Imagine going to the Darts World Championship as a fan and witnessing a nine-darter in the flesh, a rarity in itself.
Now add in the fact that the nine-darter in question will earn not only the player £60,000, but might earn you – a random person in the crowd – that same amount too.
For one fan, that feeling of total euphoria became their reality after Christian Kist’s heroics at Alexandra Palace earned him a once-in-a-lifetime payday.
During his match against Madars Razma on Wednesday, former Lakeside world champion Kist nailed a spectacular nine-dart finish to win the leg, earning huge plaudits from the packed crowd.
But there was an added bonus for the Latvian after the tournament’s sponsor, Paddy Power, pledged to award £180,000 every time a nine-darter occurred during the tournament as part of their ‘Bigger 180’ campaign in conjunction with their charity partner, Prostate Cancer UK.
The money is split three ways between Kist, the charity and a random fan picked out by Master of Ceremonies John McDonald.
And for one lucky spectator, that £60,000 prize would provide the best early Christmas present beyond their wildest dreams.
A man named Kris, 28, from Sutton, London, revealed his initial shock after learning that he had landed the mammoth cash prize while he was sitting in the audience.
“I’m absolutely speechless to be honest,” he said. “I didn’t expect it to happen to me and I’m just really speechless. Shaking still and I can’t believe it.”
Kris revealed more about the moment he discovered he had landed the five-figure cash prize and admitted he never expected to win the money after attending his first darts tournament in a decade.
He added to SportsBoom: “I’m a massive darts fan, I’m came here probably 10 years ago with my brother and my grandad who I’m here with tonight, but haven’t been back since,” he added.
“This was a birthday present so it’s made it all so much better. My grandad got me the tickets too, who I’m with so that makes it even sweeter doesn’t it?
“I turned around to my grandad. I was like, ‘seriously? Is this me?’ I was like, ‘oh my God, this is mental’.
“I kept going like, ‘this can’t be real, this can’t be real. That’s not me’. And then everyone started looking at me. It took a while to set in.
“I knew about it [the campaign] but wasn’t sure on whether it was random or how it worked. I never expected to win it. No matter what, it’s going to be a good Christmas.”
Speaking to another outlet, Kris revealed how he might plan to spend the money once it lands in his bank account.
“Me and my partner have literally just moved into a flat this year, so might put some on the mortgage, a nice holiday maybe? I don’t know,” he added.
“It’s a lot of money, so it’s quite a lot to think about.”
While he celebrates his payout, Kist’s efforts weren’t enough to put himself into the next round after the 38-year-old lost 3-2 Razma, bringing an end to his hopes of an unlikely World Championship triumph.
The consolation prize, of course, was that both he and his new biggest fan Kris would be going home £60,000 richer.
