REIGNING Ladbrokes World Darts Champion Adrian Lewis progressed to the last 16 of the tournament with a 4-2 victory over Robert Thornton on Thursday night, as Wayne Jones and Justin Pipe joined him in the third round.
Lewis followed up last week's hard-fought win over Nigel Heydon with another gritty display to see off the Scot, who hit back from 1-0 and 2-1 down to level before the Stoke ace won six of the final eight legs to triumph.
The 26-year-old averaged a steady 96.24 and hit a 170 during the game, but admitted: "I've not got out of second gear yet.
"I did my job but I got a bit frustrated I don't think I was brilliant but I finished really well."
Lewis now meets Wolverhampton's Wayne Jones in the third round on December 28, after the 2010 European Championship finalist defeated Roland Scholten in straight sets.
The Dutchman never recovered from missing darts to win the game's first set, with Jones edging ahead before winning nine of the next ten legs to progress to the last 16.
The night's final game saw Justin Pipe come from two sets down to defeat Wes Newton 4-3 in an enthralling contest which lasted for almost two hours.
UK Open finalist Newton edged the game's first set and hit a brace of 12-darters in doubling his lead, but even finishes of 161 and 170 were not enough as Pipe won the next three to move ahead.
Newton came from a leg down in the sixth to force a decider, but missed doubles cost him dear as the Taunton thrower edged through 4-2 in the final set.
The second round continues with three further matches on Friday night before the tournament breaks for three days over Christmas.
Number three seed James Wade plays Jelle Klaasen, Cash Converters Players Championship winner Kevin Painter meets Mark Walsh and Steve Farmer plays German newcomer Kevin Munch.
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Ladbrokes World Darts Championship
Second Round
Thursday December 22
Wayne Jones 4-0 Roland Scholten
Adrian Lewis 4-2 Robert Thornton
Wes Newton 3-4 Justin Pipe
Click here for Second Round Photo Gallery
Click here to visit LIVEPDC.TV for Match Highlights and Daily Podcast
WAYNE JONES 4-0 ROLAND SCHOLTEN
(3-2, 3-0, 3-1, 3-0)
WAYNE JONES became the first man to reach the last 16 of the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship with a 4-0 victory over Roland Scholten as the second round kicked off at Alexandra Palace on Thursday night.
After edging a tight opening set, the number 15 seed powered to victory by dropping just one more leg out of ten to progress, and will now face either Adrian Lewis or Robert Thornton after Christmas.
Scholten defied a maximum from Jones with his first visit to the oche to take the first leg before Jones hit another 180 in the process of taking the second.
Jones secured a break of throw in the third leg after Scholten was guilty of missing eight darts at doubles, before wasting five darts of his own in the next as Scholten stepped in on double eight.
The fifth leg saw both players continue to miss doubles, as Jones missed a chance at double 16 but Scholten was off-target with two attempts at double eight for the set.
The Wolverhampton man returned to hit the same bed to end an error-strewn first set, before converting an excellent 116 checkout to take the first leg of set two.
Jones then took the next two legs with finishes of 62 and 61 to win the set without reply and double his lead.
Jones took the first leg of the third set and then hit a two-dart 61 finish to win his fifth leg in a row.
The third leg saw Jones miss two darts at double 16 to pull further clear, and the experienced Dutchman hit double two to stop the rot.
Jones missed two more chances at double 16 in the next leg but Scholten was in no position to capitalise, and he returned to hit the double to move 3-0 ahead.
Jones hit double 16 again to make a positive start to the fourth set and followed that with a two-dart 100 checkout, making Scholten pay for two further missed darts at doubles.
That put Jones one leg away from the winning line, which he crossed in convincing fashion with a 13-dart finish.
"I'm absolutely delighted to be through," said Jones. "I need to improve after Christmas but the most important thing is that I'm coming back.
"I felt good before I went up but in the first set I couldn't hit a double. I got away with it and I kicked on from there and played quite well after that first set.
"I could see that Roland was struggling and after winning the second set I didn't think I was going to lose the game. I had to concentrate, hold my throw and try to break him.
"I think I played really well in the last two sets and I need to kick in a bit quicker next time.
"It's still over a 90 average even with a poor first set, so my game's there as long as I dont mess around, so I'll try and tighten up my finishing. If I can kick in straight away in the next round I'll take some stopping."
|
Wayne Jones |
4-0 |
Roland Scholten |
|
27 |
100+ |
14 |
|
9 |
140+ |
9 |
|
4 |
180s |
3 |
|
30.36 |
Ave 1 |
27.18 |
|
91.07 |
Ave 3 |
81.53 |
|
116, 100 |
High Finish |
32 |
|
5 |
Legs Against Throw |
1 |
|
12/34 - 35% |
Finishing - % |
3/23 - 13% |
ADRIAN LEWIS 4-2 ROBERT THORNTON
(3-0, 2-3, 3-1, 0-3, 3-0, 3-2)
REIGNING Ladbrokes World Darts Champion Adrian Lewis ended the hopes of Robert Thornton with a hard fought 4-2 victory in the second round of the £1 million tournament on Thursday night.
Lewis followed up last week's hard-fought win over Nigel Heydon with another gritty display to see off the Scot, who hit back from 1-0 and 2-1 down to level before the Stoke ace won six of the final eight legs to triumph.
Thornton had chances to force a deciding set, but three missed attempts at double 14 proved costly as Lewis closed out the match to claim a place in the last 16.
"I'm frustrated with my performance tonight but I'm still there fighting to retain my title," admitted Lewis. "I was preparing myself for a deciding set when Robert was throwing at double 14, but when the chance came my way I took it.
"I know that I need to improve and I'll get back on the practice board and put the hard work in before I play Wayne Jones, even on Christmas Day."
Lewis, who survived a titanic five-set tussle against Nigel Heydon in the first round a week ago, won the opening leg of the contest on double four before hitting double top to win the next two legs and secure the opening set.
The Scotsman hit double six to make a winning start to set two and then broke Lewis' throw with the aid of an 80 finish.
The third leg saw Thornton leave 80 after 12 darts, but Lewis took it with a sensational 170 checkout - the first of the tournament - before taking the next on double top.
The deciding leg saw Thornton fire in a third 180, and he landed double ten with his third dart to level the match.
Lewis hit a 100 checkout to make a winning start to the third set before Thornton hit back to take the second with a 68 finish.
The Stoke star took the third by landing double top at the first attempt, and won the set on double nine, after Thornton missed the bullseye for a 161 checkout.
Thornton, who defeated Stoke's Ian White in his opening match, held throw at the start of the fourth set, defying a 180 from his opponent.
The Scotsman then broke throw with a clinical two-dart 87 finish, and followed that by hitting double 16 in the next to leave the match finely balanced at two apiece.
The fifth set started with Lewis hitting double ten to hold throw, and he also took the second after Thornton was guilty of missing three darts at doubles.
Lewis hit double top to take the set and lead for the third time in the match, before hitting a 180 at the beginning of set six.
Thornton won the leg despite Lewis' maximum and then hit an excellent 121 checkout, completed on the bullseye, to break throw.
Lewis immediately broke back with a 64 finish and then took out 83 to claim the fourth leg and go one leg away from victory.
A dramatic deciding leg saw Thornton miss three crucial darts at double 14 to force a seventh set, and Lewis landed double five, with a pressure third dart, to close out the match.
"I've practised my finishing all week and it's been going alright until that double 14!" said Thornton, who was sidelined for a month in the autumn after being struck down with pneumonia.
"It was tit for tat in the first four sets and Adrian knows I'm a fighter. I can hold my head up high and say that's probably the best darts I've played for a while, and I pushed the World Champion hard."
|
Adrian Lewis |
4-2 |
Robert Thornton |
|
23 |
100+ |
34 |
|
18 |
140+ |
15 |
|
6 |
180s |
3 |
|
32.08 |
Ave 1 |
31.00 |
|
96.24 |
Ave 3 |
93.01 |
|
170, 100 |
High Finish |
121 |
|
6 |
Legs Against Throw |
3 |
|
14/26 - 54% |
Finishing - % |
9/22 - 41% |
JUSTIN PIPE 4-3 WES NEWTON
(2-3, 1-3, 3-2, 3-1, 1-3, 3-1, 4-2)
JUSTIN PIPE came out on top in a titanic two-hour battle against Wes Newton with a gritty 4-3 win in the second round of the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship.
UK Open finalist Newton won the first two sets and looked on course to record a place in the last 16 of the competition after taking command early on.
But Pipe won the next three sets to lead 3-2, and after Newton took the sixth to force a decider he emerged victorious by winning the final set 4-2 to the send the number seven seed crashing out of the tournament.
"I said to myself that I wasn't doing a lot wrong when I was 2-0 down," said Pipe, who was seeded 26 and now faces either Terry Jenkins or Co Stompe in the third round after Christmas.
"I sharpened up my doubles and Wes seemed to lose his way. It was tough, but I ground out the win, and I'm delighted to have done so."
Both players held throw in the opening two legs of the match before two missed darts at double ten proved costly for Pipe in the third, as Newton hit a clinical 115 finish to break.
Newton was off-target with a dart at double 18 to win the set in the next leg, which Pipe won double four to level, but the deciding leg saw the Taunton ace pay for two misses at double 16 to win the set, as his opponent landed tops with a pressure third dart to edge ahead.
Fleetwood's Newton hit double six to win the opening leg of set two, after Pipe was guilty of missing six opportunities at doubles, before the in-form star hit back to take the second.
Newton won the third with an excellent 125 checkout and hit his third 180 of the game in the next leg before taking out 86 to increase his lead to 2-0.
Newton started the third set in style with a fantastic 161 checkout before Pipe took the second leg and then hit back-to-back 180s in the third, to leave the opportunity of a nine-dart finish.
The seventh attempt at a treble 20 was off-target, but the leg was still won for the man from Taunton with an accurate dart at double nine.
Newton hit a 14-dart finish to take the fourth leg, but Pipe bettered that in the decider with a 13-darter to take the set.
Pipe secured a break of throw at the start of the fourth set with a 14-darter and landed double two to take the second leg.
Newton hit double top to take the third leg, but Pipe converted a 64 finish for another 14-darter to win the set and level the match.
The seventh seed hit a superb 170 checkout, the second of the evening at Alexandra Palace following Adrian Lewis's earlier achievement, to make a winning start to the fifth set, with Pipe waiting on a two-darter.
Pipe missed four darts at doubles to take the second leg, but Newton missed two chances of his own, allowing him back to level on double five.
Pipe won the third leg with a 62 finish and took the fourth with an impressive 13-darter to win the set and lead the match for the first time.
Pipe won his fourth straight leg at the start of set six, before Newton stopped the rot to take the next with the aid of fifth maximum.
Newton then managed to recapture the form of the first two sets, as he hit double eight to win the third leg in 14 darts and tops to seal the set after Pipe missed two darts at the same double.
Pipe hit double ten to make a positive start to the seventh set, but missed three chances for a break of throw, allowing Newton to level on double 16.
The third leg saw Newton miss one dart at double top, and Pipe landed double two with a pressure last dart to move a leg away from victory.
Double eight from Newton levelled, but Pipe took the fifth on double eight before punishing six misses from his opponent to seal an epic win on double 16.
"It's brilliant," said Pipe. "After my match against Sean Reed I was just glad to win that match, which was my goal this year, and I'm over the moon to be in the last 16.
"A little bit of my floor form came out up on stage so I'm very happy.
"Wes was flustered because he missed doubles and his scoring went off the boil for a couple of legs. Wes knows how I play the game and I actually sped up a little bit tonight.
"Without being disrespectful to Wes, that's his problem and he - and everybody - has to deal with that because they know how I play and that I want to concentrate with every dart."
Newton admitted: "I was trying my best but the pace of the game killed me.
"I was frustrated with the pace of the game and it's hard to take sometimes, but I've got to learn from that and get over it.
"I feel like I'm a better player than Justin and it's the pace of the game that cost me that.
"He's a slow player and it does affect you, I'm a quick player and like to get on with the game but you've got to keep your focus and concentration and it got to me sometimes.
"I've made big strides this year and I've got to take the positives from it and have another good year in 2012, and try and come back here next year and produce the goods."
|
Wes Newton |
3-4 |
Justin Pipe |
|
41 |
100+ |
40 |
|
16 |
140+ |
30 |
|
6 |
180s |
6 |
|
30.22 |
Ave 1 |
30.61 |
|
90.66 |
Ave 3 |
91.83 |
|
170, 161, 125, 115 |
High Finish |
90 |
|
5 |
Legs Against Throw |
4 |
|
15/40 - 38% |
Finishing - % |
17/64 - 27% |
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