DAVE Honey's hopes of making a name for himself at the Budweiser UK Open Championship ended quickly on Friday.
The Droitwich professional was beaten 4-2 by qualifier Alan Tabern at Bolton's Reebok Stadium.
Before the tournament Honey had admitted to being confident he could raise his profile with a run in the tournament.
However, Honey was disappointed he did not progress in to the later stages.
He said: "I had felt really confident going into the tournament and thought I could do well.
"I don't know if it was the stage or the fact that there were cameras watching, but I couldn't raise my game when I needed to."
Honey, who qualified for the tournament because he was within the top 128 of the Professional Darts Players Association (PDPA), met his match against in-form Tabern, who had defeated Marcus Knapman in the qualifying round.
His opponent started strongly, with a string of 180s putting him 3-0 down in the best of six legs tournament.
Honey though took advantage when Tabern failed close out the fourth leg. He then won the fifth leg to make it 3-2 and put him in the driving seat.
However, Honey missed double 16 in the sixth set and Tabern capitalised to win the match and ensure his progress into round two.
Honey said: "I know Alan from the county scene and he's a good player.
"He came out of the blocks very quickly and that knocked me back a bit.
"I fought back strongly but in the end I made a mistake and Alan finished me off."
Phil 'The Power' Taylor continued to dominate the PDPA by winning his second Open championship on Sunday.
Taylor defeated Roland Scholten in the semi-final and Mark Walsh 13-7 in the final.
Honey felt he would be in better shape for next year's championship - as long as he learned from his mistakes.
He said: "Everything was different about this tournament.
"It was bigger and the crowds were great. It was a learning experience and I'll be stronger for it next year."
Now Honey turns his attentions to two tournaments on the Isle of Wight over the weekend.
He will be playing in the Stan James World Matchplay tournament qualifier on Friday night, before competing in the Players' Championship over the following two days.
He said: "All I can do in concentrate on the matches I have. But I'm playing in big tournaments every week."
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