Kiwi Cody Harris' dream of making a deep run at the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) world championship is over, after falling short in his second round clash against Jamie Lewis on Saturday (NZ time).
The 33-year-old became the first New Zealander to reach the second round when he beat German Martin Schindler 3-2 on Friday, but Lewis proved to a test too difficult at the Alexandra Palace.
Against most other players, Harris would likely have won, as he averaged 92.52 compared to Lewis' 92.32.
But the Welshman was more clinical with his finishing, landing 54 percent of his doubles, along with nine 180s, compared to Harris, who was 38 percent on his finishes, with two 180s.
Lewis, ranked 28th in the world, won the opening two sets 3-1 and the match appeared headed to a 3-0 whitewash, as he held a 2-1 lead in the third.
But Harris fought back to win the next two legs, winning the final leg against the throw in 16 darts to get a set on the board.
The fourth set also went to a deciding fifth leg, but Harris kept his composure and hit double-20 to tie the match at two sets apiece.
In the final set, the Aucklander had a chance to take the lead for the first time, but his dart at double-nine missed and Lewis made him pay by landing 25 to retain a lead that he never surrendered, as he won the next two legs to sweep the final set and reach the third round.
Despite the second-round exit, Harris will pocket £15,000 (NZ$27,688) for his efforts, which will see him climb the world rankings at the conclusion of the tournament. He is currently ranked 149th in the world.
One New Zealander still remains in the tournament, with Craig Ross to make his world championship debut against Spaniard Toni Alcinas on Sunday.
Earlier in the day, Englishman Michael Barnard survived a gutsy fightback and six missed match darts by Jose De Sousa to reach the second round.
Meanwhile, Australian duo Raymond Smith and Paul Nicholson lost their first-round matches 3-2 and 3-0 to Alan Tabern and Kevin Burness respectively.
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