Noah-Lynn van Leuven is aiming to return to the World Darts Championship again after suffering a shock defeat on her historic debut at Alexandra Palace.

Van Leeuwen is the first transgender player to participate in the world championships. She scored an average of 87.06 points and six highest points in the match against Kevin Dotz. The Dutch female player gave the game after winning the first set. Hopes of a famous victory were raised.

Dots won the second set with 33 darts to win 3-1, leveling the match and setting up a second-round reunion with former world champion Michael Smith, who had won the previous match. Knock him out at the same stage. year competition.

Van Leuven was booed by the crowd at the Grand Slam of Darts last month but received a warm welcome in London ahead of the all-Dutch event and the 28-year-old was pleased with her performance but Acknowledge that Dodds deserved the win.

“I guess they just wanted to see good darts,” van Leeuwen said of the crowd. “Kevin and I both showed some good darts. I played well the whole match.

“I guess the difference is inexperience. He has a lot more experience than I do. That’s the difference in this game. The average is only one point off.”

“He was the better player today. Hopefully next year I get to the Pro Tour and I’ll play against him again and I’ll be a better player. I want to be a better player and the only way to do that is to go out there and Stage, playing on the Challenge Tour, the Pro Tour, and playing against the best players out there.”

How Dots held on to beat Van Leeuwen

After losing the first leg, van Leeuwen fired an 80-point score in the following game and finished with a break in Shanghai, breaking Dots’ delivery before finishing with an 18-dart on the fourth try.

Dots gained an early advantage in the second set, but could only watch as Van Rouwen hit 120 points again in the next round. The turning point of the game came in the third round, when both players wasted multiple doubles opportunities.

Van Leeuwen failed twice and missed multiple darts to break Dots, who, after a few failed attempts, saved 33 darts on a double one before locking in a score of 74 in the following game Second set.

Dots won back-to-back games and responded to a 14-dart defense from Van Leeuwen in the next game, with the Dutchman scoring 76 in the fourth to take a 2-1 lead. Victory legs.

Van Leuven fired six perfect darts to take the set to the final leg with 12 darts, and Doets mustered up the courage to win a hard-earned victory, consecutive wins. Entered the second round the following year.

“It was tough, very tough – especially in the beginning,” Dotz Tell Sky Sports. “She was playing better than me in the beginning, so it was really hard.”

Regarding the chaotic leg in the second set, Dotz added: “At every World Championships, there are legs like this. Every leg I was fighting, fighting, fighting.

“The crowd was awesome – they didn’t boo anybody. They didn’t boo me, they were awesome.

“I knew I had to beat Noah first, but it felt like God wanted to give me another chance (against Michael Smith). It feels really good and hopefully I can beat him on Thursday.”

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