HETA IN HEAT HELL AT WORLDS

DAMON HETA says Ally Pally felt like opening an OVEN as brutal heat turned his World Darts Championship clash into a fight for survival.

The Aussie ace scraped through a nerve-shredding five-set battle to edge past Stefan Bellmont 3–2 and book his place in round three at the tournament.

World No16 Heta was dragged into a tense contest that swung back and forth, with neither player able to settle as conditions on stage made control difficult from the outset.

Heta admitted the temperature inside the venue caught him badly off guard and hindered his performance.

He said: “In the practice room, perfect conditions — everything was great. I came out here and it felt like opening an oven door.

“It was a bit stale and straight away you felt it. It was just hot and your hands were sweating.

“It was like you’ve done all you can back there, but then you come on stage and it’s a completely different feel.

“My first game it wasn’t like that. Someone needs to open a window or something.

“I battled through it and we were both in the same conditions, so that’s no excuse.

“He took a lot of chances as well, to be fair. Even though it wasn’t the highest standard of game, it was probably entertaining.

“My wife has probably got no nails left.”

Heta revealed he had been warned about the heat beforehand but still wasn’t prepared for how intense it felt once play began.

He added: “It really got me going out there thinking, ‘Jeez, I didn’t think it would be like this.’

“I did hear from someone saying it was warm — it was Tim Pusey who told me — and I was like, ‘Jeez.’

“I think it just got me. Then I went back, got my mindset right and thought: you have to fight and forget about that.”

Despite surviving the scare, Heta knows he will need to raise his level when he faces Rob Cross in round three at the Worlds.

He continued: “I’ve got to step my game up — there’s no two ways about it.

“I know what I can do. My checkout percentage has been half decent and that’s been a big part of my game for a while.

“But I know I can score as well, so if it all comes together, it’s going to be a tough job for Rob.

“He’s a world champion, he knows exactly what it’s about, so it’s definitely an uphill battle for me.”

Image by Taylor Lanning.