that helps me play well.” The second day’s action featured two sessions, with the evening session seeing Phil Taylor enter the tournament as he produced the first of five 100+ averages on his way to defeating Stuart Kellett 10-1. Kellett was making his debut on the Winter Gardens stage and could perhaps be accused of letting the occasion get to him, but in the end it was a dominant performance from ‘The Power’ that saw him safely through.
happy to have won that match,” said van Gerwen. “I’m really pleased to play so well in the first round because you always want to play well on this stage and I’m proud to do it.” “Winning the game was most important and I hope I can do well in this tournament. Mervyn King would have been cursing his luck when he drew Gary Anderson, the Scotsman has only recently dropped out of the World’s top sixteen and was perhaps the toughest draw that any seed could
“It’s a great first round for me and it was more comfortable than I thought it would be,” said Taylor. “Stuart’s a lot better player than he showed tonight - he beat me in a Players Championship a few weeks ago and maybe he had some nerves.” “I’ve prepared well and I’m happy to be through. My average of 103 was average really, because a lot of players are hitting those types of scores, but I know Terry will test me in the second round.” Michael van Gerwen got his campaign off to a flying start as he came through what could have proven to be a tricky first round encounter with Colin Lloyd. The in form Dutchman raced into a 5-0 lead before Lloyd was able to peg him back to trail by a solitary leg at 7-6. Van Gerwen though was able to secure three of the last four legs on his way to a 10-7 victory, as he landed an average of just under 100 to lay down a marker to the rest of the field. “Colin’s a brilliant player and he never gave up, so I’m
have faced. In fact Anderson proved to have too much for the Norfolk b a s e d thrower, he emerged from their match with a 10-5 victory after opening up an early lead and holding on to secure a spot in the second round. “At times it felt pretty good and the trebles were going in and the finishing was fine, but at the back end of the game I started to struggle a bit,” said Anderson. “I was telling myself not to throw it away, and I got there in the end.” “My practise has been going brilliant, so if they can get a bit better on stage I’ll be a lot happier. James is very steady and you know what you’re going to get against him, so I’ll have to dig in.” Dave Chisnall and Paul Nicholson served up a thriller,