The Darts Shop

Well, a bit of a shocker on the opening night as defending champion John Part was ousted from the championship on the opening night of the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship. Not just beaten, but thrashed by qualifier Bill Davis.

Davis, an American from Philadelphia, saw off his Canadian opponent 3-0 in front of an excited crowd at Alexandra Palace.

Davis was obviously overwhelmed by his victory, and in an interview with Sky Sports afterwards he said: "It's just crazy, this is amazing. Anything can happen here."

Part, seeded fourth this year, won the title last year,his third World Championship title, beating Kirk Shepherd, but he was well and trylly thrashed in this years opening round.

Davis, 49, hit a 116 finish to win the first set 3-1, and Part, despite hitting 5 180s in three legs to also lost the second.

The American led 2-1 into the second before Part levelled, but a double 10 gave him the biggest victory of his career.

Part, as ever, was the gentleman in defeat: "I had a chance of a good run in this tournament but I never got going," he said.

"I didn't get out of the gate and you can't afford to turn up and not be at your best. I was prepared but it's too hard to narrow it down to anything specific." he added philosophically.

Other casualties included; sixteenth seed Roland Scholten, beaten 3-2 by newcomer Carlos Rodriguez.

England's Wayne Jones, the 25th seed, lost 3-1 to Scottish Order of Merit qualifier Robert Thornton.

The night's final match produced another surprise, with England's 24th seed Andy Jenkins sent crashing 3-1 by Dutch qualifier Co Stompe.