The 'Ally Pallett' goes wild for David's win

The Shropshire thrower came from 2-1 down in sets to dump out 12th seed Kim Huybrechts at the Alexandra Palace in London last night, writes Craig Birch.

And the 25-year-old, an underdog after a 3-0 first round exit to Adrian Lewis on his worlds debut last year, was as stunned by the result as anyone.

He said: "I honestly didn't believe I could it. Kim's a great player. I knew it was going to be a tough match and I'm absolutely over the moon.

"I managed to hang on in there and take my chances when I got them. I'm really happy and now I've got nothing to lose."

Pallett will now tackle either the on-fire Mensur Suljovic - who reached a major semi-final in the Grand Prix after a breakthrough year - or Jermaine Wattimena.

His opponent will be decided in Sunday's afternoon session, with the two second round qualifiers to then clash on Monday December 28.

And if the Telford & Wrekin Council finance assistant can upset the odds at the oche again, it could set up a rematch with Lewis the following evening.

Signs of an upset against Huybrechts were on the cards when he struck first blood in the first set, with a 180 in the opening leg which he took after a 64 checkout.

Huybrechts went out on 72 to level but Pallett won the next two legs to clinch the set, although they did spur the Belgian into a response.

He finished 32 either side of an 81 finish from Pallett in set two, with a first maximum of his own helping him break the throw and level the match.

A see-saw third set saw Huybrechts seize upon missed doubles to turn the tables and lead, despite Pallett taking the first leg on tops after another 180.

Huybrechts replied with a 106 out-shot, before hitting a maximum and double 10 to break.

Pallett finished 32 to reply in kind but missed two darts for the set, allowing his opponent to step forward and bed tops to move ahead.

That put Pallett on the back-foot for the first time and he went into the trenches in an untidy following leg in set four, which Huybrechts took in the mad house on double one.

The pair then exchanged 180s before Pallett took out 42, sparking a run of three straight legs for him as he forced a deciding fifth and last set.

And there's where Pallett displayed his determination this was to be his night as he whitewashed his rival in the set, to seal his passage through.

Pallett gained an advantage by pinning tops, before producing a sensational 132 finish on the bull to break Huybrechts' throw.

He followed that with an equally-impressive 122 checkout to complete a run of six consecutive legs and nudge through.