SIMON WHITLOCK thrilled the Australian crowd with a 6-3 win over Vinay Cooper in the first round of the TABtouch Perth Darts Masters on Friday, as Phil Taylor and James Wade overcame scares to progress at the Challenge Stadium.
Australian number one Whitlock, last weekend's Singapore Darts Masters runner-up, thrilled a capacity crowd in Perth as he began his bid to win the World Series of Darts title in style.
Whitlock finished 164 to win his opening leg against local qualifier Vinay Cooper, and added a 180 as he moved 2-0 up before taking out 108 to win a third leg.
Cooper, who qualified for his first major event last weekend, took out 106 as he capitalised on a miss from Whitlock in the fourth leg as he got off the mark.
The world number four then hit three 180s in posting legs of 14 and 12 darts to move 5-1 up, and though Cooper finished 76 and 96 as he showed his best form of the game in hitting back, Whitlock had enough cushion to post double 16 in the ninth to seal the win.
"It felt fantastic and it meant so much to have such great support tonight," said Whitlock, the former European Champion.
"It was a big night for Vinay and fair play to him, he was fantastic, but I felt comfortable and I know I'm playing well, and I know I can win this. I'll be giving it my best and I'd love to win this title."
Whitlock now faces Dave Chisnall in Saturday's quarter-finals, with the former World Grand Prix finalist impressing with a 102.48 average in his whitewash of another local qualifier, Justin Miles.
World Champion Michael van Gerwen also enjoyed a whitewash win as he swept aside another top Australian prospect, Kyle Anderson.
Van Gerwen opened the game with legs of 11 and 12 darts, hitting 180s in both and a 161 checkout in the second, and finished double 16 to take the third.
He landed two further 180s as he moved 5-0 up - adding a 14-darter in the fifth leg - before punishing five missed doubles from Anderson by pinning double eight to complete a heavy win.
"I started off really well and that gave me a lot of confidence," said van Gerwen, last weekend's Singapore Darts Masters champion. "It was an amazing atmosphere and the crowd were great - like we experience in the Premier League.
"I won last week in Singapore and I really want to win this trophy as well. I love these tournaments and I'm loving playing darts at the moment."
Phil Taylor, however, was given a scare by David Platt before he progressed to the last eight with a 6-4 win over the Perth-based thrower, who had emigrated from the UK to live in Australia.
Taylor had edged two of the opening three legs with third-dart doubles before Platt hit a second 180 of the game in a 12-darter as he broke to lead 3-2.
Taylor took out 68 and then hit a 13-darter as he moved 4-3 up, only for Platt to again hit back as he landed another 180 and finished double 16 to level - raising the prospect of another early exit for the world number two after his quarter-final defeat to Chisnall in the Singapore Darts Masters.
The Stoke legend, though, recovered with a superb 11-darter, featuring a 180, as he regained the lead before claiming the win in 13 darts.
"I'm glad to get that game out of the way," admitted Taylor. "When Dave hit the 180 and then checked out in the eighth leg it put me on the back foot, but the 11-darter set up the win."
Taylor now meets Raymond van Barneveld in the quarter-finals, with the Dutchman a 6-2 winner from his clash with Loz Ryder, the current DPA Australian Grand Prix leader.
Van Barneveld opened the game with a 180 and punished a miss from Ryder to win the opening leg against the throw, and led throughout as he moved into the last eight.
James Wade, like Taylor, also endured a scare before he came back from 2-0 down to defeat Beau Anderson 6-2 by reeling off six successive legs.
Anderson finished double 15 to win the game's opening leg before doubling his lead on tops when Wade missed doubles in leg two - but the home favourite crucially missed two darts at double 12 to win a third leg.
Wade stepped in to hit tops to get off the mark and levelled on double eight before producing a killer blow with a sensational 160 checkout to move 3-2 up.
He then finished double top and double ten before completing the fightback with a 104 checkout.
Wade will now face Peter Wright in the quarter-finals, with the World Championship finalist hitting a 161 checkout on the way to a 6-1 win over New Zealand number one Warren Parry.
Paul Nicholson was the night's other winner as he set up a quarter-final with van Gerwen by defeating Queensland left-hander Shane Tichowitsch 6-1 in the tournament's opening game.
Nicholson produced some superb finishing to move four legs up without missing a dart at a double, taking out 77, 97 and a 13-darter along the way.
Tichowitsch hit back with an 11-dart finish in leg five, and after Nicholson took out 124 to lead 5-1 the former World Championship qualifier took out 74 to claim a second leg.
He also hit a 180 in the next, but missed double top to keep his hopes alive as Nicholson finished double nine to seal victory with a 75 percent checkout ratio.
The TABtouch Perth Darts Masters continues on Saturday (7pm) with the four quarter-finals in front of a sell-out crowd of almost 4,000 at the Challenge Stadium, before the action concludes with the semi-finals and final on Sunday (5pm).
There is no live TV or streaming coverage of this event. Matches will be uploaded to www.LIVEPDC.TV in due course.
Match Information is below in our LIVE BLOG.
Friday August 22
First Round
Paul Nicholson 6-2 Shane Tichowitsch
Raymond van Barneveld 6-2 Loz Ryder
Dave Chisnall 6-0 Justin Miles
James Wade 6-2 Beau Anderson
Peter Wright 6-1 Warren Parry
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Vinay Cooper
Phil Taylor 6-4 David Platt
Michael van Gerwen 6-0 Kyle Anderson
Best of 11 legs
Saturday August 23 (7pm)
Quarter-Finals
James Wade v Peter Wright
Dave Chisnall v Simon Whitlock
Phil Taylor v Raymond van Barneveld
Michael van Gerwen v Paul Nicholson
Best of 15 legs
For the full event schedule, information and draw bracket, click here.
LIVE BLOG