Damon Heta cruised past Kim Huybrechts to reach the second round of the UK Open (Image: GETTY)
Damon Heta believes that Kim Huybrechts spurred him on to victory by attempting to play mind games during their UK Open clash on Friday night. Heta surged to a 10-2 victory over his Belgian rival, who tried to get under his skin in an attempt to turn the tide. His opponent ended up having the last laugh, though, with Huybrechts’ intimidation tactics having the opposite effect.
“I felt pretty on edge at the start, then I started getting the wind and I was cruising at one minute,” said Heta. “Yeah, there was probably a bit of niggle. I just think he tried to get in my head, to be honest. and I welcomed it because it just gave me another edge. Yeah, I just got the job done, so happy days.”
Heta said that he would not be holding any grudges against Huybrechts in spite of his desperate tactics, adding: “It was frustrating times. I’m getting ahead, nothing was happening for him, so he’s just tried something and it didn’t work. At the end of the day, I got the job done and that’s all that matters.”
Heta will not be holding any grudges against Huybrechts in spite of his tactics (Image: GETTY)
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Heta will book a place in the quarter-finals if he wins his next match against Connor Scutt, who secured an upset victory over Gerwyn Price in the previous round. The event has been a happy hunting ground for Heta, with the Aussie reaching the semi-finals of last year’s tournament.
“I like the event. As a spectator, it’s the best event I think,” he added. “I love the draw. I get really antsy and a bit nervous in my hands and I’m like: ‘Who’s got who?’. And then you’re watching the balls go down and your name’s not out yet, and you’re thinking: ‘Who’s in?’. I just enjoy it, mate. It’s such a good format and it should never change.”
Elsewhere at the UK Open, there were victories for Luke Littler and Luke Humphries as they avoided early exits. The former survived a major scare to beat Peter Wright, who battled back from 7-4 down to force a decisive final leg which went the way of his teenage opponent.
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“As soon as Peter gets that first ton-plus, he’s near enough hitting all of them, which he did against me there,” said Littler. “I just had to get the power scoring going and hit the doubles. I’m usually very good at a last-leg decider, I always back myself. Obviously, Peter got off to a ton so I thought I’ve got to try and pile the pressure on as I can.”
Humphries, meanwhile, defeated reigning WDF women’s world champion Beau Greaves to progress to the next round. He went 7-5 behind at one stage but delivered the goods to earn a 10-7 victory before showering Greaves in high praise after the match.
“She belongs in big-time darts,” insisted Humphries. “If we were in a Premier League game, she would have beaten me there. She’s still very young but she’s got a massive future ahead of her. I’m going to be sharing the stage with her a lot more. I really enjoyed it, that’s what I said to her afterwards.”