Part departs after losing to qualifier
Saturday 20th December 2008, 1:45PM GMT.
Defending champion John Part crashed out on the opening night of the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship as he was thrashed by qualifier Bill Davis.
American Davis, from Philadelphia, saw off his Canadian opponent 3-0 in front of an ecstatic crowd at Alexandra Palace.
Clearly overwhelmed by his achievement, he said: “It’s just crazy, this is amazing. Anything can happen here.”
Part, seeded fourth this year, claimed his third World Championship title 12 months ago with a final victory over Ramsgate qualifier Kirk Shepherd, but he was well beaten in a thrilling encounter this time around.
Davis, 49, hit a 116 finish to win the first set 3-1, before defying five 180s from Part in three legs to edge the second.
The American led 2-1 in the second before Part levelled, but a double 10 gave him the biggest victory of his career.
Newcomer
“I never got going,” Part admitted.
Sixteenth seed Roland Scholten suffered a 3-2 defeat by newcomer Carlos Rodriguez in the first round.
Warren French came from 3-1 down to claim a 5-3 win over Akihiro Nagakawa.
The New Zealander won four consecutive legs to book a place in the last 64 where he will play Dennis Priestley.
England’s Wayne Jones, the 25th seed, lost 3-1 to Scottish Order of Merit qualifier Robert Thornton.
And another shock saw England’s 24th seed Andy Jenkins sent crashing 3-1 by Dutch qualifier Co Stompe.
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