PDC World Championship - Match Report 5. Day
LEWIS EASES THROUGH AS KING AND CULLEN WIN WILLIAM HILL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP THRILLERS
ADRIAN LEWIS began his 2017 William Hill World Darts Championship campaign with a routine victory over Magnus Caris on Monday, while Meryvn King and Joe Cullen both came through exciting encounters at Alexandra Palace.
Lewis, last year's runner-up to Gary Anderson, began his bid to be crowned as World Champion for a third time with a straight sets success against Swedish number one Magnus Caris. After losing the first set, Caris missed one dart to win the second before Lewis eased through the third to move into the second round in comfortable fashion.
"I was just pleased to get the job done," said Lewis, the number four seed who took glory in the 2011 and 2012 World Championships. "Everybody is a bit nervous and apprehensive in the first round but I was okay. It was hard to get in a rhythm but I'll get better as it goes on."
Lewis will meet Cullen in the second round after the Yorkshireman reached that stage for the first time, having failed to do so in six previous attempts.
Cullen came out on top in a a high quality affair against Australian prospect Corey Cadby, who had produced a brilliant performance in flooring China's Qiang Sun with a preliminary round record average of 102 in a six-leg whitewash. Cullen then averaged over 100 as he recovered from losing the first set to the PDC Unicorn World Youth Champion, who took out six finishes of over 100 across his two matches.
"Corey played really well," admitted Cullen, who has enjoyed the best year of his career in 2016 to break into the world's top 32. "I'm just happy to get over the line. The hoodoo is over now and I feel really confident. I'm looking forward to playing Adrian. He's a great player and a great guy but if play my game I can cause him trouble."
King, meanwhile, came back from two sets down to defeat Steve West in a thrilling tie-breaker, defying eight 180s from his opponent.
King's fight-back was sparked by a superbly timed 136 checkout to stay alive in the third set with West waiting on 36 for the match, before the former Alexandra Palace semi-finalist battled back to progress.
"I haven't got words for this," said an emotional King, who faces Michael Smith in round two. "I played one of my best mates and I feel really sorry for Steve. I've played some fantastic games and won a lot of things over the years but getting through the first round here is special. I'm going to play a lot better against Michael so he better watch out."