This is Bristol -- STEVE Brown missed double 12 on the wire for a maiden televised nine-darter – and threw eight 180s – but was beaten by Andy Smith in the opening round of the Ladbrokes World Championship. The Bristolian won the first set – and enjoyed some blistering patches where the maximums flowed – but was ultimately undone by his inconsistency as Smith claimed a 3-1 win at Alexandra Palace. Brown did not win a leg after his ten-darter to draw level at 2-2 in the third set, as Smith closed out the set for a 2-1 lead and then won the fourth 3-0. "Because of the injury I've had, I'm either really on it or really off it – and perhaps a bit of that's confidence as well," said Brown. "I wasn't surprised to see myself at double 12 for the nine-darter – and when I was there, I threw it true and I thought it was going in." Brown had gone into the tournament – his sixth World Championship appearance – with an elbow injury which had threatened his participation in his sport's showpiece event. At times, though, he played some remarkable darts, hitting four successive 180s as he went out in 12 darts against the throw and then 10 darts with it in the third set. But he said: "I just wasn't consistent enough – I wasn't good enough – on the night. That's what it boils down to." Brown won the opening set 3-1, going out in 11 darts to take a 1-0 lead. He then led the second set 2-1, missing a dart at bullseye for a 2-0 lead, before Smith drew level. "If I had gone 2-0 up, there would have been no looking back, but I was a nearly man tonight," said the 32-year-old. "I came into it without much expectation, but the closer the game got, I thought, 'do you know what? I can win this'. It was a winnable match – and, at 1-0 up, I even had visions of winning it 3-0. "I went from, a week ago, not even being sure if I was going to compete this week; to feeling as if I had a chance; to missing a nine-darter. So, to lose the match is gut-wrenching." After Smith had won the second set 3-2 to level the match, he took a 2-0 lead in the third – only for Brown to storm right back into contention with two magical legs. But 'the Pieman' hit 82 to win the third set 3-2 – and reeled off three legs in the fourth, despite Brown hitting the wire on double 20 for a 157 checkout to make it 1-1. "I've got a few professional issues I've got to deal with – a bit of external pressure coming in when it's unneeded – but I'll deal with that in due course," added Brown. "In the heat of the moment, I'm absolutely gutted, but there are players who have travelled the world and played good darts all year who aren't even here. On that front, I'm happy, but there are a few things in my career that I've got to address – I just want to play darts for myself."
Reported by This is 2 hours ago.
This is Bristol -- STEVE Brown missed double 12 on the wire for a maiden televised nine-darter – and threw eight 180s – but was beaten by Andy Smith in the opening round of the Ladbrokes World Championship. The Bristolian won the first set – and enjoyed some blistering patches where the maximums flowed – but was ultimately undone by his inconsistency as Smith claimed a 3-1 win at Alexandra Palace. Brown did not win a leg after his ten-darter to draw level at 2-2 in the third set, as Smith closed out the set for a 2-1 lead and then won the fourth 3-0. "Because of the injury I've had, I'm either really on it or really off it – and perhaps a bit of that's confidence as well," said Brown. "I wasn't surprised to see myself at double 12 for the nine-darter – and when I was there, I threw it true and I thought it was going in." Brown had gone into the tournament – his sixth World Championship appearance – with an elbow injury which had threatened his participation in his sport's showpiece event. At times, though, he played some remarkable darts, hitting four successive 180s as he went out in 12 darts against the throw and then 10 darts with it in the third set. But he said: "I just wasn't consistent enough – I wasn't good enough – on the night. That's what it boils down to." Brown won the opening set 3-1, going out in 11 darts to take a 1-0 lead. He then led the second set 2-1, missing a dart at bullseye for a 2-0 lead, before Smith drew level. "If I had gone 2-0 up, there would have been no looking back, but I was a nearly man tonight," said the 32-year-old. "I came into it without much expectation, but the closer the game got, I thought, 'do you know what? I can win this'. It was a winnable match – and, at 1-0 up, I even had visions of winning it 3-0. "I went from, a week ago, not even being sure if I was going to compete this week; to feeling as if I had a chance; to missing a nine-darter. So, to lose the match is gut-wrenching." After Smith had won the second set 3-2 to level the match, he took a 2-0 lead in the third – only for Brown to storm right back into contention with two magical legs. But 'the Pieman' hit 82 to win the third set 3-2 – and reeled off three legs in the fourth, despite Brown hitting the wire on double 20 for a 157 checkout to make it 1-1. "I've got a few professional issues I've got to deal with – a bit of external pressure coming in when it's unneeded – but I'll deal with that in due course," added Brown. "In the heat of the moment, I'm absolutely gutted, but there are players who have travelled the world and played good darts all year who aren't even here. On that front, I'm happy, but there are a few things in my career that I've got to address – I just want to play darts for myself."
Reported by This is 2 hours ago.