PDC World Championship - Match Reports Day 4

WADE SAILS PAST HUDSON AS WEBSTER ERASES LADBROKES WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DEMONS
JAMES WADE marched into the second round of the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship with a straight sets defeat of Peter Hudson on Monday, as Mark Webster put 12 months of disappointment behind him with victory over Ian White at Alexandra Palace.

World number three Wade, a semi-finalist last year, dropped only two legs in his first round win over the debutant from Eccles, taking out a 102 finish and also winning the game's final six legs without reply. Wade will now play either Steve Beaton or Australia's Kyle Anderson on Sunday afternoon in the second round.

Wade's fellow left-hander Mark Webster, a two-time semi-finalist at Alexandra Palace and the number ten seed, erased the memory of his first round loss to Richie Burnett last year with a high-quality 3-1 win over Ian White. Webster has endured a tough 12 months since his last Alexandra Palace appearance and shared 14 180s with White, who was the leading qualifier from the ProTour Order of Merit for the World Championship.

Lowestoft's colourful Peter Wright produced a strong performance to defeat former World Youth Champion Arron Monk in straight sets and move into the last 32.
The Scottish World Cup representative could play Michael van Gerwen in the second round. The night's other first round game saw debutant John Bowles follow up his 4-2 preliminary round victory over Carlos Rodriguez by edging out Jamie Caven 3-2 in a thriller.



Peter Wright 3-0 Arron Monk
(3-2, 3-1, 3-0)
PETER WRIGHT ended Arron Monk's hopes in the first round of the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship with a comprehensive 3-0 victory at Alexandra Palace on Monday night.
Monk, who topped this year's PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Order of Merit and impressed at last month's Grand Slam of Darts, was unable to make an impression as Wright took a straight sets win. After opening the game with a 140 checkout, Wright edged the first set 3-2 before winning six of the game's next seven legs to progress.

"I took my chances well and got the job done," said Wright. "Arron struggled to find his pitch and I took advantage, but I can play a lot better than that."
The Scottish World Cup representative could play Michael van Gerwen in the second round, and added: "It's something I'll look forward to if he gets through because he's had a great run this year."

Wright, who won his first ProTour title in October, started the match superbly with a 140 checkout, before Monk held throw on double 16 to level. Both players missed a dart at tops in the next before Wright took the leg on double ten, but the Basingstoke youngster levelled again thanks to a successful attempt at double top. Wright began the fifth leg with a 180 as he was first to a finish, and he landed double ten to edge the opening set.
Wright hit another 180 at the start of the second set, but wasted five darts at doubles to win the leg and Monk accepted the opportunity to move ahead. The Scot hit double top to take the second leg and then won the third against the darts after Monk was off-target with one attempt at the same bed. The next leg saw Wright hit a 165 score to leave 40 after 12 darts, and an accurate third dart at double ten confirmed a 2-0 lead for the number 26 seed.
Wright won his third leg in a row to make a positive start to set three before recording an excellent 126 checkout to move a leg away from the win, which he sealed on tops in the third leg.



John Bowles 4-2 Carlos Rodriguez
JOHN BOWLES secured a debut victory at the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship with a 4-2 preliminary round triumph over Carlos Rodriguez.
The former rugby league player, from Widnes, will now play Jamie Caven in the final match on Monday evening, for a place in the last 32 of the competition.

Rodriguez, making his third World Championship appearance, started the brighter of the two players as he hit double top to win the opening leg against the darts. Bowles hit a 180 in the next, but missed four shots at doubles to level, only for Rodriguez to see three darts to double his lead go begging to allow his opponent back in on double five. Bowles, the PDPA Qualifier runner-up who has impressed on the PDC circuit in 2012 since winning a Tour Card in January, hit a clinical 15-darter to lead the match for the first time in leg three and edged a scrappy fourth on double one. However, Bowles missed two darts at double top to win the match in the next leg, and Rodriguez kept the game alive thanks to an accurate dart at double 12. The sixth leg saw the man from Widnes make no mistake as he took out a 62 finish for the second time in the match to end the hopes of the Spanish ace and book his own first round place.



Mark Webster 3-1 Ian White
(3-1, 3-0, 2-3, 3-0)
MARK WEBSTER erased the memory of last year's defeat to Richie Burnett in the first round of the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship with a gutsy 3-1 win over Ian White in a heavy-scoring contest at Alexandra Palace on Monday.
Webster has endured a tough 12 months since his last appearance on the World Championship stage, and despite being the number ten seed entered the clash with the Stoke ace as the underdog with the bookmakers. However, he shared 14 maximums in an entertaining contest and responded to missing eight darts to wrap up a straight sets victory by winning the fourth without reply, landing a 145 finish on the way to sealing his second round spot.

"In the last few weeks I've been practising really jard for this match and I'm thrilled with the outcome," said the Welshman, who showed glimpses of the form which has taken him to two Alexandra Palace semi-finals. "Ian was arguably the toughest draw I could have possibly had and that sort of thing tends to happen when your finding it difficult to string some results together. "I'm really up for this tournament now and I'm looking forward to my next game. I've been a semi-finalist in this tournament on two ocassions before, so I've proved that I can do it."

The Welshman landed a 180 in his second visit to the board and then took out a 124 finish to win the first leg against the darts, but White immediately hit back by taking the second with a 13-dart finish. Webster secured a second break of throw by converting a 107 finish to move 2-1 ahead before winning the set on tops to continue his fine start to the match.
The former Lakeside Champion continued to dominate the match in the second set, which he won in just 42 darts, landing back-to-back 180s in the process of taking the first leg, a 15-darter in the second, which featured a superb 171, and another maximum in the third as double ten confirmed a two-set advantage.
Webster then broke throw at the start of the third set before White recovered to take the second leg, courtesy of a 98 finish. White, who was the leading ProTour Order of Merit qualifier for the tournament, hit double ten to win the third leg before Webster took out 65 to move a leg away from victory. The set's deciding-leg proved to be a dramatic affair as White missed five chances to win the set, only for Webster to let eight chances to close out the match go begging as the Stoke ace sneaked in double one to keep his hopes alive.
Webster put the disappointment of the previous leg behind him as he hit a fantastic 145 checkout to begin the fourth set in style with a 12-darter. Two missed darts at double eight from White in the next proved crucial as Webster took out double top to move a leg away from victory for a second time, and he fired in his seventh 180 of the contest before sealing the win in 13 darts on double 12.

Despite the loss, White will progress into the world's top 32, and admitted: "Mark played very well and it was hard to keep up with him in the first set.
"If he plays like that then he's going to go a long way in the tournament but, for me, it's been a good year. Last time I came here I was something like 64th, so to get to the top 32 in a year is a good achievement and I hope I can push towards the top 16 now."



James Wade 3-0 Peter Hudson
(3-1, 3-1, 3-0)
NUMBER three seed James Wade moved into the second round of the 2013 Ladbrokes World Darts Championship with a comfortable straight-sets victory over Peter Hudson.
Wade, July's World Matchplay finalist who reached the last four of this event 12 months ago, will now face Steve Beaton or Australia's Kyle Anderson on Sunday afternoon in the second round following a solid start to his Alexandra Palace challenge. The left-hander dropped only two legs in the contest, hitting a 102 finish on the way to winning the first set before taking six successive legs in the next two sets to seal his last 32 place.

"It wasn't my best performance but I got the win and I'm relieved to get the game out of the way," said Wade. "Peter's a much better player than he produced tonight and I managed to take advantage of the nerves he was showing, but I've worked very hard over the past six weeks and I'm hoping more of that will show in the second round."

The start of the game saw both players miss four darts at doubles to win the first leg as Wade edged ahead on double two. Both players hit 180s in the next before Eccles' Hudson, making his World Championship debut, landed double ten with his third dart. The world number three hit a 102 finish to win the third leg and then wrapped up the set in the next, as he took out 62 to draw first blood.
Both players held throw to share the opening two legs of the second set before Wade hit a maximum to take the initiative in the third, landing double ten to break and another 62 finish to move further ahead.
Wade, who was edged out by Adrian Lewis in a dramatic semi-final 12 months ago, took out a 91 finish to win the first leg of the third set despite Hudson hitting a second 180. Wade missed three chances to win the second leg, but Hudson was off-target with two attempts at double top and the Aldershot man returned to hit double five. That put Wade a leg away from victory, and a successful attempt at double top booked the 29-year old's place in the last 32.



John Bowles 3-2 Jamie Caven
(3-2, 2-3, 1-3, 3-2, 4-2)
DEBUTANT John Bowles' dream first appearance at the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship continued as he came frmo 2-1 down to knock out Jamie Caven in a classic final-set tie-break on Monday night.
The Widnes thrower had won through alongside Stuart Kellett in last month's PDPA Qualifier in Barnsley to ensure a first Alexandra Palace appearance, and a 4-2 preliminary round defeat of Carlos Rodriguez earned him a date with the number 29 seed. Caven led 2-1 and moved to the brink of victory in the fourth set, only for Bowles to take out 121 on the bull to force a deciding set, where he took three successive legs to win 4-2 in a tie-break.

"It was a battle and I had to dig in there," said Bowles. "The preliminary round game's a short format and that puts pressure on you, so I was happy to get through and I could relax against Jamie, and what a game it was. "The 121 finish was the turning point in the game, and I'm thrilled with what I've achieved. This is one of the best days of my life. "The crowd were great - it's the first time I've ever been up there but it was absolutely unbelievable. I'm looking forward to playing Gary Anderson in the next round because he's a tremendous player, and I'll enjoy the occasion."

Caven began in style with an 11-darter and left 32 after 12 darts in the second leg, only for Bowles to finish 79 then convert a 116 finish to win the third. Caven won the fourth leg on double eight after Bowles missed a dart at tops to take the set, but the former rugby league player made no mistake in the deciding leg as he hit double top to take the lead.
Bowles hit the same bed to win the second set's opener before Caven levelled by landing double ten with a pressure third dart and then broke in the third on double 16. Tops for Bowles set up another deciding leg, but Caven followed up a timely maximum with a vital 110 finish - as his opponent waited on 40 - to level the match.
Bowles hit double four to break throw at the start of the third set, but then wasted four chances to double his lead as Caven levelled by landing double top. The Derby thrower produced a clinical 13-darter to take the third leg and landed double four in the next to win the set and lead 2-1.
Caven won the opening leg of set four against the darts to win his fourth leg in a row with a 14-darter, before Bowles stopped the rot by converting a fine 104 finish. Bowles hit a 180 in the third leg before finishing 62 to move 2-1 up, but Canve landed double ten in the next to move a leg away from victory. Bowles held advantage of throw, and although Caven left 87 after 12 darts, the qualifier hit a fabulous 121 checkout, completed on the bullseye, to force a deciding set.
Caven took out 85 for a 14-darter to make a good start to the final set, before Bowles kicked off the second leg with a back-to-back 180s to raise hopes of a nine-darter. His attempt at a seventh treble 20 fell just short of the target, but he went on to win the leg on double two to keep matters finely balanced. Caven hit double top at the first attempt to win the third leg and move a leg away from victory for a second time, and then opened the fourth leg with consecutive 140s to put pressure in his opponent. Bowles, though, hit back with a 180 and landed double top with a pressure third dart to keep the match alive, posted another 180 in the next as he broke throw before taking out 78 to seal victory in an enthralling contest.

Caven has returned to form in the latter part of 2012, and although the Derby ace was left distraught after the defeat, he is determined to use the performance as a springboard into 2013.
"I was ready for the game, I prepared well and it was a great match, but it wasn't meant to be," he said. "John played very well and I wish him all the best for the next round. "In previous years I've maybe not done really myself any justice in this tournament and I have done tonight, but I've still come out on the losing side. "The emotion in me shows my determination and I'll have to knuckle down even harder. It's knocked the stuffing out of me, but I'll keep my head up and be positive, and hopefully in a year's time here I can have something to cheer about."




Pictures with kind permission from Lawrence Lustig, PDC





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