PDC World Championship - Report Ninth Day
ILL THORNTON KO'S ANDERSON BUT IT'S ALL-WHITE FOR IAN
ROBERT THORNTON defied a bout of sickness to storm into the third round of the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship with a straight sets win over Beau Anderson on Saturday night, as Ian White held off a Kim Huybrechts fightback and Richie Burnett joined the pair in the last 16.Thornton produced one of the best performances of the tournament so far, hitting seven 180s and averaging almost 99 in dropping only two legs against the Oceanic Masters champion, who had overcome Colin Lloyd on his Alexandra Palace debut. The performance, though, was made more remarkable as Thornton visibly battled the effects of a virus which also saw him ill before the game and regularly standing next to the on-stage fan to cool down as he swept to victory.
"I was sick before I came on stage and I just felt rough throughout the game," revealed Thornton, who plays Wes Newton or John Part in the third round. "I'm just glad that when I was throwing quickly the darts were going in! Beau let me in a few times and I took my finishes out well and closed the match off quickly. To end the game with an average that high is pretty impressive. Once or twice I had to bend over and put my head over the fan [by the stage]. I don't know what it is, I just don't feel very well at all. I'll rest up for the next few days and see how I go in the third round.
After Phil Taylor's loss last night, many people are saying that I'm one of the guys in with a great opportunity to get to the final from the top half of the draw but I'm not thinking like that - there are so many high-quality players still involved. You've got to fight all the way as it's not going to be handed to you on a plate."
Stoke's Ian White won through to the third round for the first time in a World Championship with his 4-3 win over Kim Huybrechts - although the Belgian gave him an almighty scare by hitting back from three sets down to force a decider.
White made a brilliant start to win six of the game's first seven legs, securing the second set with a 115 checkout for a 2-0 lead, and then edged the third set 3-2 to continue his dominance. Huybrechts, a quarter-finalist at Alexandra Palace two years ago, kick-started his challenge by coming from a leg down to win the third set 3-1, before edging the next two in deciding legs to level a dramatic contest. Huybrechts then moved ahead in the final set with a 13-darter, but White punished a miss at double 16 from the Belgian to level before taking out 62 and 73 to seal victory.
"I had to try and step up another gear in that final set and I gave it my all, and it came good for me in the end!" said White. "I knew it would be a hard game and I'll sleep well tonight, but I'm delighted to be through. Kim missed a few doubles earlier on but I was playing well and I punished him. I started to miss a few doubles and he kept coming back at me and I had to hang in there and keep my concentration. I'm confident and I've been consistent this year, and I'm in the last 16 now so there's no reason I can't go further."
White will now play Richie Burnett in the third round after Christmas, after the Welsh star reached the last 16 for the first time since 2003 with a comprehensive 4-1 victory over another Stoke ace, Andy Hamilton.
The former Lakeside Champion followed up his fine first round win over Dean Winstanley with a strong display against Hamilton, hitting nine 180s against the 2012 runner-up. Burnett won the first set without reply, and though Hamilton won the second 3-1, the Welshman claimed a key third in a deciding leg, hitting seven perfect darts before responding to missing out on a nine-darter by landing double top to move 2-1 up in the match. He then claimed the fourth set 3-1 before coming from 2-0 down in the fifth to complete the victory.
"It didn't feel brilliant but I'm just happy to get over the winning line," said Burnett. "I played well in the big legs and that means a lot, but I can improve on this and I'm nowhere near my best. I played well in patches but I was very nervous and I didn't feel as good as I did in the first round - but I suppose you have to go through a bit of pain to have a win! If I prepare myself properly, I can play. I made a lot of mistakes but I still won 4-1, but I want to be consistently deadly because I know I can do magical things on a dartboard.
I feel a lot more comfortable on the big stages again now I've been back in the game for the last three years - it still doesn't ease my nerves too much though. My whole body shakes before I go out on stage so I'm trying not to think about the match until five minutes before I go up there, but I've managed to play really well in these first two games and I want to keep the standard high."
Hamilton, whose run of reaching at least the quarter-finals of the major TV ranking events in the last 18 months was ended by the defeat, said: "The best player won today. I played alright but missed a few shots and Richie took advantage, and he deserved to win. To lose early on might give me a kick up the backside to push on again for next year, and hopefully next year I can get back on track again. I know I'm capable of doing it but I've not done it in this tournament." "I'm very pleased with that," said Painter, who now faces Paul Nicholson. "When you're coming into a World Championship, you've got to come in with a bang and that's what I've done. My practice has been good and I had a feeling I was going to play. My confidence is high and it all came together tonight. Tomas is a good player and he hit a 180 with his first throw and won the first leg comfortably, but I just kept my head because I knew that I would out-scoring him in the end."