Darin Young came oh-so-close to reaching the third round at the Alexandra Palace, but sadly, it wasn’t to be.

After beating five-times World Champion Raymond van Barneveld at the weekend, hopes were high of a repeat performance from the American as he faced Barney’s fellow countryman, Jeffrey de Zwaan.  Darin took an early lead, taking the first set by 3 legs to 1, but de Zwaan leveled the score in straight legs.  Young took the third in a set that went all the way, clinching it with a nice 13-darter.

Things looked really good as the Pennsylvanian  stormed into a 2-0 lead in the fourth, but de Zwaan bounced back to make it 2-2.  Against the darts, Young grabbed the initiative, and gave himself a shot at 68 for the match, but his last dart hit just inside the required D8, and we were into a fifth and deciding set.

Having just rescued his championship in dramatic fashion, the Dutchman was full of confidence, and a brace of 13’s put him in control.  It could have been different had the reigning US National 501 Champ not wired a 164 check in the second leg.  Undeterred, a sweet 15-darter made it 2-1, but de Zwaan needed just 14 darts (aided by his eighth 180 of the match) to advance.

Earlier in the evening, history was made as Fallon Sherrock became the first female to win a World Championship match, as she defeated Ted Evetts.

Looking ahead, the lone surviving American, Danny Baggish, is in action on Friday against #12 seed Nathan Aspinall.

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