ALAN SOUTAR admitted it was a “painful one” as his World Championship dream was ended by giant Kai Gotthardt.
The Arbroath fireman was blown away 3-1 in a bizarre clash which was delayed after the on-fire German’s dart snapped in the opening set at the Ally Pally.
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In the end it was Braveheart beaten by broken dart Gotthardt who reeled off seven successive legs soon after returning to the stage.
Soutar said: “I just wasn’t good enough. I couldn’t hit the treble 20 all afternoon.
“It’s disappointing because I know I’m better than that and, no disrespect, I’ve lost to an average player there.
“Maybe [I will be back stronger] but right now this is a painful one to take.
“I’m not a professional dart player so it’s always going to be hard to compete at the top level.”
Soots started in decent style, taking the opening leg with a stunning 94 finish. But having gone 2-1 up in legs, the German suffered a broken barrel of his dart and had to leave the stage.
The Scot was left standing on stage five minutes as he serenaded the crowd and they sung back to him “Scotland get battered everywhere they go”.
Gotthardt returned to the stage to boos but, despite losing the set as Soots hit a 76 finish, he soon did batter the fireman.
The German reeled off seven successive legs to take control of the encounter and suddenly Soutar was in real trouble.
Despite a fightback in the final set, Gotthardt finally got over the line to send Soots out.
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