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Willie Borland Says Chants Of English Fans Inspired Him To Famous 9-Darter

Willie Borland Says Chants Of English Fans Inspired Him To Famous 9-Darter
Donny Mahoney
By Donny Mahoney
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You know Christmas is here because the darts are on. Amid a covid surge, the Ally Pally was its usual boisterous self and unknown Scot from West Lothian named Willie Borland became a household name.

The PDC World Championships got off to a decent start Friday from an Irish perspective with Duleek's Keane Barry holding on to win his first round match and Steve Lennon shocking 'the Polish Eagle' Krzysztof Ratajski .

But the real drama of the day was still to come. Scotland's Willie Borland and England's Bradley Brooks played out an electric Round 1 match that finished in the most remarkable way possible: Willie Borland, the 25-year-old making his world championships debut, threw a 9-darter in the deciding frame to win the match as the partisan crowd chanted 'Scotland Get Battered Everywhere They Go'.

In the aftermath, there were scenes.

Willie Borland 9-darter

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While the conclusion to the game will long be remembered, Brooks displayed incredible guts to force the deciding leg. He was down 2-0 in the fourth set and battled back for the victory. He was down 2-0 in the fifth set and forced a decider, only to be beaten in the most remarkable way.

For his heroics, Borland was awarded a cheque for £50,000 and advances to the second round of the competition. He noted an interview afterwards that the chants of English fans gave him that extra bit of mojo.

Bradley had a couple of bad legs and I was just thinking to myself, keep going, keep going and we’ll see what happens and then to hit the nine-darter was just unbelievable, I’m loving it.

Everyone was singing ‘Scotland get battered everywhere they go’ and that just kind of got me going. Bradley played a brilliant game, we both struggled at times and I feel I just did the right thing at the right time to get over the line.

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There hasn't been a 9-dart finisher at the PDC World Championships since 2016. Willie Borland became an instant hero both inside the Alexandra Palace and on social media for his performance.

We'd learn after the victory that Willie Borland is a dyed-in-the-wool Rangers supporter, but you still couldn't begrudge him that victory.

SEE ALSO: 19-Year Old Keane Barry's First Ever World Championship Win Was Pure Drama

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