The Brit, 36, has been hailed for his reaction to the moment online, with one fan writing: 'Luke Woodhouse's celebration after Heta's nine-darter is class.' <br /><br />'Big props to Luke Woodhouse - he's truly buzzing for his mate! Love the sportsmanship and excitement!' another wrote on X. <br /><br />'The way Luke Woodhousecelebrates Damon Heta's nine-darter and raises his hand afterward is what makes this sport so great,' one wrote.
