PDC World Championship - Report Fourth Day
KIM WINS HUYBRECHTS FAMILY BATTLE AS PETERSEN & EVANS CAUSE UPSETS
Kim Huybrechts won the battle of the Belgian brothers by coming from a set down against Ronny to win their Ladbrokes World Championship clash 3-1 on Monday night, as South Africa's Devon Petersen returned to the limelight by knocking out Steve Beaton at Alexandra Palace.History was made as brothers faced off in the World Championship for the first time, as world number 12 Kim Huybrechts fended off the challenge of older brother Ronny. However, it was the 48-year-old, on his World Championship debut, who drew first blood by winning the game's opening set 3-1, and also led 2-0 in the second set - only to miss four darts to double his lead. Kim hit back to edge the set 3-2 and took the third set in the same manner to move 2-1 up, before racing through the fourth set without reply to seal a hard-fought victory.
"I'm a very lucky boy because Ronny was by far the better player," said Kim afterwards. "It's the hardest game I've ever played in my life. It was a game of weakness, not of strength today. After I made it 1-1 in sets I thought I was going to win, but I think whoever won the third set was going to win the game. I will feel far better mentally for my next game against Ian White because there will be no emotion in the game."
<<Ronny had only turned professional in January when he won a Tour Card at Qualifying School, and he has since partnered his brother to the World Cup of Darts final and reached the European Championship semi-finals.
"I've had an amazing year and it's disappointing the way it's finished," he conceded. "If I'd drawn someone else maybe it would have been a different story, but I've got mixed feelings. The first set was okay and then I went 2-0 up in the second set and started thinking! I missed four darts four the set and he stepped in and took it. I know if it was 2-0 it was game over, but he came back well."
The night featured two upsets as seeded stars Steve Beaton and Ronnie Baxter were knocked out by returning Devon Petersen and debutant Ricky Evans respectively.
South African ace Petersen, making his return to the big stage after taking a year out of the sport to overcome an arm injury, defeated Malaysia's Mohammed Latif Sapup 4-1 in their preliminary round game just to win through to the first round. Petersen then landed a 141 checkout in the opening set of his clash with Beaton, only for the former Lakeside Champion to take first blood 3-1. The South African Masters champion hit back to level by taking the second set 3-2, with Beaton coming back from 2-0 down to level only to miss four darts to double his lead as Petersen squared the game. The youngster then came from a leg down to take the third set 3-1, and edged the fourth in a decider on double 16 to joyfully seal his second round place, delighting the Alexandra Palace crowd with his dance moves in the process!
"It's a fantastic feeling to have beaten a great player like Steve," said Petersen. "I felt like I was waiting for Steve to turn up, and I took advantage. It's a big thing for me because I get to come back for another game now. The injury has set me back a year but I really enjoyed this and the crowd were fantastic with me."
World Youth Championship finalist Evans, meanwhile produced a major upset with a straight sets win over veteran ace Ronnie Baxter.
Evans won the game's first set without reply in only five minutes, and took the second 3-1 before completing a rapid-fire triumph when he edged the third in a deciding leg.
"I'm speechless," admitted the 23-year-old from Kettering. "It's not bad for a debut and I'm chuffed to bits - I'll remember this for the rest of my life. My dream was to be at Ally Pally in the World Championship, and I've done that and I'm in the second round, so who knows what can happen now? The only time I had nerves was on the walk-on, and the first set really settled me down. I played really well. The 180s and the doubles were going in, and everything clicked. Since Qualifying School, my game has gone up and up. I always knew I could play darts, but if you'd said to me two years ago that I'd be beating these kind of players I'd have laughed at you, so I'm really happy."
The night's other winner was Mervyn King, who dropped only one leg as he swept past American number one Darin Young in straight sets with a fine display. The former semi-finalist took the first two sets without reply to take command of the match, and also led 2-0 in the third before the left-hander replied with double seven. Young then scored 180, 140 and 165 in the next leg as he threatened a comeback, only to miss 13 darts at doubles as King clawed back into the leg before claiming the win on double top.
"In the first two sets I felt totally in control, and everything Darin did I matched or bettered, and I never felt like I was going to lose," said King. My performance fell away a little bit at the end and I managed to fall over the winning line. I feel a lot better about my game now than I did at this time last year, when I peaked too early and lost to Dean Winstanley, but I'm still on the way up. If it keeps going and I do hit form then I'm going a long way. I've got Ricky Evans next, and the way he dispatched Ronnie Baxter shows that he's getting used to the stage."