Kevin Burness dispatched of an animated Paul Nicholson with a 3-0 win over the Newcastle native in the first round of the PDC World Championship on Friday.
Burness won nine legs of 14 with two ton-plus finishes in a convincing win over Nicholson who certainly made his presence felt at the Ally Pally when he walked out to Joan Jett’s Bad Reputation.
Accompanied with a pair of sunglasses, his entrance has been compared to the walkout of former UFC fighter Ronda Rousey who continues to use the song in the WWE.
'Badboy' Paul Nicholson is in the house. Zijn tegenstander Kevin Burness lijkt niet onder de indruk te zijn 😅 #rtl7darts pic.twitter.com/Q48eeWqyir
— RTL7Darts (@rtl7darts) December 14, 2018
🎯 🕶️BAD REPUTATION 🕶️🎯 We are about to get going again this evening but @TheAsset180 laid down a marker with his walk-on, and not just to the darts world, are you watching @RondaRousey #LoveTheDarts pic.twitter.com/yw3oiJJaBL
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) December 14, 2018
👀 Kevin Burness had never played at Ally Pally before today
🎯 Two ton-plus finishes
😛 Won nine legs of 14
💪 Beats Paul Nicholson 3-0😎 All in an afternoon's work.#WHDartspic.twitter.com/Q1BjPaRmeQ
— William Hill (@WilliamHill) December 14, 2018
Newtownards man Burness is making his debut at the Ally Pally this year and while he looked assured against Nicholson he will now face 2016 world champion Gary Anderson in the second round.
The Scot was dumped from the quarter-finals of last year’s championship thanks to a 5-3 loss to 16-time world champion Phil Taylor.
Anderson, 48, told the Daily Star earlier this week that he plans to retire once he crosses the half century mark of his life and added that he does not plan on following Taylor in extending his career at the top level.
“I think I’ll be done before 50. Maybe this world championship and maybe the next one, but that’s it,” said Anderson.
“I wouldn’t say I’ll retire 100 per cent – I’ll keep playing now and then, but not very often. “If I qualify for something, I’ll play in it, but I won’t be chasing ranking points across Europe. It won’t be happening.
“I wouldn’t do it the way Phil did and retire forever. I would turn up now and then to see if I can keep my Tour card, but once that goes, that will probably be me done.”
