HOME | Global | Tournaments | Sport | Who is Who | Miscellaneous |

TAYLOR SWEEPS HENDERSON ASIDE IN BETVICTOR WORLD MATCHPLAY

PHIL TAYLOR began his quest to win the BetVictor World Matchplay for an incredible 16th time with a crushing 10-2 win over John Henderson on Monday night, as Andy Hamilton, Keegan Brown and Dave Chisnall joined him in the second round.

Taylor, unbeaten at the Winter Gardens since 2007, kicked off his challenge in the 450,000 poundevent in ideal fashion by seeing off the Scottish qualifier with a comfortable victory.
Taylor kicked off three of the opening four legs with 180s as he established a 3-1 lead, and extended the gap to five legs before Henderson hit back to trail 6-2. Taylor hit a fourth maximum as he regained his five-leg lead and then clinically took out 109 and 64 to move 9-2 up and landed another 180 before sealing victory with two double eights to finish 32.

"It was a good win and I did what I set out to do," said Taylor. "John's a better player than he showed tonight but you've got to attack your opponent and put them under pressure. I knew John was a little bit under pressure from the beginning so I tried to speed him up a bit and push him. This is my favourite venue and I love the tournament, and I feel comfortable here so it's great to still be in the hunt."

Taylor's second round opponent will be Stoke rival Andy Hamilton, who caused an upset by knocking out five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld with a fine 10-7 victory. Hamilton had claimed the final ProTour qualifying place in the tournament and was the 750/1 outsider to claim the title with sponsors BetVictor ahead of the event - but has seen those odds slashed to 125/1 following the win.
Checkouts of 96 and 158 in the first two legs gave him an ideal start, and though van Barneveld hit back to 3-2, Hamilton took the next five legs without reply - landing a 13-darter and three 180s in the process - as he moved 8-2 up. Van Barneveld won the next three to spark a revival, and after Hamilton landed a 180 and a 91 finish to move 9-5 up, he took out 48 and 96 to cut the gap to two legs. Hamilton, though, proved too strong in the next and landed double nine to complete a win which could kick-start his year, after dropping to 20th on the PDC Order of Merit.

"It was always going to be a tough game but I knuckled down, and this event and this venue seems to bring the best out of me," said Hamilton. "I love this tournament, I love Blackpool and I love this crowd and it brought back some great memories for me getting back on that stage. The 96 and the 158 got me going and I controlled the game from there. The last six months have been a horrible time for me but there's more to come and if I play well I can give Phil a good game on Wednesday. Hopefully I can progress from what I've done tonight and be more consistent, but my game's getting there."

Earlier, Premier League semi-finalist Dave Chisnall edged out Jamie Caven 13-11 in a tie-break as the pair slugged out a 24-leg thriller.
Although Caven held a slender 2-1 lead early on, following a break of throw in leg three, Chisnall hit back to take a 6-4 advantage with the aid of a 13-darter and a 14-dart finish. Caven took the next two to level at six-all, with the next six legs all going with the throw to send the game into a tie-break at 9-9, leaving a player needing to win by two clear legs. The pair traded tops finishes and then shared the next two legs to remain locked at 11-all as Chisnall twice missed a single match dart, with double nine then seeing the number seven seed move 12-11 up and to the brink of victory. With Caven throwing to force a sudden-death 25th leg, Chisnall kicked off with 140, 180 - his 13th of the game - and 135 to leave 46, and eventually sealed victory at the eighth attempt.

"It was a funny game but a good game before me because I won," said Chisnall. "Hats off to Jamie because he played well and kept plodding on and hitting his doubles and pulling it back, but thankfully I broke his throw in the last leg. I had a feeling that the game was going to go all the way because he's a great player. Sometimes I was in control but I was probably under pressure more than Jamie because I was almost always in the lead. My scoring's never a problem but sometimes it's my doubles which are a bit dodgy, but luckily I won tonight and that's all that matters."

Chisnall now faces World Youth Champion Keegan Brown, who enhanced his growing reputation as a contender at darts' highest level with another composed performance, as he followed up his giant-killings at the Grand Slam of Darts and World Championship by claiming another big-name victim.
Thornton had gone into the event on a high following last weekend's European Tour triumph in Dusseldorf, but never recovered from seeing Brown take an early 5-1 lead as he suffered a sixth straight first round exit in Blackpool. After Brown opened the game with a 14-darter, Thornton replied with a 12-darter only to see the Isle of Wight youngster win the next four to pull clear. Thornton replied with finishes of 70, 40 and 62 as he reduced the gap to 5-4, but was crucially denied a chance to level as Brown fired in a 180 in a 14-darter to regain breathing space. A 102 finish put him 7-4 up and he also took out another 14-darter to lead 8-5 before landing the bullseye to move to the brink of victory at 9-6. Battling Thornton landed a 180 and finished 78 on tops to stay in the hunt, but Brown clinically sealed victory with another bull checkout, this time taking out 87 to seal his second round spot.

"I'm over the moon," said Brown. "I came here 12 years ago and watched Phil Taylor and Wayne Mardle in the final and thought it would be brilliant to play on that stage on day, and I've done that now. Robert's a player with Premier League experience so I wanted to get into him quickly and to take the first session 4-1 meant I could relax. Robert showed his class when he came back at me but thankfully I got there at the end. This is the hardest tournament to qualify for every year so I wanted to relax and play like I can do. To be in the last 16 makes me so happy."

Statistics

Contact

© Global Darts. All Rights Reserved.

Impressum