PDC World Championship - Report Fifth Day
WINS FOR DUTCH DUO AND AUSSIE PAIR IN LADBROKES WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP
Michael van Gerwen, Simon Whitlock and Vincent van der Voort booked places in the second round of the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship on Tuesday night, as Australian newcomer Beau Anderson stunned Colin Lloyd in a sudden-death leg at Alexandra Palace.Van Gerwen, last year's beaten finalist at Alexandra Palace, dropped only one leg as he swept aside Austrian debutant Zoran Lerchbacher in straight sets.
Lerchbacher, a plumber by trade, had defeated emerging English star Ben Ward 4-1 in their preliminary round tie earlier in the evening, sealing victory with a 138 finish, but was unable to trouble the world number two. Van Gerwen took the game's first set without reply, and though the Austrian hit double 16 to open the second set, the Dutch ace added a further three legs to double his advantage. The Premier League champion then finished 137 in taking the third set without reply, as he wrapped up victory in only 24 minutes to set up a second round clash with Kevin McDine on Sunday.
"I got the job done tonight but I'm not happy about my performance," said van Gerwen. "I can do a lot better but it was enough to win the game, and that's important. I'm quite happy, and I know Kevin McDine better so I know what I need to do against him. It's good to be back at Alexandra Palace and I had some goosebumps, but it's all about this year for me and I'll be doing as much as I can to win."
Vincent van der Voort, who will be van Gerwen's Best Man at his wedding next August, completed a Dutch double on Tuesday as he defeated PDPA Qualifier Matt Clark in their first round tie. The pair shared the first two sets before van der Voort came from a leg down to win the third, and he also hit back from behind twice in the fourth set before double ten in the decider saw him seal victory.
"It was a struggle from start to finish but I got the win and now I've got a week to get things right," said van der Voort, who plays Adrian Lewis or Dennis Smith in the second round. "I'm happy to have a week off now, but I'll be doing whatever I can to put things right because if I play like I did tonight then I'll be going out."
There was also a national double for Australia as both Simon Whitlock and Beau Anderson recorded contrasting victories in their first round games on Tuesday - following up their country's victory.
Whitlock, the 2010 Alexandra Palace runner-up, was a straight sets winner against PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour winner Ross Smith as he dropped only four legs in progressing to a second round tie with Finland's Jarkko Komula. "It was quite solid in the end," said Whitlock. "The first round is always difficult but that's ten World Championships that I've played in and I've never lost in the first round, so hopefully I can keep that going. I was a bit tense at the beginning and I felt a bit uncomfortable, but once I got into the match I felt really comfortable towards the end. It's been a great day for Australia; we won the Ashes, and Beau and myself won tonight. I've been staying up watching the cricket and I've enjoyed every minute, but it would be awesome to take the World Championship title back home too. It's my dream to win the World Championship title and I'm never going to give up until I win it."
Anderson, meanwhile, stunned former world number one Colin Lloyd in a five-set thriller which went all the way to a sudden-death leg in the deciding set.
Lloyd twice hit back from a set behind to level the game, but was punished for missing his chances to break throw in a tense fifth set, which saw the first ten legs won with the throw before Anderson, with the advantage in a one-leg shoot-out, hit double eight for the biggest win of his career.
The Perth-based ace had seen his younger brother Kyle hit a nine-dart finish in defeat to Ian White on Saturday, but now progresses to play Robert Thornton in the last 32 of the £1 million event.
"It was very nerve-wracking and I'm so happy to get over the winning line. There were a couple of times there that I had the lead and I couldn't get that last double to put him away, and in the final leg I was shaking - it's the first time I've felt pressure like that for a long time, but I managed to overcome it. Colin played well but I managed to get there in the end, and it's a big step for everyone in Australia. I've waited for a very long time to get to this point, and I'm over the moon to get a win on my first appearance in the World Championship."