Gerwyn Price’s quest to reclaim the World Darts Championship title began with a victory over Luke Woodhouse to carry him through into the third round at Alexandra Palace.
The world number one started the match slowly but when he got into his rhythm, he became too much to handle for his English opponent. With his performance in the final set, the Welshman and one-time world champion laid down a marker for this tournament. He said after the match the slow start made him the most nervous he had been in two years but he certainly kept his cool to turn it around.
The 37-year-old was left stunned in the opening stages as he fell a set behind to Woodhouse who started the game excellently. The Englishman took control of the game with some brilliant darts and he made sure he was clinical on his doubles as against Price, you simply have to be.
The Iceman slowly improved in the second set but Woodhouse continued to let him know he was there. The Englishman’s lapse of concentration in the final leg gave Price an opportunity which he took to level the match. Price started to look more assertive in the third set as his average climbed. He was also helped by Woodhouse showing signs of decline and we started to see the Englishman feeling the pressure. Iceman capitalised on this to move ahead for the first time in the match.
His confidence grew even further when he took the first leg of the fourth set with a finish on the bullseye, followed by a 180 and an amazing 150 checkout to take him one leg away from victory.
Here is how the rest of day five’s evening session unfolded.
Geert Nentjes 1-3 Leonard Gates
Debutant Leonard Gates enjoyed a dream debut at Ally Pally with a strong victory over Dutchman Geert Nentjes.
Gates started strongly in the first set on his World Darts Championship debut, he was lethal with his finishing as he made it two out of two on the doubles to get up and running at Ally Pally. Nentjes fought his way back to take the set however, as he soon found his clinical edge on the finishing.
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Both players had trouble with their finishing in the second set. Gates was able to edge it at the death with a double one, but he made tough work of it and somehow Nentjes kept inviting him back in. Nentjes’ really struggled with his finishing in the third set and allowed Gates to chase him down and take the lead as he showed the Dutchman how to wrap-up a leg. After a lengthy fourth set, and quite a few match darts missed, Gates got himself over the line to reach round two.
David Cameron completes the comeback with the help of the Ally Pally wasp 🤣💪
Ritchie Edhouse 2-3 David Cameron
Canadian debutant David Cameron completed one of the greatest comebacks in World Darts Championship history as he clawed his way back from two sets down to beat Ritchie Edhouse 3-2 in a stunning match.
Edhouse was commanding as he stormed to take the first set. He regularly hit trebles and he was clinical with his finishing. Cameron threw some strong darts himself, Edhouse was just too strong for him. Cameron delivered a strong response in the second set as Edhouse struggled. However, he had six darts to take the set but couldn’t capitalise as Edhouse pulled the legs back to 2-2 before taking the set for himself.
Cameron was able to get a set on the board as Edhouse missed several match darts. There seemed to be a momentum shift as the Canadian won six legs on the bounce to move two ahead to take the fourth as moved into control of the match. Cameron was one dart away from one of the greatest Ally Pally comebacks needing to hit the bullseye, but he miscounted and hit tops as Edhouse pulled a crucial leg back. The pressure got to Edhouse as he lost his scoring power and Cameron, aided by a wasp on his shoulder, won the match thanks to double 10 - you couldn’t write it.
Steve Beaton 0-3 Danny van Trijp
It was a historical night at Ally Pally as Steve Beaton made a record-breaking 32nd consecutive appearance at the World Darts Championship but it wasn’t his night at the oche as he was defeated in straight sets by debutant Danny van Trijp. The former world champion struggled to deal with the young Dutchman in the first two sets as he fell behind. Beaton started rather wastefully with his darts as Van Trijp was clinical with his. Some of Beaton’s throws were tired and without conviction, whereas Van Trijp’s throws were convincing and accurate as he dispatched the former world number one with ease.
*18+ | BeGambleAware
