World Grand Prix - Report 2 Day
LEWIS AVOIDS UPSET AS WADE & BARNEY LOSE IN PARTYPOKER.COM WORLD GRAND PRIX
World Champion Adrian Lewis avoided an upset by edging out Richie Burnett in the PartyPoker.com World Grand Prix on Tuesday night, but two-time winner James Wade and double Dublin finalist Raymond van Barneveld were knocked out of the tournament as the first round concluded.
Lewis, the 2010 runner-up in the double-start tournament, looked set to cruise to victory in his clash with Burnett when he won the game's opening set without reply. Burnett, a semi-finalist last year, edged the second set to force a decider, but Lewis was aided by a ten-dart finish as he took the set 3-1 to win his second round place.
"I didn't make it easy for myself but Richie came back well at me so I'm happy to get over the winning line," admitted Lewis. "There had been a few results which people classed as shocks last night with the likes of Gary Anderson and Simon Whitlock going out, but the format's short and that played on my mind. If you don't start well and hit your doubles, you're out - but I'm through and I know for a fact I'll up my game. I missed a few times on double top and double 18 where I was dropping short and I've got to sort that out."
Two-time winner and world number three James Wade, though, became the highest seed to nbe knocked out of the event with a shock 2-1 defeat to Colin Osborne.
Wade took five successive legs to move to the brink of victory, winning the opening set 3-1 and edging two legs clear in the second, only to miss a brace of match darts at tops.
Osborne took the second set's third leg and then finished tops and 108 to snatch the set, before winning the decider without reply for a win which could kick-start his challenge to return to the world's top 20.
"Nobody apart from my wife believed I could win the game or gave me a chance but I always kept on fighting," said Osborne, who has dropped out of the world's top 16 in the past 18 months. "I had a chance to win the third leg of the game but missed three darts at tops and I lost my way for a couple of legs after that, but I never gave up. James missed a couple of doubles and I was there to take full advantage. I had a lot of self-belief and hopefully it will be a kick-start for me. A big part of this game is about confidence, and after beating the world number three I'm full of confidence now."
Five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld also exited as he lost out to Stoke's emerging star Ian White in straight sets.
Van Barneveld started confidently and took out 121 as he moved 2-0 up in the first set, only for White to finish 144 and 132 as well as whitewash the Dutchman in a leg where he failed to hit a starting double in 12 darts.
White also took out 112 to lead in the second set, and after van Barneveld levelled the world number 37 took the next two on tops to complete a dream debut in the World Grand Prix.
"I've played Raymond before and beaten him but everyone on the circuit knows that I'm playing quite well at the moment and working my way up the rankings," said White, who also knocked Lewis out of the European Championship last month. "I had some good finishes in there and when you're playing someone like Raymond you have to take your chances when you get them. It was my first time playing in the World Grand Prix but I don't mind the format because I used to play in a local league in Widnes where it was 301 with a double-start, and it's just another hurdle for us to get over. I'm enjoying myself and I'll look forward to playing Wes. I won the last time we played and I'll have a chance if I can take my chances on Thursday."
White will now play world number six Wes Newton in the second round, after the Fleetwood ace make a remarkable comeback to see off Ronnie Baxter 2-1. Baxter had won the game's first five legs without reply before missing the bull to claim a whitewash victory - and Newton took six of the next seven to book his place in the last 16.
"I lost the first set 3-0 and although I didn't think I deserved that scoreline, Ronnie took his chances," said Newton. "Then he went 2-0 up in the next set and I knew I had to just take each leg as it went, and I dug in and never gave up. I got the three legs on the trot to make it one-all and I had the momentum then to go on and finish the job, and I'm really happy with that. Maybe a year or 18 months ago ago I'd have lost that game but I'm learning all the time and getting a lot better as a professional player, and you can't give in. I kept believing in äc current form and got the result in the end. I've got to kick on from this now and start a bit stronger in the second round. I know I'm playing well and I've got to get out of the blocks a bit quicker and not give my opponent a set lead."
Dutch ace Michael van Gerwen also came from a set down to take victory as he saw off 2004 World Grand Prix champion Colin Lloyd 2-1, winning the final set of their showdown without reply to set up a second round clash with Lewis on Thursday. "I'm very happy with this result because it's my first win in the World Grand Prix," said van Gerwen, who was a first round loser to Kevin Painter in the 2009 tournament in his only previous appearance. "Colin played very well from the start and hit his doubles well, but after the break I came into my game and put him under pressure and he started missing. It was a good comeback from me and I think a good game for the fans. I was starting well with 80s, 120s and 160s and that gave me a lot of confidence. I'll look forward to the second round now and hopefully I'll be good enough to win again."
Paul Nicholson dropped only two legs against Northern Ireland's Michael Mansell as he secured a clash with Osborne in the last 16.
"Seeing some of the other results made it hard to focus but all the hard work I've put in over the last six weeks shone through," admitted Nicholson. "I was in danger of losing the first set but I pulled out a really great leg, and that gave me a lot of confidence. Michael wasn't at his best in the second set, but I knew I had to close out the win and I didn't want to let him back in. I enjoyed the game and I'm starting to realise that this is my job - being a bad boy or having the antics isn't going to win me games, it's darts matches and form which will and I'm putting the extra work in."
Three-time quarter-finalist Andy Smith saw his dreams of glory ended by Steve Beaton as the former World Champion impressed with a straight sets win in their contest. "I haven't been in this tournament for the past two years so it's great to be back," said Beaton. "I like the double-start format, it's a good challenge and it's nice to play a different format, so I enjoyed being back on stage. I'm feeling relaxed and am geared up for this week." Beaton now plays Andy Hamilton, who also won in straight sets in his clash with Mark Webster, with finishes of 90 and 96 in the final two legs of the first set proving crucial in giving the Stoke ace the edge. Mark beat me here last year in the World Grand Prix so I wanted to turn that score around and I'm happy to be through to the second round," said Hamilton. I had a couple of good finishes in the first set - the 90 on the bull and the 96 to win the set - and I had to kick on from that because last year I won the first set but lost the game. I kept my composure and my experience pulled me through, and I'm very relieved. I'm looking forward to the second round against Steve Beaton."