World Championship - Night Six

WORLD number seven Terry Jenkins, Bristol's Steve Brown, Austrian Mensur Suljovic and Holland's Vincent van der Voort won through to the second round of the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship on Tuesday night.

Jenkins and Brown will now clash in the last 32 of the £1 million tournament after Christmas following their victories at Alexandra Palace.

Jenkins held off a brave fightback from 21-year-old Joe Cullen to take a five-set victory against the youngster, who hit back from 2-0 down to force a decider.

Brown, meanwhile, swept aside Holland's Jelle Klaasen 3-1 to pick up his first victory in three attempts at the World Championship, impressing as he won six of the final seven legs in taking the win.

Young Dutchman Michael van Gerwen will join Klaasen in returning to Holland on the back of a disappointing defeat, after he went down 3-1 to Austria's Mensur Suljovic.

Van Gerwen missed chances to win the third set and ultimately paid for 25 wasted darts at a double in the contest as Suljovic set up a second round clash with world number two James Wade.

Vincent van der Voort was the only Dutchman to taste victory on the night, defeating New Zealand's Preston Ridd in straight sets.

The Kiwi had whitewashed Northern Ireland's Michael Mansell in the preliminary round, but was unable to keep pace with the former UK Open champion.

The world's leading Dutchman, Raymond van Barneveld, enters the fray on Wednesday night when he faces Steve Hine as the first round continues.

Wales' Barrie Bates takes on Kevin McDine, Colin Osborne faces debutant Chris Thompson and Derby's Jamie Caven will meet the winner of the preliminary round clash between South Africa's Devon Petersen and Guyana's Norman Madhoo.

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Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship
First Round
Tuesday December 21
Michael van Gerwen 1-3 Mensur Suljovic
Michael Mansell 0-4 Preston Ridd (P)
Terry Jenkins 3-2 Joe Cullen
Jelle Klaasen 1-3 Steve Brown
Vincent van der Voort 3-0 Preston Ridd

MENSUR SULJOVIC 3-1 MICHAEL VAN GERWEN
(3-0, 0-3, 3-2, 3-1)
MENSUR SULJOVIC sealed a spot in the last 32 of the 2011 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship with a 3-1 victory over Dutch youngster Michael van Gerwen.

Van Gerwen, who will appear in the PDC Unicorn Under-21 World Championship final on January 3, paid dearly for missed chances to win the third set for a 2-1 lead which changed the course of the match.

The Austrian took advantage to come back and take the set, winning six of the final seven legs to secure victory.

Suljovic, making his fourth World Championship appearance, started confidently by hitting 180 in the opening leg, which he took in 12 darts before breaking van Gerwen's throw in the second by hitting double ten, which included another maximum.

Suljovic then sealed the set in third leg for a 1-0 lead by hitting double top, after van Gerwen had missed one dart at the same bed.

Van Gerwen, who lost to James Wade in last year's competition, won his first leg of the match at the start of the second set with a solid 15-dart finish.

The 21-year-old then broke Suljovic's throw for the first time by hitting double five, but only after seven previous missed attempts at doubles.

Van Gerwen struggled again on the doubles in the third leg, but double five came to his rescue once again to seal the set and square the match at one set apiece.

Van Gerwen broke throw in the opening leg of the third set with the aid of his fourth maximum of the game, and then won the next by hitting double eight.

The Dutchman could have sealed the set in the third leg but missed four darts at doubles and Suljovic snatched it by hitting double eight.

Suljovic then put together some superb darts in the fourth leg, hitting his third 180 of the game followed by an excellent 136 checkout.

Suljovic then won the deciding leg with an excellent 80 finish to win a set that seemed unlikely a few minutes before and move ahead for the second time.

The Austrian made big strides towards victory in the opening two legs of the fourth set courtesy of checkouts of 64 and 96.

Van Gerwen kept the match alive with a clinical two-dart 82 finish to win the third leg, but Suljovic ended matters in the fourth by hitting double five to win and set up a clash against number two seed James Wade.

Michael van Gerwen	1-3	Mensur Suljovic
12	100s	20
9	140s	8
4	180	3
28.06	Ave 1	30.50
84.17	Ave 3	91.51
2	Legs Against Throw	3
82	High Finish	136

PRESTON RIDD 4-0 MICHAEL MANSELL
PRESTON RIDD set up a first round clash against Vincent van der Voort after a whitewash victory over Michael Mansell in the preliminary round of the 2011 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship.

Ridd, the 57-year-old from Christchurch, won the first leg against the darts with a successful attempt at double top at the first time of asking, making Mansell pay for two missed opportunities at double four.

The New Zealander hit a 180 at the start of the second leg and won it with a 74 finish to double his advantage.

Mansell, who reached the semi-finals of a Players Championship in October before winning the Tom Kirby Memorial Irish Matchplay, missed chances to win the third leg allowing Ridd to establish a 3-0 lead by hitting tops.

That put Ridd one leg away from a victory which was secured in the fourth leg with a 104 checkout to end an impressive performance.

Michael Mansell	0-4	Preston Ridd
5	100s	4
5	140s	4
0	180	1
27.57	Ave 1	28.23
82.70	Ave 3	84.68
0	Legs Against Throw	2
0	High Finish	104

TERRY JENKINS 3-2 JOE CULLEN
(3-0, 3-0, 2-3, 2-3, 3-0)
TERRY JENKINS overcame the challenge of Joe Cullen in the first round of the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship with a dramatic five-set victory.

Jenkins made a dominant start to the match by winning the first seven legs, and he looked on course for a comfortable straight sets victory.

But 21-year-old Cullen showed the kind of form that secured him a spot in this year's competition as he won the next two sets to force a decider.

However, the seventh seed showed his experience in the final set to end Cullen's hopes and book a second round match against Bristol's Steve Brown.

Jenkins hit a maximum in the opening leg of the game and followed that up with a 97 finish for an early advantage.

Cullen should have won the second, but missed seven darts at doubles to allow Jenkins to step in and break throw by hitting double two.

Cullen, competing in his first World Championship missed a dart at double 16 for a 110 checkout in the third leg and Jenkins hit double ten to win the first set.

The second set fell into a similar pattern as the Jenkins won it by taking three more legs without reply.

The first leg was won with the aid of his second 180 of the game, before he took the second against the darts by hitting double top.

Jenkins, whose best performance at the World Championships is a quarter-final appearance, found the winning double in the third leg difficult to find, but he eventually hit double one to establish total command.

Both players hit maximums at the start of the third set, but Jenkins kept up the winning run of legs by hitting double top for an early advantage.

Cullen managed to win first leg of the match in the next after capitalising on four missed doubles from Jenkins, and then won the third leg by hitting double top, before his opponent posted double seven for the fourth.

That put Jenkins one leg away from a straight-sets victory, but Cullen kept his nerve to hit double 16 to win the set and keep his hopes alive.

Jenkins won the first leg of the fourth set with the aid of a maximum before Cullen hit back to win the second, which included a 180 of his own.

Cullen, who was starting to gain confidence, broke throw in the next leg but Jenkins hit his second 14-dart finish of the game to go within touching distance of victory once again.

But the youngster from Bradford put together a superb leg in the decider with an 11-darter to win the set and send the match into a decider.

The final set began with Jenkins breaking throw with a two dart 90 finish which was swiftly followed by a 13-darter, completed on double 18.

In the third leg Cullen missed three darts at double top to keep the match alive and Jenkins stepped up to take out 56 in two darts to seal victory.

"I made hard work of things out there," said Jenkins. "I was 2-0 up and looking very comfortable.

"I felt a bit sorry for Joe after the first two sets as he was really struggling on the big stage but he showed what he can do after that."

He added: "I've not got the best record in this tournament and I'm determined to improve on that this time around."

Terry Jenkins	3-2	Joe Cullen
12	100s	20
21	140s	7
5	180	4
29.04	Ave 1	27.26
87.11	Ave 3	81.77
7	Legs Against Throw	3
97	High Finish	59

STEVE BROWN 3-1 JELLE KLAASEN
(3-1, 1-3, 3-0, 3-1)
STEVE BROWN celebrated his first Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship victory with a high-quality 3-1 defeat of Jelle Klaasen at Alexandra Palace.

The Bristol man had been defeated by Chris Mason and James Wade in his two previous World Championship appearances, but will now return after Christmas to face Terry Jenkins in the second round.

Brown, a former plasterer, came out of blocks quickly with a 180, followed by a two dart 96 to win the opening leg against the Dutch star, and fired in another maximum in the process of winning the second leg against the darts.

Klaasen hit back to win the third leg by hitting double ten before Brown wrapped up the set to establish an early lead by hitting double top.

The Dutchman put together his best leg of the match at the start of the second, hitting his first maximum of the game followed by a 111 checkout.

Klaasen hit another 180 in the second leg, winning it with a 13-dart finish before Brown won the third leg with 15-darter completed on double top.

Brown missed a dart at double 12 for a 104 finish in the fourth leg and Klaasen stepped in to hit double 16 which levelled the match at one set apiece.

Brown hit a 93 finish the break throw at the start of the third set and then won the second with the aid of his fourth maximum of the game.

In the third leg Klaasen missed two darts at double top and Brown made him pay by hitting double four to lead the match for the second time.

Brown won the first leg of the fourth set, which included a 180, before Klaasen won the second to level after missed a dart at double top for a 116 checkout.

Brown missed four darts at doubles to win the third leg but Klaasen was unable to capitalise and the 29-year-old landed double one to go a leg away from victory.

The Dutchman missed a dart at bullseye in the next, and Brown stepped in to hit double top at the first time of asking to progress into the second round.

"Jelle's an excellent player and a former World Champion so I knew I had to be on my game," said Brown. "I was confident coming into the match and I think it showed in performance tonight."

He added: "I beat Terry in the World Matchplay in July and I'd love to do it again in this tournament, although I've a huge amount of respect for him.

"He's offered me some good advice at times in the last couple of years when I've found things hard on the circuit and he's a good friend, but we'll have to be enemies on stage."

Jelle Klaasen	1-3	Steve Brown
13	100s	19
9	140s	9
2	180	5
28.01	Ave 1	30.49
84.03	Ave 3	91.46
1	Legs Against Throw	4
111	High Finish	96

VINCENT VAN DER VOORT 3-0 PRESTON RIDD
(3-0, 3-0, 3-1)
VINCENT VAN DER VOORT strolled into the second round of the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship with a straight-sets victory over Preston Ridd.

The New Zealander, who had beaten Michael Mansell earlier on in the evening, was unable to keep up with heavy scoring set by the former UK Open finalist, winning just one leg in the match.

Van der Voort made a clinical start to the match with a 12-darter, which included a maximum, and then won the second after Ridd missed two chances at doubles to get on the board.

In the third leg the 20th seed hit another 180 and then sealed the set by hitting double top to open up an early advantage.

The second set followed a similar pattern as the fast throwing Dutchman took it without reply, winning the first leg by hitting double top and the second with the aid of a maximum, before another tops finish sealed the set.

Van der Voort should have won a seventh successive leg at the start of the third set, but wasted 15 darts at doubles and Ridd, who had missed six of his own, hit double two to win his first leg of the match.

Van der Voort made no mistake in the next two legs in as he hit double top and double 16 at the first time of asking to lead 2-1.

The Dutchman then ended the match in the fourth leg with an accurate attempt at double top to set up a clash against Wayne Jones in the second round after the Christmas break.