PDC World Championship - Match Report Second Day, Evening

HAMILTON And ANDERSON HOLD NERVE IN LADBROKES WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OPENERS
Former Ladbrokes World Darts Championship finalists Andy Hamilton and Gary Anderson won through to the second round of the tournament with victories at Alexandra Palace on Saturday night, as Robert Thornton and Paul Nicholson also picked up wins.

Hamilton, the 2012 runner-up to Adrian Lewis, began his bid to go one better this time with a strong display to see off Spanish debutant Julio Barbero 3-1. Barbero had defeated Germany's Andree Welge 4-1 in an impressive preliminary round triumph earlier in the night, and after Hamilton took the first set of their clash 3-1, the Spaniard shared the next two, which both went 3-2. However, missed doubles from the Spanish ace proved costly in the opening two legs of the fourth set as Hamilton took a 2-0 lead, before he sealed the victory with an 86 finish.

"I think my experience showed and I did a good job today," said Hamilton, who now plays Richie Burnett in the second round. "I felt comfortable and I capitalised on his bad shots and finished well. It was a good test for me and it will help me for the rest of the event. I'm feeling strong, I'm relaxed and enjoying it and I'm feeling no pressure. I was so focused on the game that I didn't even see a wasp on my shoulder for a few legs!"

2011 finalist Anderson, who also lost out to Lewis at Alexandra Palace, overcame 2005 runner-up Mark Dudbridge in straight sets as he booked his place in the second round. Dudbridge, making his return to the World Championship stage, won the game's opening leg only to see the Scot reel off the next three to win the opening set, before a 13-darter saw him take the second set's decider. Anderson then won the next three legs without reply to sweep through the third set and complete victory with a 97.83 average.

"There were some scrappy legs but it was good in bits," said Anderson. "Mark's been playing well but the second set was key, and at 2-0 I just wanted to get the game finished there and then. I'm getting there and in practice my darts are going so well and they're not quite clicking on stage, but I'll keep going."

Former UK Open champion Thornton came from a set down to defeat German teenager Robert Thornton 3-1, as the 17-year-old continued his emergence at the top level with a second World Championship appearance. After Thornton won the game's opening leg, Hopp took the next three with some fine darts to win the first set, and led 2-1 in the second before the Scot took back-to-back legs to level the contest. Thornton then won the third set without reply to put himself in command, before taking the next 3-1 to seal a second round date with Colin Lloyd or Beau Anderson.

"I'm delighted with that," said Thornton. "I didn't panic when I went a set down and I had to draw on my experience to get through that. Max is one of the best young players I've seen, and he's got a massive future ahead of him. He was hardly missing anything early on and was looking really good, but I managed to step things up a bit which got me through."

Paul Nicholson was Saturday night's other winner, as he dropped only three legs in a straight sets victory over Stuart Kellett. Nicholson, a quarter-finalist in 2009, won the first set 3-1 and took the second without reply to take command of the match, and though the emerging Cheshire ace shared the first four legs of the third set, it was the number 20 seed who took the decider to seal the win.

"I'm absolutely stoked to be through to the second round," said Nicholson, who averaged 97 in a strong display. "I was very focused on producing a solid performance tonight and I achieved that. When I saw the draw I realised I had a very tough game on my hands, so to win in this fashion is a real boost to my confidence and I'll take that into the preparation for my next game. It was a professional performance, probably the second-best I've played this year. The result doesn't reflect how well Stuart played, and that was about getting a very tough game out of the way."







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