WORLD Champ-ionship star Shayne Burgess yesterday revealed his heartbreak over the death of his close pal Jason Wood just 48 hours before his quarter-final loss against Dennis Priestley.

Sussex County player Wood was killed in a car crash on New Year's Eve at Watlington on the A21 near Hastings.

Wood played with the Bulldog in the Hastings & St Leonards, Cracker and Whitbread Leagues in their home town and had intended to cheer his mate on in his last-eight clash.

Burgess said: "I felt numbed when I heard what had happened to Jason.

"It was obviously a stunner.

"But it really hit me when I had to drive past the spot where he'd hit a telegraph pole and been killed on my way to my match against Dennis. That was hard.

"Jason was such a nice bloke and a very good county player. I'd known him for a while and I used to see a lot of him as we played in three local leagues together.

"It certainly put things in perspective. There's a lot more to life than winning darts matches."

The world No.4, though, put on a brave show to push Priestley all the way before losing 5-4 over two-and-a-half hours.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.