PDC World Championship - Match Reports 11. Day, Afternoon

Simon Whitlock continued to defy the pain from a broken ankle as he overcame Steve Beaton 4-1 to reach the third round of the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship on Wednesday afternoon. The Australian, who played for the first time since suffering the injury in late October when he hit a 105 average against Dennis Smith in the first round last week, moved into the last 16 at Alexandra Palace with another determined effort. He capitalised on misses from Beaton to take the first set, hitting back from 2-0 down to edge the set and win the second without reply before Beaton took three successive legs to edge the third in a decider. However, Beaton paid the price for failing to set up a double in the fourth set's decider, and instead of pulling back to two-all found himself 3-1 down before Whitlock sealed victory in the next, setting up a third round clash with Michael van Gerwen on Thursday.
Van Gerwen won through to the last 16 for the first time at Alexandra Palace with a classy 4-1 win over Mervyn King. The 22-year-old Dutchman hit finishes of 158 and 148 during the contest to deny King, who hit nine 180s and averaged almost 99 but paid for missing doubles at key times.
The afternoon's other game saw Colin Lloyd defeat Scott Rand 4-1 to move into the last 16. After winning two of the opening three sets Lloyd provided a killer blow in the fourth set's decider, taking out 167 with Rand waiting on a double to level the match, and he won the next set 3-2 to seal the victory.




Michael van Gerwen 4:1 Mervyn King
(3-2, 0-3, 3-1, 3-2, 3-2)
Michael van Gerwen secured an excellent 4-1 triumph over the experienced Mervyn King in the second round of the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship on Wednesday afternoon.
Van Gerwen, who is now the only Dutchman left in the competition, defied nine maximums from his opponent to reach the third round at the Alexandra Palace for the first time.
King, who reached the last four back in 2009, missed chances to win the first and fourth sets, which proved to be vital in the final outcome.

King, who enjoyed a whitewash victory over Australia's Geoff Kime in the first round, hit a 180 with his first three darts and landed double eight to secure a break of throw after van Gerwen missed three chances to hold in the opening leg. Van Gerwen hit back superbly by converting a 148 checkout to level and then hit double top at the first time of asking to take the third. The 22-year-old Dutchman, who defeated Colin Osborne in his first match, missed two darts for the set in the fourth leg and King capitalised by landing double eight to force a decider. The conclusion to the first set proved to be a dramatic affair, as King missed four darts at double eight to win the set and van Gerwen landed double 16 with his third dart to convert a 74 finish and edge ahead.
King recovered from the loss of the first set to win the second without reply from the young Dutchman to level the match. The number 12 seed hit a 13-dart finish to win the first leg, and the second followed on double two before King hit double eight to win the set.
Van Gerwen started the third set superbly with a 158 checkout, but King levelled by taking out 86 before the youngster forged ahead again by landing double top with his first dart after the Englishman had missed a dart at the same bed. The Dutch ace then took out 64 in the next leg to win the set and lead the match for the second time.
Both players held throw in the opening two legs of the fourth set before King landed a fantastic 132 checkout, completed on the bullseye. King missed two darts to win the set in the fourth leg, and van Gerwen hit a pressure double seven for an 85 finish as he snatched the leg to level. The deciding leg saw King hit a 180, only for van Gerwen to hit two of his own - but after missing a dart at the bullseye, the Dutchman returned to punish a missed double nine from the world number 12 to square the game and land double eight.
That put van Gerwen 3-1 up, and he managed to hold throw at the start of the fifth set, after King was guilty of missing two more darts at doubles. King hit double four to claim the second leg before van Gerwen landed double eight to move a leg away from the match. The Bradwell thrower hit his ninth 180 of the match in process of winning the fourth leg, but two 180s in the decider from van Gerwen, followed by double eight, ended the match.

"I hit the right shots at the right times and that proved to be really important for me," said van Gerwen, who now faces Simon Whitlock in the third round. "I feel confident at the moment. I have reached the third round of this tournament for the first time and I hope to go further."



Simon Whitlock 4:1 Steve Beaton
(3-2, 3-0, 2-3, 3-2, 3-2)
Simon Whitlock continued to defy the pain of his broken ankle by reaching the last 16 of the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship with a 4-1 triumph against Steve Beaton.
Beaton missed chances to win the opening set and also wasted chances to win two other sets as Whitlock limped through to the third round.
Whitlock, who reached the final at Alexandra Palace two years ago, will now face Michael van Gerwen for a place in the last eight of the tournament, having followed up his 105 average in a first round win over Dennis Smith with another determined display.
/
"Steve did miss a few chances which could have changed the course of the match," said Whitlock. "My leg is still hurting, but my throwing arm is absolutely fine, which is the important thing! "I'm playing Michael next and that will be tough. He's playing some excellent darts and has just beaten Mervyn King, which is no easy feat."

Beaton, who came back from the brink of defeat against Magnus Caris in his first round game, won the first leg with an 80 finish and took the second against the darts. The third leg saw Beaton miss two darts at double top to win the set, and Whitlock managed to take the leg on double six. Whitlock then hit an excellent 100 checkout, with his opponent waiting on 32, and the Australian landed double 12 to snatch the set, after Beaton missed a dart at the bullseye.
Whitlock, who averaged over 105 against Dennis Smith in the first round, hit a maximum in the process of taking the first leg of set two, and then broke throw in the next with a 15-dart finish. Beaton stopped the rot by hitting double ten to win his first leg in nine, after Whitlock had missed a dart at double top for the set.
Beaton then won the fourth leg with a 64 finish, after Whitlock was off-target with two more darts to win the set, and the 1996 Lakeside Champion converted a 108 checkout in the deciding leg to win the set and pull back to 2-1.
Whitlock made a positive start to the fourth set, taking the first two legs with the aid of legs of 14 and 11 darts which both featured a maximum, before Beaton took the third after the Australian missed two chances to win the set. Beaton hit an excellent 121 checkout to take the fourth leg, but was unable to set up a double when attempting to take out 79, and Whitlock hit tops to restore his two-set advantage.
Beaton started the fifth set well with a 12-dart finish to take the first leg before Whitlock levelled by taking out 81 for another 11-darter. The third leg fell the way of Beaton before Whitlock hit double top with his first dart in the fourth to move a leg away from victory. The fifth leg saw Beaton crucially miss a dart at tops to win the set and keep the match alive, allowing Whitlock in to hit the same bed and take the win.

"I'm loving every minute of this," said Whitlock. "It's great to be back playing again and I live for the game, so to be part of matches like that is brilliant because it was a real struggle, despite the scoreline. "My leg's still a big problem and the ankle is swollen, but when I'm playing it doesn't affect me because the adrenaline takes over. "I'm only practising for 10-15 minutes at a time, so to play for five sets and longer is a struggle, but when I'm up there I forget about my foot because I'm so focused on the darts. "I'll have some physio tonight and see how I pull up ahead of Thursday because I've a tough game against Michael van Gerwen. He's playing the best darts I've seen from him for a few years and it should be a great match."



Colin Lloyd 4:1 Scott Rand
(3-1, 2-3, 3-1, 3-2, 3-2)
Colin Lloyd defeated Scott Rand with an excellent 4-1 win in the second round of the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship.
The match turned in Lloyd's favour when he hit a superb 167 checkout in the deciding leg of the fourth set, as he denied emerging star Rand the chance to level at two sets all.
Lloyd kicked on from a 3-1 lead to take victory, a decade after he reached the semi-finals in his previous best performance in the World Championship.

Colchester's Lloyd started confidently, hitting a 180 with his first three darts before going on to win the opening leg with a 76 finish to break throw. Rand, who was hugely impressive in his victory against Andy Smith in the first round, broke back immediately, hitting a 180 of his own in a 14-darter before Lloyd regained the lead by hitting double top with his third dart. The fourth leg saw Lloyd off-target with four attempts to win the set, but Rand failed to capitalise as he missed four darts at double top to allow him back in on double nine.
Lloyd then took the opening leg of the second set on double top and finished 90 on the bullseye, to win his fourth successive leg before Rand hit double eight to win the next. Rand hit double 16 to win the fourth leg and then landed double ten with a pressure third dart to level the match, after Lloyd missed a dart at double 14.
The third set began well for Lloyd as he hit double ten to take the first leg, and a 14-dart finish gave him the second. Rand, who will give up his day job as a lorry driver to become a full-time professional following the World Championship, hit a superb 140 checkout to win the third leg, but a missed dart at double top was costly for the Coventry man, as Lloyd hit double 16 to take the set 3-1.
Rand broke throw at the beginning of set four by hitting double top, but Lloyd claimed the second by landing the same double. Both players held throw in the next two legs before Lloyd produced a fantastic 167 checkout in the deciding leg to move 3-1 ahead, with Rand waiting on double four to tie the game.
The opening two legs of the fifth set were held with throw before Rand hit back-to-back maximums to leave the opportunity of a nine-dart finish in the third. The attempt at seventh treble 20 missed its intended target, but the leg was won in 13 darts, as he landed double eight to lead again. Lloyd took out 64 to win the fourth leg to move a just one away from victory, after Rand was off-target with a dart at bullseye to win the set. The deciding leg saw Rand miss another dart at the bullseye, and the former world number one hit double five with his third dart to seal victory.

"I'm over the moon with that," said Lloyd. "I'm playing pretty well and although it's not fantastic I'm getting the job done and I can build on this. "Scott gave me a few chances, but the 167 was a massive shot to move 3-1 up instead of him getting back to two-all, and I know it hurt him. "I'm enjoying myself and trying to have fun on stage as well but there's also the serious prize at the end of this tournament, and to become Ladbrokes World Darts Champion is what I'm aiming for."







Contact © Global Darts. All Rights Reserved. Impressum