Paddy Power has paid out £180,000 after Dutch star Christian Kist hit the first nine-darter of this year’s PDC Darts World Championship on Wednesday night.

Playing against Latvia’s Madars Ramza, Kist achieved perfection in the deciding leg of the first set which triggered a bonus from Paddy Power’s Bigger 180 campaign.

As a result, the 38-year-old will receive £60,000, as will Prostate Cancer UK and a fan in the Alexandra Palace Crowd.

The lucky fan walking away with the windfall is Kris, a rail worker from Sutton, who was picked out at random from the crowd and shown celebrating on the big screen at the Ally Pally.

Posting the leg on Linkedin, Jack Wilson, Head of Content and Channels at Paddy Power, said: “Is this the greatest night of darts ever?

“This is the moment Christian Kist, who has earned £19,750 in the last two years of his darts, threw a nine-darter at Ally Pally to bank his £60,000 share of Paddy Power’s £180,000 BIGGER 180 bonus.

“The nine also triggered a £60,000 donation from Paddy Power to Prostate Cancer UK – making the single match alone worth £72,000 as there were 12 180s too – and another £60,000 to a random fan in the crowd, who could barely speak afterwards. 

“Kris, a 28-year-old from Sutton who works on the railways, was there with his Grandad, who’d bought the tickets to the darts for him as a present.”

Despite the magical moment from Kist, it was Razma who prevailed 3-1 in the end and set himself up for a second round clash with another Dutch player in Dirk van Duijvenbode.

Paddy Power reward fan favourites selfless act

As mentioned, as well as paying out for nine-darter’s, Paddy Power are also donating £1,000 for every 180 hit during the tournament. Following the conclusion of Wednesday’s action, 163 180s had been hit.

The most high-profile 180 so far was thrown earlier in the first round by Rashad Sweeting, who defied darting convention and delighted the crowd when he chose to go for a 180 despite starting the visit on 194.

Paddy Power rewarded his effort by announcing that they will cover the travel costs of Sweeting – who made history when he became the first player to represent the Bahamas at the World Championships.