Today at the Darts

A round-up of the day’s play from Ally Pally in 180 words.

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Day Nine - Sherrock shines again

If Fallon Sherrock beating Ted Evetts was historic, then taking out Mensur Suljovic – the 11th best player in the world, a winner of two TV titles, a Matchplay runner-up and a Premier League player – was a step above even that.

After just two matches at the World Darts Championship Sherrock has drawn worldwide mainstream attention to what’s been happening at Ally Pally.

The match itself was remarkable and, like Sherrock’s debut win, of high quality – though tense at times for both players.

Sherrock took the first set from two legs down, checking out a 131 on the way, before Suljovic performed a similar comeback in the second – averaging 100.82.

The pendulum swung back the other way in the third and Sherrock then wrapped up the match 3-1 in some style via the bullseye.

Also in the second round today Daryl Gurney, Glen Durrant, Ryan Searle, Simon Whitlock and Dimitri Van den Bergh beat Justin Pipe, Damon Heta, Steve West, Harry Ward and Josh Payne 3-0 respectively.

While Seigo Asada and Adrian Lewis defeated opponents Keegan Brown and Cristo Reyes 3-2.

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Day Six - Wade walks it

Eighth seed James Wade dispatched Ritchie Edhouse 3-0 on a day of straight-sets wins at Ally Pally.

Wade heads into round three after averaging 92.43 in an efficient showing by the Machine.

Josh Payne put in a powerful performance to beat Diogo Portela, as did Seigo Asada against Mickey Mansell and Ron Meulenkamp over Ben Robb – all three progress from the first round after winning 3-0.

It was much closer for Stephen Bunting however as he escaped a scare by Jose Justicia – the Bullet needing extra legs to take a decisive set 6-4 and win 3-2 for a place in round three.

Elsewhere Dutchman Benito van de Pas beat Germany’s Gabriel Clemens by the same scoreline in round one – an very impressive result against a man who has made the last 16 of the previous two TV tournaments.

Clemens’ countryman Nico Kurz was one dart away from a perfect leg when he missed double 12 for a nine-dart finish en route to a 3-1 win over James Wilson.

Meanwhile, also in the first round, Harry Ward defeated Madars Razma 3-2.

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Sherrock sakes up day five

Fallon Sherrock became the first woman to beat a man at the PDC World Darts Championship and did so in some style in what was a watershed moment for darts.

On her way to history on the Ally Pally stage Sherrock averaged 91.12 over five sets and Ted Evetts could only watch on as she took out double 18 for a landmark 3-2 victory.

However, the trailblazing triumph is only the beginning for Sherrock (and women’s darts on the biggest stage) who will be hoping she can replicate that momentous result against 11th seed Mensur Suljovic in the second round.

The day’s other play saw Jeffrey de Zwaan and Krzysztof Ratajski book their places in round three with a 3-2 win against Darin Young and a 3-1 victory against Zoran Lerchbacher respectively - although neither was totally convincing.

In the first round Ryan Searle and Cristo Reyes beat their respective opponents Robbie King and Lourence Ilagan 3-2.

Meanwhile Noel Malicdem and Demon Heta brushed aside Rowby-John Rodriguez and Jose de Sousa 3-0 and Boris Koltsov lost 3-1 to Ritchie Edhouse.

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Day Four - Anderson’s arrival

Two-time champion Gary Anderson made sure he wasn’t going to join the collection of high-profile names to exit the World Darts Championship in the early stages, recording an imperious win over Northern Ireland’s Brendan Dolan.

Although averaging just 79.11 in the first set, the Flying Scotsman soon got up a head of steam and only dropped one leg throughout on the way to a 3-0 victory.

Anderson though hardly needed to reach full throttle as Dolan failed to hit a maximum before becoming history in this year’s tournament at the second-round stage.

The night’s first round matches saw a trio of Irishmen in action, including 17-year-old debutant Keane Barry. The youngster however was no match for Vincent van der Voort’s vast experience - the Dutch Destroyer proving too much as he marched to a 3-0 triumph.

William O’Connor also recorded a straight-sets victory, beating Finland’s Marko Kantele 3-0, while England’s Callan Rydz went to a deciding leg with Steve Lennon in a match which swung like a pendulum before Rydz made it his with a double two to win 3-2.

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Bully Boy beaten on day three

Last year’s World Darts Championship runner-up Michael Smith faltered at his first hurdle as he began his campaign of trying to go one step further this year.

Fourth seed Smith went two sets down to fellow Englishman Luke Woodhouse – a man who sits 69th in the world rankings.

Having clawed one back the Bully Boy then missed the chance to force a final set, Woody winning 3-1 with an average of 97.81 to progress into round three.

The day’s other second round tie saw another of the top seeds defeated – ninth favourite Ian White was sent packing 3-1 by Lithuania’s Darius Labanauskas.

Mikuru Suzuki’s showdown with James Richardson was the pick of the first-round action. The Japanese player pushed her opponent to a deciding leg, but fell to a 3-2 loss and agonisingly short of a first female win at Ally Pally.

Elsewhere Brendan Dolan, Ciaran Teehan and Jose Justicia triumphed over their respective opponents Nitin Kuma, Ross Smith and Arron Monk 3-0.

There were also 3-2 wins for Kyle Anderson and Danny Baggish against Xiaochen Zong and Andy Boulton.

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Barney bows out on day two

It’s over for Barney. He’s had one of the greatest careers in the game. It feels sour for him now. It shouldn’t. The facts are he lost today, but anyone who wants to love darts should ignore that.

To respect Darin Young, the American beat five-time world champ Raymond van Barneveld – a man who retires having hit two World Darts Championship nine dart finishes – 3-1.

Talking of former winners, Rob Cross took a hiding from Kim Huybrechts - 3-0 the score. That will hurt Robert in a tournament that actually changed his life.

In another second-round triumph Luke Humphries, a quarter-finalist last year, disarmed the Machine Gun, Jermaine Wattimena, 3-2.

Elsewhere there was plenty of first-round action. Darius Labanauskas beat Matthew Edgar 3-0, Yuki Yamada took out Ryan Meikle 3-1, Luke Woodhouse also dismantled veteran Paul Lim 3-0 - in what was Lim’s 12th appearance on the biggest stage.

Mark McGeeney, a debutant at the PDC worlds, will join those winners in the second round having defeated Matthew Campbell 3-1. As will Austrian Zoran Lerchbacher, who beat Jamie Hughes, Yozza, 3-2.

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Back with a bang

Michael Van Gerwen began the defence of his World Darts Championship crown with a 3-1 victory in a grudge match against Dutch compatriot Jelle Klaasen, raising the curtain on this year’s tournament.

A sluggish start from the three-time Ally Pally winner saw a lively Klaasen take the first set and it may have been 2-0 had MVG not caught the big fish – levelling the match with a 170 out-shot. Van Gerwen took the next two sets to go through to round three.

2006 BDO World Champion Klaasen earned the right to take on the Green Machine after bettering Northern Ireland’s Kevin Burness in the first match of the tournament. PDC Tour Card qualifier Burness won the opening set, but despite a decent effort was defeated 3-1.

Also in the first round Kim Huybrechts faced Dutch youngster Geert Nentjes, who showed no sign of being swept away by the Hurricane. Huybrechts won a nervy affair 3-2 – he’ll face former champion Rob Cross next.

Meanwhile Luke Humphries out danced Devon Peterson 3-1 to book a tie with Jermaine Wattimena in round two.

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Quarter-final Day 2018/19

Two-time world champions Gary Anderson and Michael van Gerwen will face one another in the semi-finals at Ally Pally to earn a shot at a third title.

The pair both produced 100+ averages on their way to victory and in doing so set up the heavy weight clash that many had anticipated before the first dart had even been lifted at this year’s tournament.

MVG took out Ryan Joyce 5-1, while Anderson, who had raced into a 3-0 lead against opponent Dave Chisnall, was unperturbed by a Chizzy fightback for a 5-2 win.

Michael Smith has also earned a place in the last four with a 5-1 triumph against Luke Humphries.

Despite his ranking of 90th in the world, Humphries, who dismissed reigning champion Rob Cross last night, could not match Smith – even after a brilliant 170 checkout.

A finalist in this year’s Premier League, Smith now has just Nathan Aspinall as the only man between him and reaching the biggest final of all – although Aspinall will want to make history of his own after knocking out Brendan Dolan 5-1.

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Day Thirteen 2018/19

Luke Humphries’ hopes of replicating Rob Cross’ shock win at the Palace continue as he came from two sets down to overpower Voltage 4-2 and inflict a first ever defeat on Cross at the World Championship.

Humphries will now face Michael Smith for a place in the last four after the Bully Boy saw off Ryan Searle 4-1.

Averaging just under 100 and hitting 10 180s, Smith only dropped a set because of clumsy doubling in the deciding leg of the fourth set.

A man who won’t be joining Humphries and Smith in the quarters is James Wade after he was bettered 4-3 by Ryan Joyce.

Having come through several tough matches already, Wade finally fell short to Joyce who now has a testing tie against Michael van Gerwen.

Dave Chisnall had no such trouble as he beat Jamie Lewis 4-0 for his second consecutive straight sets win, earning a meeting with Gary Anderson.

The last quarter-final will be between Nathan Aspinall and Brendan Dolan after Aspinal won 4-3 against Devon Peterson and Dolan beat Benito van de Pas 4-1.

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Day Twelve 2018/19

Greatly anticipated, the return to Ally Pally action after the Christmas break did not disappoint.

Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson became the first players to claim spots in the quarter-finals, but the pair did so in vastly contrasting circumstances.

MVG overpowered Adrian Lewis 4-1 with an average of 108.08, while Anderson came from two sets down to beat Chris Dobey 4-3 as the Flying Scotsman was pushed all the way for a second successive match.

Also in action was Michael Smith, the Bully Boy facing John Henderson as the final round three ties took place.

Scotsman Henderson was more than a match for Smith in the opening exchanges and earned a 2-1 lead before Smith disappeared out of sight – taking the next three sets for a 4-2 win.

Benito van de Pas and Devon Petersen both pulled off the same scoreline to beat Toni Alcinas and Steve West respectively.

Cool Hand Luke Humphries continued his impressive run as he backed up his victory over 16th seed Stephen Bunting by stunning two-time world youth champion Dimitri Van den Bergh 4-1.

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Day Eleven 2018/19

Defending champion Rob Cross maintained his perfect record at the Palace with a straight-sets-victory over Spain’s Cristo Reyes.

Cross’ performance, which included a 147 finish, was on a par with his win against Jeffrey de Zwaan in round two, averaging over 100 on his way to the 4-0 triumph.

Also through was James Wade, although the nine-time TV title winner was made to sweat after falling behind to Kegan Brown 3-1. Digging in, Wade turned the tie around - checking out 101 to secure a 4-3 win.

Darius Labanauskas’ run in the competition came to an end as the Lithuanian, who beat Raymond van Barneveld in the last round, was no match for Adrian Lewis.

Lewis’ 4-0 victory means he will face fellow two-time world champion Michael van Gerwen in round four.

After knocking-out Gerwyn Price, Nathan Aspinall added Kyle Anderson to his list of scalps by beating the Australian 4-1.

Chris Dobey also booked his place in the fourth round with a 4-3 win against Vincent Van der Voort, while Brendan Dolan inflicted a 4-2 defeat on Mervyn King.

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Day Ten 2018/19

Moving into round three and the promise of increased quality did not disappoint as Gary Anderson and Jermaine Wattimena served up the match of the championship so far.

Despite four 100+ checkouts, Wattimena was eventually outgunned 4-3 by Anderson after a tie-break in the now best-of-seven-set format.

Wattimena had a chance to take glory himself, but missed a match dart at the bullseye for what would have been an astonishing 170.

World number one Michael van Gerwen booked his place in round four with a 4-1 victory over Max Hopp, while Dave Chisnall powered to a 4-0 win against Kim Huybrechts.

Chisnall will now face Jamie Lewis in the next round after Lewis knocked out fifth seed Daryl Gurney in a nail-biting encounter.

Having been 3-1 up Lewis withstood a comeback from the Northern Irishman to take the match 4-3 and continue his quest of at least replicating last year’s run to the semi-finals.

Ryan Joyce and Ryan Searle also progressed, the former beating Alan Norris 4-3, while Searle came from a set down to win 4-1 against William O’Connor.

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Day Nine 2018/19

The final day of round two action saw upsets galore, including the defeat of world number six Gerwyn Price.

Price, winner of this year’s Grand Slam, was two sets up before an outstanding comeback by Nathan Aspinall who won the match 3-2.

A polarising character with fans, Price was cheered each time he missed a treble at one stage, with the Welshman already having had a chance at bull to take victory.

Earlier in the evening session Devon Petersen had achieved the same feet as Aspinall, coming from two legs down against 11th seed Ian White – the match decided after extra legs.

Likewise, Jelle Klaasen and Jonny Clayton were also sent packing after 3-1 defeats to Keegan Brown and Dimitiri Van den Bergh.

The morning session was a more regular affair in terms of results with 3-2 wins for Scotland’s John Henderson over Gabriel Clemens and Benito van de Pas of the Netherlands against Jim Long.

Steve West and Kyle Anderson got through their matches with slightly increased breathing room, the pair bettering opponents Richard North and Noel Malicdem 3-1.

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Day Eight 2018/19

Mensur Suljovic became the third of the top 10 seeds to be knocked out as Ryan Searle came from a set down to win 3-1 in round two.

Searle, ranked 61 in the world, produced two 100+ finishes including Shanghai on his way to victory and averaged higher than Suljovic, even though the Austrian hit 10 180s.

Adrian Lewis avoided any such drama to reach round three as Jackpot had too much for Ted Evetts, although the 3-0 scoreline is a harsh reflection on Evetts’ performance.

Stephen Bunting exited the tournament at the first hurdle for the third year in a row after he lost 3-1 to a phenomenal Luke Humphries.

Meanwhile Alan Norris and two-time runner-up Mervyn King needed extra legs to claim 3-2 victories over Steve Lennon and Jan Dekker - Cristo Reyes also won by the same score following a deciding set with Rowby-John Rodriguez.

The day’s other matches saw triumphs for Chris Dobey and Jermaine Wattimena as the pair beat Steve Beaton and Michael Barnard respectively in straight sets – Wattimena earning a tie with Gary Anderson.

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Day Seven 2018/19

Simon Whitlock was stunned 3-0 by world number 74 Ryan Joyce as the former finalist crashed out of the tournament.

Although the Wizard averaged over 90 in the first two sets, his doubling let him down and the Australian then collapsed as the impressive Joyce took his chances.

Despite making it through to round two neither Michael Smith or James Wade had it easy, with the latter needing extra legs to beat Seigo Asada 3-2 – the Japanese player having been a credit to the competition in both his outings.

Smith was kept under pressure as the Netherlands’ Ron Meulenkamp matched his scoring for the majority of their contest, though the Englishman did enough to progress.

There were comfortable wins for Brendan Dolan and Kim Huybrechts as the pair won 3-0 against Joe Cullen and Daniel Larsson, while Ireland’s William O’Connor too made it through with a 3-2 victory following a deciding set with James Wilson.

The last of the first round matches also took place with Nathan Aspinall beating Geert Nentjes 3-0 and Noel Malicdem overcoming Jeffrey de Graaf 3-2.

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Day Six 2018/19

Daryl Gurney produced one of the highest scoring performances at the championship so far, averaging 100.3 as he outclassed Ross Smith 3-0.

Although Gurney’s doubling left something to be desired, you could have forgiven him for having a few nerves after seeing both Raymond van Barneveld and Peter Wright dumped out in previous nights.

Twice and reigning youth world champion Dimitri Van den Bergh came through a testing match against American Chuck Puleo and despite taking a 3-0 win, only found one maximum throughout.

A morning of upsets saw all four matches won by the lower ranked player, which included a 3-0 defeat for 13th seed Darren Webster at the hands of Vincent van der Voort – who reaches round three.

There were first round exits for Robert Thornton and Ricky Evans, the pair beaten 3-1 by Daniel Larsson and Rowby-John Rodriguez.

Also falling at the first huddle were Krzysztof Ratajski and Diogo Portela, both players losing 3-2 from a position of two sets up against opponents Seigo Asada and Ron Meulenkamp.

Meanwhile Ireland’s Steve Lennon overcame James Bailey, winning 3-0.

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Day Five 2018/19

Five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld slumped to a 3-2 defeat against Darius Labanauskas as the world number 108 pulled off the biggest win of his career.

Barney, who is set to retire after next year’s competition, battled back to level after a slow start, but was let down by woeful doubling.

Victory means Labanauskas could now face former champion Adrian Lewis in round three.

With no afternoon session Monday’s play saw just three other matches take place, all in the first round.

The most notable of them featured three-time BDO world champion Anastasia Dobromyslova, who was returning to Ally Pally for the first time since 2009.

Not intimidated by her pedigree tournament debutant Ryan Joyce outplayed the Russian for a 3-0 victory, producing a performance that included three 100+ finishes and an average just over 90.

Asia Tour Champion Lourence Ilagan will have been left thinking what could have been after missing key darts in a 3-1 defeat to Vincent van der Voort, while Devon Petersen made it through against Wayne Jones 3-2 in a match full of nerves.