PDC World Championship - Report Third Day
BARNEY CRUISES THROUGH AS CHISNALL'S KO'D BY HENDERSON
Raymond van Barneveld cruised into the second round of the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship with a straight sets win over Jamie Lewis on Sunday night, as number seven seed Dave Chisnall was knocked out at Alexandra Palace by John Henderson.
Dutch star van Barneveld, the five-time World Champion, lost only three legs as he swept aside emerging Welsh youngster Lewis 3-0 in their opener in the £1 million tournament.
Van Barneveld opened the clash with a 180 before taking the first set 3-1, and repeated the scoreline in the next two before he completed a fine performance with a 141 finish to book his last 16 spot.
"If you just see the result then you think it's a comfortable win, but it wasn't," said van Barneveld. "Jamie played some really good darts and put me under pressure, so I'm really happy with the win. Jamie let me in with a few crucial doubles but he's a kid to watch in the future. I took my chances well and the 141 to win the match was great for me. I still feel I've got another World Championship title in me - I wouldn't be here competing if I didn't."
The number ten seed now plays Jamie Caven in the second round on Friday night, after the Derby ace knocked out another Dutchman, Jelle Klaasen, with a 3-1 win on Sunday night. Caven raced through the first two sets without Klaasen winning a leg, hitting a spectacular 158 finish in the process, and though the former Lakeside Champion took the third set without reply, the Derby ace took the fourth 3-1 to seal his last 32 spot.
"I'm over the moon with that," said Caven, a first round loser to qualifier John Bowles 12 months ago. "It was a case of digging in and hitting him early, and I went 2-0 up really quickly. When he came back to 2-1 I wanted to try and see it out as quickly as I could, and I'm really happy that I did. I've put more than I ever have into the game this year and had a really good year, and I'm looking forward to whatever's in front of me."
Number seven seed Dave Chisnall, though, became the biggest casualty so far in the tournament as he lost out 3-2 to John Henderson in a fifth set tie-break, despite hitting 11 180s in a see-saw contest.
Scottish ace Henderson took out 122 on the bull to win the deciding leg of a tight first set, before taking the second without reply - including a showpiece 132 finish of bullseye, bullseye and double 16 - to move 2-0 up.
He also led 2-1 in the third set as he closed on victory, only for Chisnall to level the set and take out 121 in the decider to hit back, before he soared through the fourth set 3-0 to square the contest.
Chisnall's charge continued as he moved to the brink of victory at 2-1 in the fifth set, only to miss a total of four match darts in two legs as Henderson hit back to win the deciding set 5-3 and claim his first Alexandra Palace win.
"It's the best win of my career," said Henderson. "Even at two sets up I knew that Dave would really come back at me, and I felt my chance may have gone so I'm just so relieved to have won. It was a very hard game. I had to focus and really concentrate in that fifth set, and fortunately for me it worked out. I don't think I've ever played in a game like that - I feel speechless. I've got my first win on this great stage and I'm glad to have come through a very hard tie."
Northern Ireland's Brendan Dolan was the night's other winner, as he saw off Derby's Colin Osborne in straight sets. Osborne had come into the tournament a week earlier as a replacement for the Philippines Qualifier Edward Santos, and defeated Denmark's Dennis Lindskjold 4-1 in their preliminary round game, but was unable to upset the number 15 seed. Dolan took out 118 to win the opening leg before winning the set 3-1, and after edging the second in a deciding leg - which featured a 167 checkout from the Northern Irish ace - he came from a leg down in the third with three successive legs to seal a second round tie with Gary Anderson.
"Colin hasn't had a great year, but on any given day he can destroy you and I knew that, so I had to be at my best," said Dolan. "I worked at my scoring and as the game went on I think I got it. I didn't feel totally comfortable up there and I think there's a lot more in my scoring, but my finishing was very good. I believe I belong here now, whereas before I was hoping I could mix it with the best in the world. I've worked hard at my darts to get this far and I'll work harder to get to the top. I do believe I will get to the top, I'm not at the top yet but with every day I'm playing, I'm getting closer."