World Championship - Day Three

PAUL NICHOLSON overcame Austrian Mensur Suljovic 3-1 to win through to the second round of the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship, but veteran star Denis Ovens was forced to withdraw through injury.

Nicholson, the number nine seed at Alexandra Palace, had to show his class to see off a determined showing from Suljovic, who reached the last 16 a year ago.

Nicholson took out 110 in winning the first set before a 121 checkout saw Suljovic take the second 302, but Nicholson won the third before coming from 2-1 down in the fourth to secure progression.

There was drama in the night's final game, when UK Open semi-finalist Denis Ovens withdrew through injury a set into his game with German debutant Kevin Munch.

Ovens had suffered a trapped nerve in his back which caused shooting pains in his throwing arm, and after losing the opening three legs without earning a dart at a double the 54-year-old pulled out.

Earlier, Steve Beaton came from two sets down to defeat Sweden's Magnus Caris in a fifth-set tie-break to earn his spot in the second round.

The former Lakeside Champion won only two legs as Caris took the first two sets and moved 2-1 up in the third, only to miss three match darts in the set's deciding leg.

Beaton won the set and then took the fourth without reply to level the game, only to see Caris move 2-1 up in the decider.

However, double 16 kept Beaton in the game and he took out 100 and 61 in the next two to complete a remarkable turnaround.

Holland's Vincent van der Voort turned on the style by hitting 11 180s in a 3-2 defeat of Mark Hylton, the left-hander who twice hit back to level the game only to see last year's quarter-finalist take the deciding set without reply.

Earlier in the day, Jelle Klaasen banished his big-stage blues with victory over Peter Wright in the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship on Saturday afternoon, while Steve Farmer knocked Ronnie Baxter out of the £1 million event at Alexandra Palace.

Dutchman Klaasen, the 2006 Lakeside Champion, entered the World Championship having not won a televised game since the summer of 2010, and has dropped out of the world's top 32 in recent months.

However, he turned on the style with three ton-plus checkouts as he defeated Lowestoft's Wright 3-1, taking the first six legs without reply before holding off a mid-game rally from his colourful opponent.

Another seed, Blackpool's Ronnie Baxter, was knocked out in Saturday afternoon's session when he went down 3-2 to Shropshire's Steve Farmer.

Farmer won the game's first set without reply before Baxter took the next two to lead, but the former landscape gardener hit five 180s in taking six of the game's final eight legs for victory.

Farmer has worked to improve his stamina in recent weeks and is considering entering the London Marathon after proving his fitness across a five-set thriller.

Scotland's Robert Thornton set up a clash with reigning champion Adrian Lewis for the second successive year at Alexandra Palace with a 3-1 win over Ian White, the latest star of the Stoke darting nursery to appear in the World Championship.

Left-hander Alan Tabern was the afternoon's other winner as he held off a fightback from Philippines number one Christian Perez 3-1, meaning he now faces the winner of Saturday evening's clash between Paul Nicholson and Mensur Suljovic in the second round.

Perez reached the last 64 for the second time in the World Championship with an impressive 4-0 whitewash of Austrian qualifier Dietmar Burger in the preliminary round.

The second round continues on Sunday evening with four further first round games and the preliminary round contest between Ireland's Connie Finnan and New Zealand number one Warren French.

Five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld enters the fray when he takes on Northamptonshire-based debutant James Richardson, while Mark Dudbridge plays Dave Chisnall, World Grand Prix finalist Brendan Dolan meets Belgian Kim Huybrechts and Mark Walsh plays the preliminary round winner.

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Schedule of Play
Ladbrokes World Darts Championship
Preliminary (P) and First Round
Saturday December 17
Afternoon Session (12pm)
Peter Wright 1-3 Jelle Klaasen
Dietmar Burger 0-4 Christian Perez (P)
Ronnie Baxter 2-3 Steve Farmer
Robert Thornton 3-1 Ian White
Alan Tabern 3-1 Christian Perez

Evening Session (7pm)
Steve Beaton 3-2 Magnus Caris
Kevin Munch 4-2 Lee Choon Peng (P)
Vincent van der Voort 3-2 Mark Hylton
Paul Nicholson 3-1 Mensur Suljovic
Denis Ovens 0-1 Kevin Munch (Denis Ovens withdrew through injury after first set)

JELLE KLAASEN 3-1 PETER WRIGHT
(3-0, 3-0, 1-3, 3-1)
JELLE KLAASEN secured his first televised victory for almost 18 months in the first round of the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship with an excellent 3-1 triumph over Peter Wright.

The former Lakeside Champion romped through the first two sets by winning six consecutive legs and although Wright took the third he sealed victory in the next to send the Lowestoft ace out of the competition.

The match began with both players missing chances to win the opening leg before Klaasen took it on double top.

Wright was off-target with another dart at double top in the second, and Klaasen made him pay by landing double 16 to lead 2-0.

Wright, who was defeated by Phil Taylor in last year's competition, hit a 180 in the third leg but missed four more darts at doubles and Klaasen hit a 100 checkout - finished on double 16 - to seal the first set.

The beginning of the second set followed the pattern of the first as Klaasen capitalised on more missed doubles from Wright to take the first leg and then won the next with a clinical 119 checkout.

The Dutchman fired a 180 in the third leg and went on to win it by hitting double 16 to leave Wright two sets down and without a leg to his name.

After 11 missed darts at doubles, Wright was finally successful with his twelfth attempt to make a winning start to the third set before Klaasen levelled courtesy of a 120 finish.

Wright hit double ten to take the third leg and the fourth also fell in favour of the Scottish-born star as he hit double eight with his third dart to take the set.

Wright posted double top to win the first leg of the fourth set before the 2006 Lakeside Champion hit double five with his third dart to take the second.

Klaasen then secured a vital break of throw to take third leg by hitting double top, and an accurate dart at double 16 sealed an excellent win for the Dutchman.

"I've been trying different darts to improve my game and it hasn't really worked for me," admitted Klaasen.

"Peter was off-target with his doubles in the first two sets and that allowed me to gain confidence.

"I still feel that I will have to play a lot better in my next match but I am delighted with today's win."

Peter Wright

1-3

Jelle Klaasen

17

100+

20

6

140+

7

4

180s

2

29.47

Ave 1

29.41

88.40

Ave 3

88.24

83

High Finish

120, 119, 100

2

Legs Against Throw

5

4/18 - 22%

Finishing - %

10/16 - 63%

CHRISTIAN PEREZ 4-0 DIETMAR BURGER
CHRISTIAN PEREZ progressed to a first round clash against Alan Tabern courtesy of a whitewash victory over Austria's Dietmar Burger in the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship preliminary round.

Perez, playing in the World Championship for the second time in three years, made a good start to the match by breaking his opponent's throw with a 110 checkout and then hit double top to increase his lead to 2-0.

Burger struggled to find any kind of form on the big stage and missed two darts at doubles in the third leg as Perez took the chance to pull further away by hitting double top for the second time.

The Austrian missed a dart at double 17 to keep the match alive in leg four and Perez completed a comfortable win by landing double ten.

Dietmar Burger

0-4

Christian Perez

5

100+

6

1

140+

3

0

180s

0

22.48

Ave 1

24.44

67.44

Ave 3

73.32

-

High Finish

110

-

Legs Against Throw

2

0/4 - %

Finishing - %

4/10 - 33%


STEVE FARMER 3-2 RONNIE BAXTER
(3-0, 2-3, 2-3, 3-1, 3-1)
STEVE FARMER came from 2-1 down to claim an excellent five-set victory over Ronnie Baxter in the first round of the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship.

The 46-year-old from Telford won the first five legs of the match as he took the first set and moved to within touching distance of the second, but lost six of the next eight as Baxter took command.

Farmer, though, showed his renewed stamina following a recent fitness regime to win the final two sets 3-1 and condemn Baxter to a first round defeat at the World Championship for the first time in five years.

"When I drew Ronnie I knew it was a tough draw but my plan to win the first set and build on that," said Farmer.

"Ronnie's a legend and such a solid player but when I got the first set I grew in belief. I had a little bit of luck and although I didn't make it easy for myself, it's fantastic to win.

"I used to run out of stamina but I've been doing a lot of running - I'm doing a couple of seven mile runs a week and would like to do the London Marathon, although that would take some doing - and in the deciding set I proved that it's working.

"I've been practising hard and getting into shape, but I'll treat myself to Christmas dinner now - and no pudding - and look forward to the second round."

Farmer broke Baxter's throw in the opening leg by hitting double top and then repeated the trick to win the second.

The third leg saw Baxter miss two darts at double 18 and Farmer hit tops for the third consecutive leg to win the first set comfortably.

Farmer, playing at Alexandra Palace for the second time, made a positive start to set two by hitting double three to win the first leg and then took out 86 to win the second.

Baxter finally got on the board by hitting a 98 finish to win the third leg after Farmer missed double top to take the set and double his lead.

Baxter managed to hit double top to win the fourth leg and hit the same bed with a pressure third dart to level the match at one set apiece.

Farmer won the first leg of the third set against the darts with a 79 finish, but Baxter broke straight back by hitting double 18 at the first time of asking.

Farmer claimed another break of throw by taking out 85 to win the third leg, but Baxter secured the fourth by landing double top.

Baxter had advantage of throw in the deciding leg and he made it count by landing double six to lead the match for the first time.

Farmer started the fourth set with a 102 checkout before Baxter took the second in 13 darts, which included scores of 177 and 174.

Farmer won the third leg with a 14-dart finish before winning the fourth against the darts by landing double three to force a deciding set.

Farmer began the final set well by breaking throw to win the first leg and took the next by landing double top to move one leg away from victory.

Baxter hit double eight to take the third leg but a seventh 180 followed by an accurate attempt at double top sealed a great win for the Shropshire ace.

Ronnie Baxter

2-3

Steve Farmer

24

100+

27

14

140+

11

2

180s

7

29.60

Ave 1

29.14

88.79

Ave 3

87.43

98

High Finish

102

4

Legs Against Throw

6

8/23 - 35%

Finishing - %

13/38 - 34%


ROBERT THORNTON 3-1 IAN WHITE
(3-2, 1-3, 3-2, 3-2)
ROBERT THORNTON booked a place in the last 32 of the 2012 Ladbrokes World Darts Championship with a four-set triumph against Stoke's Ian White.

The Scotsman will now face Adrian Lewis next Thursday in a repeat of their clash at Alexandra Palace 12 months ago, when the Stoke ace defeated Thornton on his way to the title.

The victory also ended a miserable six months for Thornton, who reached the UK Open quarter-finals in June but was struck down by a bout of pneumonia in the summer.

"It was a bit sketchy in places but overall I'm very happy with my performance," said Thornton.

"Ian's so consistent and whenever I got a couple of legs away from him he was always there and I couldn't take my foot off the pedal because he's a battler.

"I've been off for a while with pneumonia and it sidelined me for a while so it's good to get through the first round."

Both players held throw comfortably in the opening two legs of the match and that sequence continued as Thornton hit a clinical 101 finish to claim the third.

White hit double four to win the fourth, but Thornton took the deciding leg to establish an early lead by hitting double 19 with his third dart.

White hit a maximum in the process of claiming the first leg of set two before both players in 180s in the next.

Thornton was first to a finish, but wasted four chances at double nine to allow White to step in and hit double four and secure a break of throw.

The third leg saw White miss a dart at double top for a 125 finish, which would have given him the set, and Thornton landed double 18 to steal the leg.

White missed a second dart at tops to win the set in the fourth leg, but Thornton was off-target with four darts at doubles, and the Stoke ace hit double five with a pressure third dart to level the match.

Thornton hit double seven to win the opening leg of set three, but was guilty of missing three darts at doubles to take the second, which allowed White to level.

The Scotsman hit a 13-dart finish to claim the third leg, but his opponent replied with one of his own to force a decider.

Thornton had advantage of throw and a timely 180 allowed the number 31 seed to pull clear, and the leg was won in 13 darts as he led the match for the second time.

White made a good start to the fourth set by hitting double top to take the opening leg and an accurate attempt at double ten secured a break of throw.

Thornton, though,hit a 12-darter to break-back and then hit double top to take the fourth leg.

The Scotsman then produced some excellent scoring to leave 81 after nine darts thrown, and he returned to the oche to complete an 11-dart finish to seal the match in style.

Robert Thornton

3-1

Ian White

31

100+

26

14

140+

15

5

180s

3

31.12

Ave 1

30.01

93.35

Ave 3

90.02

101

High Finish

64

3

Legs Against Throw

2

10/29 - 34%

Finishing - %

9/19 - 47%


ALAN TABERN 3-1 CHRISTIAN PEREZ
(3-1, 3-1, 1-3, 3-2)
ALAN TABERN survived a scare before defeating Philippines number one Christian Perez 3-1 in the first round of the Ladbrokes World Darts Championships at Alexandra Palace.

Tabern took a two-set lead before Perez - who had whitewashed Dietmar Burger in the preliminary round - won the third and had chances to take the match the full distance, before the left-hander came through to confirm a place in the last 32.

Tabern hit double eight to win the first leg after Perez was just off-target on double ten for a 140 checkout.

The Philippines qualifier produced an excellent 13-dart finish to take the second leg before Tabern regained the lead by taking out 65 on double 16.

Tabern, who missed six darts at doubles to reach the third round in last year's event, hit double ten in the fourth leg to establish an early lead.

Perez, who defeated Dietmar Burger in the preliminary round, hit a second maximum in the process of making a winning start to the second set.

Tabern won the second with a two-dart 68 finish before taking the third with an excellent 130 checkout.

The St Helens ace hit a maximum in the fourth leg and converted a 121 finish to double his lead and leave Perez with a mountain to climb.

Tabern continued his superb finishing at the start of the fourth with a 149 checkout before Perez stopped his opponent's run of winning legs by hitting double four with his third dart.

The third leg saw Tabern miss two darts at double 16 and Perez hit tops to break throw, and the Philippine qualifier then hit double three in the next to claim the set.

Both players held throw in the opening two legs of the fourth set before Perez won the third on double four, after Tabern missed three chances to break.

Tabern, a quarter-finalist in his first appearance at the World Championship in 2007, hit tops to win the fourth leg before Perez missed two darts at doubles to force a final set.

Those errors proved to be costly for Perez as the St Helens man took out 122 on the bullseye to close out the match in dramatic fashion.

"I feel a little bit lucky and a little bit relieved," said Tabern. "I was on edge so I'm happy to get through.

"If you're playing someone like Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld or James Wade you have different pressure and you can play your normal game, but sometimes there is more pressure when people think you have an easier draw.

"It didn't turn out that way and Christian played well."

Alan Tabern

3-1

Christian Perez

28

100+

24

12

140+

14

2

180s

2

28.94

Ave 1

28.67

86.81

Ave 3

86.01

149, 122, 121

High Finish

57

3

Legs Against Throw

1

 10/26 - 38%

Finishing - %

7/22 - 32%


EVENING SESSION

STEVE BEATON 3-2 MAGNUS CARIS
(0-3, 1-3, 3-2, 3-0, 4-2)
STEVE BEATON came back from 2-0 down to claim a remarkable first round victory against Magnus Caris at the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship.

Beaton produced an under-par display in the first two sets and looked set for a first round exit at Alexandra Palace for a second consecutive year.

But Caris missed three darts to seal a straight sets victory and Beaton, with enthusiastic support from the Alexandra Palace crowd, won the next two with the aid of eight straight legs to force deciding set, which he won in a tie-breaker.

Caris made a good start to the match by holding throw on double 12 to win the first leg and hit double top after Beaton missed two darts at doubles.

The Swede, making his third successove appearance at Alexandra Palace, then won the set in the third leg with an excellent 107 checkout.

Caris also made a positive start to the second set by breaking throw to win the first leg before hitting double top for the second consecutive leg to put Beaton under immense pressure.

Caris was off-target with five attempts at doubles to win the set in the third leg and Beaton managed to hit double ten to take his first leg of the match.

Caris had the advantage of throw in the fourth leg and he hit double top for the third time in the set to double his lead.

The Swede began the third set with an accomplished 13-dart finish before Beaton landed double nine to win just his second leg of the match.

Both players held throw in the next two legs before a dramatic decider saw Caris miss three darts to win the match and Beaton held his nerve to land double four to keep the match alive.

The start of the fourth set saw opportunities missed by both men to claim the leg before Beaton won it on double four.

The 1996 Lakeside Champion then won his fifth leg in a row by taking out 65 in two darts before hitting double 16 to set up a final-set decider.

Caris won his first leg in nine at the start of the set, with a two-dart 83 finish, before Beaton won the second by taking out 62.

Caris won the third leg to move one away from the match for a second time, after his opponent missed two chances at double 16.

Beaton hit double 16 to level at 2-2 and then took the fifth leg with an excellent 100 finish to break throw.

That proved to be vital as the former World Champion took out 61 to win the sixth leg and end an incredible match.

Steve Beaton

3-2

Magnus Caris

24

100+

30

13

140+

16

0

180s

2

27.27

Ave 1

29.07

81.80

Ave 3

87.21

100

High Finish

107

3

Legs Against Throw

2

11/31 - 35%

Finishing - %

10/31 - 32%

KEVIN MUNCH 4-2 LEE CHOON PENG
KEVIN MUNCH secured a 4-2 victory over Malaysia's Lee Choon Peng to set up a first round clash against Denis Ovens later on Saturday evening.

Choon Peng hit double two to win the first leg before the 23-year-old produced a superb 12-dart leg, completed with a 155 checkout, to take the second.

Munch secured a break of throw by hitting double ten to win the third leg and hit the same double in the next to increase his lead to 3-1.

Choon Peng held throw to win the fifth leg before Munch landed double two in the sixth to end the contest.

Kevin Munch

4-2

Lee Choon Peng

3

100+

11

6

140+

1

2

180s

0

27.58

Ave 1

25.96

82.74

Ave 3

77.88

155

High Finish

120

1

Legs Against Throw

0

4/11 - 36%

Finishing - %

2/4 - 50%


VINCENT VAN DER VOORT 3-2 MARK HYLTON
(3-1, 2-3, 3-1, 2-3, 3-0)
VINCENT VAN DER VOORT came through A five-set first round thriller at the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship with victory over Mark Hylton.

The Dutchman led the match on two occasions only to be pegged back by his opponent before taking the final set to end Hylton's hopes of another good run at Alexandra Palace.

"I've been struggling for form in the last few events, but the crowd lifted me and I produced some good darts," said van der Voort, who hit 11 180s in the match.

"The crowd were so supportive towards me and that was a major factor in me coming on top against Mark, who is a quality player."

Van der Voort hit an 83 finish to win the opening leg of the match before both players registered maximums in the second.

Hylton won it on double top before the Dutchman, who enjoyed an excellent run to the last 16 a year ago, hit a superb 134 checkout to take the third.

The fourth leg saw Hylton guilty of missing three darts at doubles and van der Voort cashed in by landing double eight to win the first set.

Hylton started the second set well by breaking throw with the aid of a maximum and the second also fell the way of the man from Rugeley, after both players missed previous attempts at doubles.

In the third leg, Hylton missed three darts to win the set and van der Voort stepped in to hit double 14 and took the fourth by converting an 80 finish.

Hylton threw first in the deciding leg and managed to land a pressure double six with his last dart to level the match at one set apiece.

Van der Voort held throw at the start of the third set and then hit a 14-dart finish to win the second leg after both players had hit 180s.

Hylton hit double top to win the third, but missed two darts at the bed to take the fourth and that proved expensive as van der Voort took out 75 to win the set and lead for the second time.

Van der Voort hit his ninth maximum of the game at the start of the fourth set, but missed three darts at double top and Hylton hit the same bed to take the leg.

The second leg proved to be role reversal of the first as Hylton missed chances for a 2-0 lead, allowing Van der Voort to level.

Hylton won the third leg with a 13-darter but missed three chances to win the set in the next and Van der Voort took the leg by hitting tops.

The Dutchman hit another maximum in the deciding leg but Hylton won it with an excellent two-dart 72 finish to force a fifth set.

Van der Voort started the decider in confident fashion with a 12-dart finish followed by double eight to establish a 2-0 lead.

The third leg also fell the way of the Dutchman as he hit double top at the first time of asking to seal a place in the second round.

Vincent van der Voort

3-2

Mark Hylton

28

100+

29

6

140+

17

11

180s

3

31.90

Ave 1

29.83

95.70

Ave 3

89.49

134

High Finish

104

5

Legs Against Throw

2

13/28 - 46%

Finishing - %

8/29 - 28%


PAUL NICHOLSON 3-1 MENSUR SULJOVIC
(3-1, 2-3, 3-1, 3-2)
PAUL NICHOLSON was made to work hard before seeing off Mensur Suljovic in four sets to seal a place in the last 32 of the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace.

Suljovic had chances to take the match the full distance, but five missed darts at doubles allowed Nicholson to close out the match and set up a clash against Alan Tabern on December 27.

The match started with Nicholson missing six darts at doubles, but Suljovic missed five chances of his own to claim an early break of throw.

Nicholson won it on double one and then hit an excellent 110 checkout to win the second leg against the darts.

Suljovic won the third with a clinical two-dart 80 finish before Nicholson took the next in 14 darts to claim an early lead.

Nicholson made a winning start to set two by hitting double 16 before Suljovic hit-back to take the second with a two-dart 85 finish.

Nicholson regained the lead by hitting double four but the Austrian pegged back again by taking out 78 in two darts.

Suljovic produced some excellent darts in the deciding leg as he hit a 180, followed by a 121 checkout, completed on the bullseye, to win the set in superb fashion.

The Austrian, who defeated James Wade in last year's tournament, dominated the opening leg of the third set, but three missed darts at doubles proved costly as Nicholson landed double 16 to break.

Nicholson hit double eight to take the second but missed two chances to wrap up the set in the third leg and Suljovic stepped in on double top.

The number nine seed made no mistake in the fourth leg to win the set and then won the first leg of set four against the darts with a two-dart 88 finish.

Suljovic took the second with an accomplished 108 checkout and then won the third on double ten after Nicholson missed a dart at double 18 for a 144 checkout.

Nicholson won the fourth leg against the throw with an excellent 13-dart finish and won the decider on double top with his third dart after Suljovic missed five darts to force a fifth set.

Paul Nicholson

3-1

Mensur Suljovic

19

100+

30

17

140+

5

4

180s

4

30.34

Ave 1

30.12

91.01

Ave 3

90.36

110

High Finish

121, 108

4

Legs Against Throw

2

 11/28 - 39%

Finishing - %

7/21 - 33%


KEVIN MUNCH 1-0 DENIS OVENS *Ovens retired injured*
(3-0, Ovens retired following first set)

KEVIN MUNCH received a bye into the second round of the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship after Denis Ovens was forced to retire from the match after the first set.

Ovens came into the contest complaining of a trapped nerve in his back and the problem forced him to concede.

The 23-year-old German, making his debut at the World Championship, beat Lee Choon Peng 4-2 in his Preliminary Round game earlier in the evening, to book a clash against Ovens.

He will now face Steve Farmer for a place in the last 16 of the competition after the Telford player defeated Ronnie Baxter earlier in the day.

"I didn't want to give up but there was too much pain when I was throwing," admitted Ovens. "I was in bed for two days after injuring my back.

"It's gone before because I work in building, and I thought it was getting better but on Saturday I had shooting pains down my right arm."

Denis Ovens

0-1

Kevin Munch

1

100+

2

1

140+

5

0

180s

0

21.88

Ave 1

32.67

65.64

Ave 3

98.02

-

High Finish

81

-

Legs Against Throw

1

-

Finishing - %

3/6 - 50%