JOHN Ferrell's dream of becoming the Embassy BDO World Darts Champion in 2002 came to an end at the first hurdle as he lost in straight sets to Bob Taylor last night. The unseeded Strood man, who had never played in the Lakeside championships before, started off badly and found himself one set down before he had won a single leg.

Ferrell, nicknamed The Joker, improved in the second set hitting three 180s but, crucially, he lost the third leg against the darts as Taylor moved into a commanding lead.

The Scottish International and number six seed never relinquished his hold on the match in the third set and, although Ferrell forced a deciding leg, he completed a check-out of 102 to progress through to the second round.

Ferrell, a 40-year-old courier, admitted: "I didn't play very well at all. I couldn't get used to the light out there because it was totally different from the practice area. It was dull and dingy.

"I had a poor average but Bob played really well and kept hitting the doubles at the first attempt. I improved as the game went on but I needed a bit of luck and didn't get any."

Fellow Kent player Matt Clark, from sevenoaks, didn't enjoy much more luck either as he bowed out of the competition in four sets at the hands of number three seed Marko Pusa later in the evening.