The Cazoo World Darts Championship continues on Saturday with a double session at London’s Alexandra Palace.
Day Three of the £2.5m tournament will see two second round ties and six first round matches take place, with 2010 runner-up Simon Whitlock and two-time TV title winner Daryl Gurney headlining the afternoon’s action.
Belgian number one Dimitri Van den Bergh and World Youth Champion Josh Rock enter the fray on Saturday evening, with four-time Women’s World Champion Lisa Ashton also set to feature.
Saturday December 17
Afternoon Session (1100 GMT)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Martin Lukeman 3-0 Nobuhiro Yamamoto (3-0, 3-1, 3-2) (R1)
Simon Whitlock 3-2 Christian Perez (3-0, 2-3, 3-2, 0-3, 3-1) (R1)
Adam Gawlas 3-2 Richie Burnett (3-0, 0-3, 1-3, 3-1, 3-1) (R1)
Alan Soutar 3-0 Daryl Gurney (3-2, 3-2, 3-2) (R2)
Evening Session (2000 GMT)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Ryan Meikle 3-2 Lisa Ashton (3-1, 3-2, 2-3, 2-3, 3-0) (R1)
Cameron Menzies 3-1 Diogo Portela (3-1, 1-3, 3-1, 3-1) (R1)
Josh Rock 3-1 Jose Justicia (3-1, 1-3, 3-1, 3-0) (R1)
Dimitri Van den Bergh 3-0 Lourence Ilagan (3-0, 3-2, 3-0) (R2)
Afternoon Session Report
Martin Lukeman enjoyed a stress-free debut as he breezed past Nobuhiro Yamamoto in straight sets.
A breakout star of 2022, Lukeman dropped just three legs against Japan’s Yamamoto, who went six darts into an unlikely nine-darter in the third set.
“I felt comfortable in the game but he was a bit of a slow player, so it took me a little while to get into it,” admitted Lukeman, who will meet Martin Schindler in round two.
“I won and that’s all that matters, I’m looking forward to the Martin Schindler game now.
“It felt brilliant being up there; I thought it was going to be same as other TV events I’ve played in but this is completely different.
“Now I’ve played one game up there I feel adjusted to my surroundings ahead the next one.”
Simon Whitlock kicked off his 20th World Championship campaign by surviving a huge scare from Christian Perez.
Former World Championship runner-up Whitlock eventually ran out a 3-2 winner after Perez spurned crucial doubles in the deciding set.
With the final set tied at 1-1, Perez missed nine darts at double as Whitlock won a 30-dart leg before following it up with a 13-dart break of throw to get over the winning line and set up a second round meeting with Jose de Sousa.
“That was a real battle, Christian played really well and it could’ve gone either way,” Whitlock conceded.
“I think I stayed calm, used my experience and just got lucky really.
“I came through it okay but I will have to be much better against Jose, he’s an amazing player and I know it’s going to be a really tough game.”
Adam Gawlas came from behind to claim a hard-fought win over Richie Burnett on his Ally Pally debut.
Former Lakeside Champion Burnett was making his first World Championship appearance in nine years, and looked on course for a winning return as he took a 2-1 lead in sets.
However, 20-year-old Czech Gawlas finished the encounter the stronger of the two, winning six of the last eight legs to set up a date with Ryan Searle in round two.
Daryl Gurney became the first seeded player to bow out of the tournament, going down 3-0 to Alan Soutar who once again impressed on the Ally Pally stage.
Soutar won the deciding leg of each set, winning it in style with a 160 checkout to once again progress past the Christmas break having enjoyed a run to the last 16 of last year’s event,
The popular Scot, who will work for the fire service over the Christmas break, will return to face Ryan Searle in round three.
“I’m absolutely buzzing, Daryl is a tough player but he missed loads of chances and let me in,” Soutar reflected.
“He’s a seed for a reason, he’s 24th in the world, he’s a lot better player than me but today is my day.
“I feel like I’m playing the darts of my life recently and I’m getting used to playing on the big stage now.”
Evening Session Report
Ryan Meikle ran out a 3-2 winner against Lisa Ashton, but had to fend off a remarkable comeback attempt from the four-time BDO Women’s Champion.
Both players were finding the doubles with ease as Meikle raced into a two-set lead, before a 117 checkout from Ashton sparked a run which saw her win six legs from eight to force a deciding set.
However, set five proved to be one-way traffic as Meikle took it 3-0 to earn the right to take on five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld in the second round.
Reflecting on the result, Meikle said: “I felt like I was cruising but when Lisa came back at me I was in a bit of trouble.
“I was under big pressure from the crowd as well but I held it together and I’m very pleased to have come through.
“I’ve won a game now and that was a big aim for me. Barney will be heavy favourite but if I relax and play like I can, I fancy it – I want to be back here after Christmas.”
Cameron Menzies’ doubling proved pivotal in earning him a 3-1 debut win over Brazil’s Diogo Portela.
Menzies looked visibly unhappy with his performance for much of the contest but sparked into life with a 137 to seal the third set and regain the advantage at 2-1.
The former BDO Championship semi-finalist finished the job in the following set to book a meeting with Vincent van der Voort in round two.
New sensationJosh Rock was victorious on his highly-anticipated World Championship debut, defeating Jose Justicia 3-1.
World Youth Champion Rock, who hit a nine-darter at November’s Grand Slam of Darts, came into the tournament among the bookmakers’ favourites.
But the Northern Irish youngster held it together on the big stage, pinning a 150 checkout on the way to winning the last two sets to set up a clash with Callan Rydz.
“My performance wasn’t great, a 93 average is not my game at all,” said Rock.
“I said I wasn’t going to feel the pressure but I did once I got up there; I think I coped with it okay.
“My confidence is sky-high, I won’t complain about the pressure of being one of the favourites because that is a positive.
“I’m eager to perform how I know I can in the next game, I’m confident I can have a good run here.”
Dimitri Van den Bergh produced the highest average and highest checkout of the tournament so far in a 3-0 whitewash of Lourence Ilagan.
Former World Matchplay champion Van den Bergh averaged 97.20, dropping just two legs in a comprehensive victory which was sealed with a 164 checkout.
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