21-12-18 PDC WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIPS

PDC WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Thursday December 20
Afternoon Session (1230)
Jermaine Wattimena 3-0  Michael Barnard (R2)

MY OPINION

Wattimena cruised into the third round of the Championship but as I see it. It was very unfair that Barnard did not get a set as the averages were so close.  There will be a lot tougher tasks for Wattimena moving ford and I think this might just be as far as he goes.

Alan Norris  3-2  Steve Lennon

MY OPINION

This was cruel on Lennon of that there is no doubt to go to a deciding leg and loose it due to the fact that Norris hit a 180 in that leg you cannot consider that to be fair at all as a sports fan but you have to give it to Norris for his first set as he was unplayable.

Stephen Bunting 1-3 Luke Humphries

MY OPINION

Bunting would have been one of my bets for the championship as a whole and you do have to wonder sometimes what exactly went wrong here as we know that he is better than this. As for Humpries he has to learn how to get over a big win here and simply move on.

Steve Beaton 0-3 Chris Dobey

MY OPINION

Since Phil Taylor has retired Beaton has become the granddaddy of darts and from this performance you could sort of see why as he was outclassed in more ways than one and I have a feeling that if Dobby can learn from Beaton’s experiences afterwards in discussion he can go far

Evening Session (1900)
Cristo Reyes (89.30) 3-2 (85.28) Rowby-John Rodriguez (R2)

MY OPINION

This was a match between two players that are not that well known in the world of darts and there was maybe a case of second round stage fright but it was the Spaniard that made the difference in this match but Rodreguez had his chances

Mervyn King 3-2 Jan Dekker

MY OPINION

Tie of the round by a long way and it ran like that but it was quality that came out here in the end as King had a higher sense of quality and range. This match says to me that he could be an outside quarter final bet if he gets things right after Christmas. Decker refused to give up at 2-0 down and that is never a sign of weakness

Adrian Lewis (97.20) 3-2 (95.92) Ted Evetts

MY OPINION

This was a bit of a disappointment for Lewis as we know he is much better than this and has to improve if he is to stand any chance in this championship. Yes it is early but he should have shown the ability to kill off Evetts at certain stages

Mensur Suljovic (90.83) 1-3 (90.66) Ryan Searle

MY OPINION

Where did that result come from I am not sure but it is something that maybe the qualifier helped Searle in being able to pull off a performance like that both average even but the Austrian was not able to bake that killer punch when needed

Friday afternoon

 
Afternoon Session (1230)
Benito van de Pas v Jim Long (Second Round)

MY OPINION

Van De Pas hit a 150 with 3 darts to win this match 4-2 in legs after making the break in the fifth but both players had match darts and this one could have went either way. Jim Long might be a name to worry about next season but Van De Pas showed that he can do damage under pressure  
John Henderson v Gabriel Clemens (Second Round)

MY OPINION

Henderson survived a 3-2 scare here and we know that he can improve as he moves on as this was not the best performance he has produced.  He did win by 3 legs to 1 to mean there was no need for a tie breaker which should build on his confidence as for Clements this was a performance way above his level

Steve West 3-1 Richard North (Second Round)

MY OPINION

Steve West had an easy enough win Against Richard North winning the game 3-1 he showed that he could fight when it was needed and had the ability to break his man. With the right draw West can go far but if he has to play a biggie I think he has no chance. North showed the ability to battle but it will be a few years before he can do any real damage

Kyle Anderson 3-1 Noel Malicdem (Second Round)

MY OPINION

Anderson completely controlled the fourth set which proved to be the vital lone as their seemed to be an upping in class from Kyle Anderson in this match. If Anderson can keep this form then who knows what can happen as he did look very impressive. As for Malicdem this was a close match until he was broken so he can take something from it.