PDC World Championship - Report, Statistics third Day, Evening

TAYLOR SAFELY THROUGH
PHIL TAYLOR kicked off his William Hill World Darts Championship campaign with a comfortable victory on Friday, while Ricky Evans and Dimitri Van den Bergh caused dramatic upsets at London's Alexandra Palace.

Legendary 16-time World Champion Taylor claimed a straight sets success against Japan's Keita Ono, who had seen off Alex Tagarao 2-0 in the preliminary round. The world number three produced finishes of 167 and 121 as he moved into the second round, dropping just one leg in the process.

"It's all about surviving the first round," said Taylor, who had switched from his usual darts before the contest to a new design of barrel. "I've only had these new darts for one day and I've been practising brilliantly with them but it was a different atmosphere when I got up there."
Taylor, who surrendered his last remaining major TV title to Michael van Gerwen in last month's Grand Slam of Darts final, added: "I'm sick of losing. I'm sick of Michael van Gerwen. It's like someone doing your job better than you. Everything I'm doing is about getting better. I want to improve and I want to win this."
Taylor will play Kevin Painter in round two.

Evans, who won the last-chance PDPA Qualifier to secure a World Championship place, shocked world number ten Simon Whitlock with a sensational comeback win in the match of the tournament so far where the duo shared 17 180s.
Whitlock had looked to be strolling through to the last 32 when he led by two sets and two legs but, when the Australian missed two match darts, Evans launched an incredible fightback. He won six straight legs to level the match at two sets apiece and the pair shared four legs in the decider to force a tie-break, which the 25-year-old eventually won with a fabulous 130 finish.

"I'm not sure how I won that," admitted the former PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship finalist. "I can hardly speak. Simon battered me for the first two sets but as soon as I won that third set I played my proper game and I'm over the moon to win. This is for all the people that support me."

Vincent van der Voort was Friday's other winner, defeating Laurence Ryder in three sets to set up a second round clash with Kyle Anderson.
"I'm pleased to be through," said the Dutchman, who reached the quarter-finals 12 months ago. "We've seen a few shocks so I was determined to keep my concentration and get the job done. The first round is out of the way now and the real tournament starts after Christmas."


Statistics - Preliminary Round
Ave180sDoublesPlayervPlayer Ave180sDoubles
91.7906/8Ono 2:0Tagarao77.4011/4



Statistics - First Round
Ave180sDoublesPlayervPlayer Ave180sDoubles
92.85812/41Whitlock 2:3Evans93.48915/31
95.7039/23v.d.Voort 3:0Ryder81.3712/4
98.3919/15Taylor 3:0Ono83.4901/7








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