Ally Pally 2025: Kist's 9 Not Enough

Christian Kist made history with a nine-darter at the Paddy Power World Darts Championship on Wednesday – but lost out to Madars Razma at Alexandra Palace.

Kist triggered the Paddy Power £180,000 bonus in The BIGGER 180 campaign with his stunning perfect leg to win the first set against Razma in a deciding leg.

The Dutchman picked up £60,000 for the achievement, with charity partner Prostate Cancer UK also receiving the same amount alongside a lucky random fan – Kris from Sutton in South London.

“The nine-darter was an amazing moment, hitting the double 12 felt amazing,” said Kist.

“It was a lovely moment for everyone and I hope Kris enjoys the money.

“Maybe I will go on vacation next month with the prize money.

“I lost the game though so I’m a little bit disappointed to go out in the first round.”

Latvia’s Razma recovered to win the next three sets as he took victory from the historic contest, moving through to play Dirk van Duijvenbode.

Later in the night, Nathan Aspinall begun his campaign with a hard-fought 3-1 win over Leonard Gates.

12th seed Aspinall avenged last year’s first round exit to Ricky Evans, winning the last two sets to come through a tough test against the American.

“I’m relieved to come through that, it was a very tough game of darts,” said Aspinall, who will meet either Andre Gilding, Martin Lukeman or Nitin Kumar in round three.

“I felt really good coming into the tournament but I put myself under too much pressure to perform tonight.

“I’ve been under a lot of scrutiny over the last few months because I’ve not been playing well, so I’m here to prove how good I am and go deep in the tournament.

“It wasn’t pretty, but I won the game and now I can enjoy Christmas and come back stronger after the break.”

Evans will take on sixth seed Dave Chisnall for a place in round three on Monday December 23, after winning through a gruelling five-set affair against Gordon Mathers.

The Australian recovered from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to force a deciding set, but he was unable to claim an elusive first win on the Alexandra Palace stage, as Evans sealed his progress with a clinical 109 checkout.

“I’m going to have to play a lot better than that against Dave, but it still might not be enough,” conceded Evans, who is through to round two for a sixth consecutive year.

“Dave is one of my favourite players to watch, and one of my favourite players on tour, but you have to forget that.

“You need to focus on yourself. You want to ruin their Christmas, because if not, they’re going to ruin yours!”

Wednesday’s opening tie had seen Philippines star Paolo Nebrida prevail 3-2 against Wales’ Jim Williams – winning a sudden-death leg in the fifth set with to seal his first Ally Pally win and set up a meeting with Ross Smith.

The Paddy Power World Darts Championship continues on Thursday, with a double session of action featuring six first round and two second round matches.

Gabriel Clemens headlines the afternoon action against Robert Owen, while Michael Smith takes on Kevin Doets in the evening.

The tournament is being broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, through the PDC’s worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).