England's James Wade declared he "wanted to really hurt" Japanese player Seigo Asada, after aggressively shouting in his face during their world darts championship match.
World number nine Wade was given a major scare by the qualifier at Alexandra Palace, before eventually progressing to the third round 3-2.
"I kept giving it to him, I wanted to hurt him," an unrepentant Wade told Sky Sports. "I wanted to really hurt him in his face.
"It wasn't a great game, but I wanted to hurt him and I wanted to progress.
That's for my son and also for the UK."
Wade twice came from a set down to progress, with the major talking point coming when he attempted to intimidate Asada by yelling in his face, after levelling at 1-1.
Former player Wayne Mardle, who works as a television pundit, was appalled by the incident and felt Wade overstepped the line.
"Does he mean he wanted to punch him in his face?" Mardle said. "What does he mean? I'm absolutely lost for words.
"That's just not on. I hope he wakes up in the morning and thinks, 'I've made a mistake there'.
"He can't think that's right and no-one watching it can think it's right. That's thuggish behaviour, there's no place in darts for that."
The gripping encounter between Wade and Asada came after Australia's Simon Whitlock became the latest big name to crash out of the tournament.
Eighth seed Whitlock, a finalist in 2010, suffered an emphatic 3-0 loss to English debutant Ryan Joyce.
The Australian follows 2007 champion Raymond van Barneveld and third seed Peter Wright in making an early exit.
"He didn't play anywhere near what he's capable of," Joyce said. "I'm happy I was able to take advantage and not blow it under pressure."
PA
