mpionships
bull to clinch the match in a deciding set.
Jamie Caven ran Raymond van Barneveld extremely close, indeed
Barney need every point of his 99 average to clinch the match in
a deciding set as a resurgent Caven produced one of his best ever
televised performances.
James Wade was perhaps a little lucky also, the Aldershot-based
thrower was pushed all the way to a deciding set by Andy Smith and in
fact had to come from behind as he edged through to the last sixteen.
Mark Webster meanwhile was enjoying his best TV tournament in two
years as he took out John Henderson 4-3 to book his spot in the last
sixteen and retain his top 32 slot in the world. A resurgent Webster will
now surely be looking to get his career back on track during 2014.
Kim Huybrechts also put in an impressive display, averaging nearly 99,
but it was not enough to beat an in form Ian White who clinched a
thrilling match in the deciding set to book his third round slot for the
first time in a World Championships.
Photo: PDC/Lawrence Lustig
In truth the remainder of the matches were fairly one-sided, youngster
Ricky Evans did impress again but could only take two sets of Mervyn
King and Devon Petersen produced the display of his life as he took out
Justin Pipe 4-1, leaving the Taunton-based throwers hopes of a Premier
League spot in tatters.
There were big wins for the trio of Adrian Lewis, Gary Anderson and
Michael van Gerwen in the bottom half of the draw, whilst Peter Wright,
Robert Thornton and Wes Newton all came through in the top half as
they looked to take advantage of Taylor’s early exit.
Meanwhile Andy Hamilton’s return to the Premier League was put
in jeopardy as he fell victim to former BDO World Champion Richie
Burnett and Simon Whitlock and Kevin Painter set up a third round
clash after they both picked up 4-0 victories.
Third Round
Like so many before him Michael Smith, who had defeated Phil
Taylor in round two, immediately went out of the tournament
in the next round. In fairness to Smith though there was little
he could have done as his opponent Peter Wright averaged over
105 on his way to a 4-3 victory, on another day Smith would have
bucked the trend.
Perhaps the match of the third round was Michael van Gerwen’s win
Photo: PDC/Lawrence Lustig
Photos: PDC/Lawrence Lustig