Global Darts

World Matchplay - Match Reports 3. Day

TAYLOR EDGES OUT KING IN BETFAIR WORLD MATCHPLAY OPENER AS HAMILTON, WHITE & WEBSTER PROGRESS IN BLACKPOOL

Andy Hamilton 10:7 Brendan Dolan

Andy Hamilton booked his place in the second round of the Betfair World Matchplay with a battling 10-7 win over Brendan Dolan in Monday's opening clash at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.
Hamilton - a semi-finalist in Blackpool last year - was never able to shake off the Northern Irish ace in a tight contest, but after taking an early 3-1 lead held on to his advantage to progress.

Dolan had taken the game's opening leg, but after Hamilton levelled he hit 180s in the next two legs to take a 3-1 cushion. He could also have won a fourth leg only to miss his chances to win the game's fifth, but Dolan replied and finished 117 in the seventh as the pair began to trade legs, with Hamilton hitting double 16 or eight in four legs as he moved 7-5 up.
The Stoke ace also included a 171 to leave 94 in the last of those before finishing the combination to win his seventh leg, and an eighth swiftly followed as Dolan missed two darts to win a key leg and Hamilton landed double four for an 8-5 cushion. Dolan finished double 16 and 111 to win the next two, but double eight from Hamilton moved him to the brink of victory, which he sealed - after his opponent missed the bull - by hitting double 16.

"I wasn't on top of my game and maybe I was too relaxed - that was probably tougher than the quarter-final against Simon Whitlock last year," admitted Hamilton. "I couldn't shake Brendan off and I missed too many darts at double 16, but eventually it came good for me and helped me through."

Ian White 10:5 Vincent van der Voort

Ian White enjoyed a dream debut at the Betfair World Matchplay, hitting finishes of 164 and 161 in a 10-5 defeat of Vincent van der Voort on Monday night.
The Stoke ace, one of the leading ProTour Order of Merit qualifiers for the £400,000 tournament, showed few nerves in an impressive first appearance on the Winter Gardens stage to secure passage into the last 16.

He now meets local rival Phil Taylor - who took victory when the pair met in the 1997 News of the World championship final - in the second round on Thursday evening, and admitted: "It's a brilliant victory for me. "To take Vincent out is a dream come true because he's one of the top players. I've been playing well enough on the ProTour, so it was a case of hoping everything would come together. "I've got to take each game at a time, and it will be nice to play Phil - and if I can take out those sort of finishes against him who knows what will happen. "I've not been winning stage games in tournaments and my ambition was to get onto the big stage to get experience and to take that ProTour form into that."

White made a superb start with a 13-darter to take the opening leg, before van der Voort fired in a 180 in a 12-dart leg to level - only for White to take the next three without reply to take charge at 4-1. Both players had hit a 180 in leg three, with White taking out 93 before breaking on tops in the next and then taking out a show-stopping 161 checkout to lead by three legs. Van der Voort hit back to win two of the next three to reduce the gap to 5-3, taking out 81 and then following a 180 with tops, only for White to again pull away.
The Stoke ace firstly landed a 180 and finished double five to win a sixth leg, and then - with van der Voort waiting on tops after hitting another 180 - finished 164 to move 7-3 up. He then added another maximum and double top to lead by five legs, and after van der Voort finished 68 in two darts to hit back he landed tops once more to move a leg away from the win. Two missed match darts allowed van der Voort in to keep the game alive by landing tops, but White finished 66 in two darts on double 18 to complete a fine performance.

Phil Taylor 10:8 Mervyn King

Phil Taylor overcame the determined challenge of Mervyn King with a 10-8 victory in their Betfair World Matchplay clash to begin his challenge for a 13th Winter Gardens title in style.
The reigning champion enjoyed a tight struggle for much of the game, sharing the opening ten legs before establishing a 7-5 cushion - only for King to hit back and level at eight-all.
King - who hit eight 180s in the game - crucially missed three darts to lead as Taylor edged 9-8 up, and he went on to seal the win in the next on double top.

"I was nervous tonight to be honest but I got the job done and I'm through," said Taylor. "Mervyn was probably the better player through the game - he hit loads of 180s but he missed some crucial doubles. "He played well and he's getting back to his best. I thought he was going to hit a nine-darter at one point and he'll gradually get better over the next few months. "When I was 8-7 up I thought to myself to hold my darts, but Mervyn broke me back - and in the end that double two I threw to go 9-7 up was one of the sweetest double two's I'll ever hit!"

King, with the advantage of throw, held his own in the early stages, with neither player having a chance to break in the opening eight legs - which included a 13-darter from the Norfolk thrower in leg three after he opened with back-to-back 180s to set up a potential nine-darter. King also enjoyed an 11-darter and finished 101, while Taylor - using a new style of dart - added his only 180 of the game in leg eight, which he won in 13 darts. Taylor missed the first chance to break in leg nine as King scrambled home double two to lead 5-4, but the Stoke ace levelled with a 52 finish and then finally broke his opponent's throw on double eight to lead for the first time.
Taylor added a 171 and double four to lead 7-5, but after trading maximum scores in the next a miss at tops allowed his opponent back in on double ten to pull back to 7-6. Taylor again replied to a 180 from King by landing a 171, and took out 94 in two darts to move two legs clear at 8-6 - only for King to dramatically level the contest. The former Blackpool semi-finalist finished 70 on double 16 to win the 15th leg, and then followed a key 180 by finishing 61 on tops, with Taylor waiting on 40, to level. King then hit a 180 in the next, with Taylor adding a 171 once more only to see his opponent have the chance to regain the lead - only for King to miss three darts on the wire of double 12. Taylor, typically, made him pay by finishing 68 on double two, and he hit a 177 in the next before posting tops to seal a hard-fought victory.

As well as bidding to win a record-equalling fifth World Matchplay title, Taylor is battling to keep hold of his status as world number one, with Adrian Lewis poised to take over at the top of the PDC Order of Merit.
"The pressure's building a bit," admits Taylor. "People keep reminding me that Adrian can be world number one, and if he does that I'll be the proudest person in the world and also the unhappiest, and I can't knock him for what he's doing. "He's getting everything he deserves at the moment and it's a big challenge for me this week."

Mark Webster 10:6 Colin Lloyd

Mark Webster defeated former Betfair World Matchplay champion Colin Lloyd 10-6 to progress to a second round clash with Andy Hamilton at the Winter Gardens.
Left-hander Webster, a quarter-finalist last year, produced a confidence-boosting display in a tense clash, with Lloyd hitting a fine 140 checkout to stay in touch with the Welshman at 6-4.
However, Webster ended the game the stronger by winning three of the final four legs - including a key 116 checkout - to book his place in the last 16.

The game's opening four legs all went against the throw, with Lloyd hitting a 180 in the first and a 66 finish in the third as Webster took the second on tops and the fourth with an 81 checkout. The Welsh ace then landed a 180 in the fifth and, after both players missed the bull, he landed double six to lead for the first time, took out 110 to break in a key sixth leg - after Lloyd hit a 171 to leave 32 - and then posted a maximum and double ten to take a 5-2 lead. Lloyd won his first leg in five on double 18 to hit back in the eighth, and after Webster finished tops to win his sixth leg of the game the Essex star powered in a spectacular 140 checkout, hitting treble 20 and two double tops, to pull back to 6-4.
He also hit a 174 in the next, but Webster finished 94 on tops to move 7-4 up and regain his cushion. Misses from the Welshman allowed Lloyd to hit back in the 12th leg, only for Webster to then fire in a 180 and double ten before taking out 116 on tops, with his opponent waiting on 40, to move to the brink of victory at 9-5. Lloyd hit a 180 and finished tops for a 14-darter to stay in the hunt, but his challenge was ended in the next leg as Webster took out 62 on double 12 to complete the win.

"That was a real battle against a player who's in some good form at the moment, but I think that I deserved the win in the end," said Webster. "I didn't think I played that well but all that mattered was getting through. "I've not been playing brilliant darts recently and I'm a bit down on my confidence, but I tried not to get frustrated and I've got three days to prepare to play Andy, because that will be a tough match. "He's a brilliant player, he's solid and he's got a great attitude, so I'm looking forward to it."

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