De Graaf 3-1 Sweeting
The qualifier for Latin America and the Caribbean had a great start to the match. Although the Bahamian darts representative was a huge underdog, he dominated the first set 3-1. He was especially helped by his opponent's poor doubles record - Dutch-born Jeffrey de Graaf, representing Sweden, closed with only one of his eight attempts. And so Sweeting managed a very poor average of 70.73 on three darts.
In the next sets the Bahamian struggled, but he was definitely not far from another success. Especially in the last set, averaging over 104 on three darts. Two 180s also helped him to the high average, much to the delight of the crowd watching on.
"It's amazing. It's every player's dream who has never been here. To come here from my country and be part of the PDC, to see the stars that I've been watching on my phone and tablet," Sweeting recounted after the game. "And the crowd? Oh yeah, I love London. I wanted to experience the boos as well, but they supported me like crazy," he added.
He wasn't lying. The crowd at Ally Pally loved it. "That's why I had to give them the 180," laughed Sweeting, who hit a maximum in the second set at the fans' request, although he could have aimed for a different number on the third dartboard given his score, as that's how he set up his double seven.
He subsequently celebrated his three 60s in the manner of the English footballer Cole Palmer of Chelsea, to which, incidentally, he has his own story. "If you hit 180, could you do this celebration for me?" an unknown fan asked Sweeting on Instagram, who after the game unleashed a mutual conversation with the caption "you're my hero".
Sweeting also talked about the incident with Luke Humphries, the reigning world champion. "I was in a hotel room training. I was throwing darts and I heard someone slamming the door like they were having trouble getting in. I thought it was the cleaners. So I went to the door, opened it, looked up and said: You're Luke Humphries!" Bahamian laughed.
"Then we started talking and he was giving me advice on what to expect. He asked me about my country. Very nice guy and very easy-going. By the way, someone said he mentioned me. I asked at what time and went to watch the video. He didn't remember my name, but he said Bahamas, so that's cool," Sweeting added about the incident with the Englishman, who is again one of the biggest favourites to win the tournament.
Sweeting bid farewell to reporters and fans with the phrase: "you'll see this face again", alluding to next year's event. If the Bahamian darts representative makes it to the World Championships again, at least he will know his way to the podium.