World Darts Championship: Hong Kong’s Dragon Boy Lee makes dream debut at Alexandra Palace
Lee Lok-yin bounces back from losing set to beat Chris Landsman and set up clash with world No 30 Brendan Dolan
Matthew Lee Lok-yin said walking out onto the stage at Alexandra Palace in the first round of the Paddy Power World Darts Championship was something he had dreamed about for 14 years.
And the Hongkonger, who was making his debut at the sport’s biggest event, will get to do it at least once more, after he beat Dutchman Chris Landsman 3-1 on Thursday to reach the second round.
Lee bounced back from going 1-0 down to win nine straight legs to knock out the 2023 WDF World Darts Championship runner-up, with a three-dart average of 84.4.
“I started playing at nine years old, and for 14 years I tried to chase my dream, this [Alexandra Palace] is my dream, on the stage,” the 23-year-old said. “But finally, I came out onto the stage and [tried] not be ashamed for every set, every leg.”
And Lee admitted to having to overcome the initial nerves he felt at playing in front of a large crowd just to be able to compete with Landsman.
“The first set, I could not finish the doubles on the fifth leg, and I thought ‘oh my God, is that finished? This is my Ally Pally [Alexandra Palace] for the whole journey? And I thought ‘no, cannot’.
