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RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD kept up the pressure on Holsten Premier League Darts leader Phil Taylor
as the pair continued their winning starts to the 2006 campaign in Aberdeen.
Taylor has now won his opening four games of the year following an 8-4 win against Ronnie
Baxter. The defending champion was again in excellent form to continue his 100 percent start to this year's tournament.
"Ronnie defeated Colin quite easy earlier tonight and that can settle your nerv es, but he was a little spasmodic in this game," said Taylor. "It was a
funny game. The aim is to make it into the play-offs, so I'm still on track and it's great to keep winning."
Dutch star van Barneveld overcame fellow countryman Roland Scholten to win his
third game in as many attempts with a superb 8-3 triumph. "It wasn't my best game but Roland didn't play to his best,"
said Barneveld. "I still averaged 30 a dart, but I will need to improve to beat Phil Taylor. We play in Bournemouth and I'll be doubling my practice ahead of that
one."
Baxter opened his account for the year with a 8-3 defeat of Colin Lloyd in the
night's first game, and Peter Manley also got off the mark by defeating Wayne 'Mardle 8-5.
Colin Lloyd 3-8 Ronnie Baxter
Peter Manley 8-5 Wayne Mardle
Raymond van Barneveld 8-3 Roland Scholten
Ronnie Baxter 4-8 Phil Taylor
The richest tournament in the world began with a shot around the world as
the number one seed, Colin Lloyd, fell in the first round promising that this year's tournament would have some stunning matches. Beginning on
December 18, 2005 and running through January 2, 2006, the Ladbrokes.com World Championship would make history. Johnny Kuczynski, Ray Carver and
Darin Young held the US banner high with some terrific darts and outcomes.
Event Format
Round One – Best of 5 sets, best of 5 legs per set
Round Two – Best of 7 sets, best of 5 legs per set
Round Three – Best of 7 sets, best of 5 legs per set
Quarter-Finals – Best of 9 sets, best of 5 legs per set
Semi-Final – Best of 11 sets, best of 5 legs per set
Final – Best of 13 sets, best of 5 legs per set
Prize Fund
Position Prize Money Ranking Points
Champion £100,000 50
Finalist £50,000 40
Top 04 £20,000 35
Top 08 £12,500 30
Top 16 £8,500 24
Top 32 £5,000 16
Top 64 £3,500 12
Total £500,000
First Round Matches
ADRIAN LEWIS 3-0 DAVE HONEY (3-1, 3-0, 3-2)
ADRIAN LEWIS announced his intentions at the Ladbrokes.com World Darts
Championship with a 30 win over qualifier Dave Honey on the opening afternoon of the tournament. Lewis, the 20-year-old rising star of the sport,
produced a dominant performance on his debut at the Circus Tavern to move into the last 32.
After winning the first set 3-0 with a 121 finish, Lewis never looked back.
"I think it went quite well today," said Lewis, whose odds of winning the event
were slashed from 20/1 to 12/1 with Ladbrokes.com. "My scoring was a bit inconsistent, but that will probably come as the rounds go on and I was
delighted that my finishing was spot on. I was nervous because it was my first time up there in the World Championship and I'm something like third
favorite to win it! But it's a relief to get through."
STEVE ALKER 3.1 ALAN CAVES (3-0, 3-2. 0-3, 3-01
STEVE ALKER upset number 24 seed Alan Caves 3-1 to reach the second
round of the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship. Welshman Alker showed few nerves on his Circus Tavern debut by racing into one-set lead,
winning the first four legs without reply before Caves finally landed a double. Alker managed to win the second set 3-2, but his opponent found his range in
the third. He included a 14-dart leg in taking the set 3-0 to pull back to 2-1 in the match. However, Alker regained his composure and punished a nervy
Caves in the next set to wrap up victory.
"I'm over the moon," said Alker, who reached the last 32 at the Budweiser UK
Open in his only previous appearance in a major PDC event. "It was hard work. Alan's a cracking player and he's worked his way up to 24th in the
world, but he didn't play as well as he can. I took my chances when he let me in and though he came back in the third set, he let me in one too many
times. I'm over the moon. I can go home and enjoy Christmas now before coming back for my next game."
JASON CLARK 3-2 STEVE MAISH (3-0, 3-1, 2-3, 2-3, 3-1)
JASON CLARK overcame a gritty comeback from Steve Maish to win their
first round clash at the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship 3-2. Clark, who qualified for the tournament for the second successive year, looked
comfortable against his seeded opponent by winning the opening two sets. He dropped just one leg in that run before Maish, a local favorite from
Southend, hit back. The world number 28 won the third and fourth sets 3-2, both times having to save the match with pressure checkouts. Clark took the
opening two legs of the decider, and though Maish pulled back the third, the Londoner was able to seal victory with double top.
WES NEWTON 3-0 YASUIIIKO MATSUNAGA (3-0. 3-0, 3-0)
WES NEWTON whitewashed Japanese qualifier Yasuhiko Matsunaga 3-0 to
move safely into round two. Matsunaga, the current Japanese number one, had won a place at the Circus Tavern for the second successive year, but
again found himself facing an early return home.
Newton took the opening set without reply, and added the second by the
same score line as his opponent suffered double trouble. He continued to make the Japanese star pay for a string of wasted chances by winning the final set 3-0.
"I'm happy to win and get through to the second round," said Newton. "It's the
biggest tournament in the world and it's great to be here. No disrespect to Yasuhiko, but it was a pretty easy game. It is hard up there, but it will be
good game. It is hard up there, but it will be good experience for him. I've been getting better with every tournament I've played on TV. I'm looking
forward to the second round, and I know I'm playing well, so hopefully I'll still be here on January 2nd!"
JOHN PART 3-0 LIU CHENG'AN (3-2, 3-1, 3-0)
CANADIAN John Part began his challenge for a third World Championship
title with a straight sets victory over Chinese qualifier Liu Cheng'An. Part, who last won the title in 2003 at the Circus Tavern, produced some clinical
finishing to see off the Purfleet debutant. Cheng'An, the current Chinese number one, produced a strong display to represent the developing country
with pride, hitting two 180's and checking out 103 in the second leg of the game. Part eventually won the first set 3-2 with a superb 161 checkout,
before a thundering 97 finish put him 2-0 up.
The Canadian stepped up the tempo in the third set, reeling off three straight
legs to book his place in the last 32.
"It's great to get the first game out of the way," said Part. "I was ready for
anything because he was an unknown quantity and you don't know how they will cope with the whole situation. He was quite fantastic and he turned up to
play. I hope he gets the credit he deserves back home for how he played a former champion. I was happy with how I responded. I've been practicing hard
on my out-shots and overall my finishing was quite spectacular. The scoring was there, but I think I can be a little more automatic on that and work on
that over Christmas."
JAN VAN DER RASSEL 3-0 STEVE BEATON (3-2, 3-1, 3-1)
DUTCH qualifier Jan van der Rassel produced the first big upset of the
championship with a 30 win over Steve Beaton. The 41-year-old, making just his second appearance at the Circus Tavern, proved in deadly form against
the former World Champion to move into the last 32. It was a display which stunned Beaton, who took the opening two legs but saw his opponent hit
back to take the set with a 121 finish on the bull. Van der Rassel took the second 3-1 and gradually wore Beaton down in the third. Two double eights,
an improvisation after missing his first dart at double 16, in the third leg saw him crucially move 2-1 ahead before he took the next to secure the win.
"I'm so happy," said the Dutch number one. "It means so much to me
because two years ago I lost my first match, but now I've shown everyone what I can do. I've got through now, and it's not just great for me but also for
my family, who support me and go with me everywhere."
PHIL TAYLOR 3-0 DAVID PLATT (3-0, 3-1, 3-0)
PHIL TAYLOR began the defense of his Ladbrokes.com World Darts
Championship with a 3-0 defeat of David Platt. Taylor, who was 66/1 on to win the match with the tournament sponsors, never looked likely to be upset,
despite a plucky display from the Staffordshire-based qualifier. Taylor, looking to win a 13th World Championship, won the first set without reply but was
given a warning when Platt took the opening leg of the second. Perhaps stung, Taylor hit back to win the set with finishes of 82 and 78 before sealing
victory by taking the third set 3-0.
"I'm glad to get through," admitted Taylor. "I'm not used to starting before
Christmas so I was like a fish out of water a little bit. It's strange, but I settled down in the first set and the format is a bit longer now, which will suit me. I
can go home now and relax over Christmas, although I'll still practice for two or three hours a day. David played well and gave a good account of himself,
but I got more relaxed as the game went on."
WAYNE JONES 3-2 JAMES WADE (0-3, 0-3, 3-2, 3-0, 6-4)
WAYNE JONES produced a superb comeback to end James Wade's hopes
of progressing to round two. Jones, a PDPA Qualifier from Wolverhampton, looked set for an early exit from the Circus Tavern after losing the first six
legs to go 2-0 down. But, a run of six successive legs saw him turn that deficit into a level game at 22 and a lead in the deciding set at 2-0. Wade
suddenly regained his form, pulling back from the brink of defeat to level matters and take the game into overtime. The 22-year-old then edged ahead
at 3-2, but Jones battled back winning the final set 6-4.
"I started terribly and couldn't put three darts in the same place," admitted
Jones. "At 2-0 down, I thought it was all over but I fought back and my finishing in those six legs was lovely. James is a good player, but there's a
lot of pressure up there and I didn't play as well as I'd like to have done."
ERWIN EXIERCAITE 3-2 DARREN WEBSTER (0-3. 3-1, 0-3, 3-2, 3-1)
DUTCH qualifier Erwin Extercatte came from behind to defeat Darren Webster in his
first round match. The 24-year-old came back from a slow start on his debut in a major PDC tournament, but settled into life on the big stage in time to keep alive his
Purfleet hopes. After losing the first set 3-0, he found his range on the doubles to level the match by taking the second 3-1. Norfolk star Webster, though, put
himself in line for victory by winning the third set 3-0 and pulling back to 2-2 in the fourth set. The world number 32 missed three darts to win the game in
the fifth leg, with Extercatte sneaking into to take the set. The Dutchman then secured a crucial break of throw in the third leg of the deciding set, and
hit a 68 finish in two darts to move into the last 32.
"I feel a bit lucky but he had darts for the match and he didn't take them,"
said Extercatte. "I knew the odds were against me, but I can play better and hopefully I will in the next round."
MARK WALSH 3-0 WARREN PARRY (3-1, 3-1, 3-2)
MARK WALSH defeated New Zealander Warren Parry 3-0 to move into the
second round. Walsh, who has risen to 12th in the world rankings over the past year, secured his first win in three attempts at the Circus Tavern. The
Budweiser UK Open finalist began the game in superb form, taking the first set 3-1 with a checkout of 101, which was bettered in the next with a brilliant
161 finish. That put him 2-0, and though Parry landed the next leg, he took the fourth to win the second set and move to within one of the match. Parry
took the first leg of the next set, but Walsh hit double 18 to level matters and a 110 finish to go 2-1 up. Though the New Zealander levelled matters to take
the set into a decider; Walsh landed double ten to wrap up the win.
DENNIS SMITH 3-2 MARK SALMON (2-3, 0-3, 3-1, 3-2, 6-4)
DENNIS SMITH came back from two sets down to defeat qualifier Mark
Salmon 3-2 in the first round. The former Purfleet semi-finalist looked set for a shock early exit after losing the opening two sets to the Welshman. But he
showed great battling qualities to fight back and level the match before edging out the PDPA qualifier in a deciding set tie break. The final set saw the
players trade legs like boxers searching for the knockout punch as the game moved into overtime after the pair were locked at 2-2. Smith took the fifth leg,
but Salmon won the next two to move 4-3 up. However, the former semi-finalist saw his experience on the big stage shine through with three successive legs to win the game.
 "I'm absolutely over the moon," he said. "Mark played brilliantly and it was a
fantastic match. When I brought it back to 2-2, I thought I had done enough to bury him as it was my darts in the final set. But fair play to Mark, he carried on
digging in and I take my hat off to him. I thought I should have won the first set, but was confident I could break his throw in the second, but he went 2-0 up and I
was a worried man! It's very hard because it's earlier than normal for all the players, and all you want to do is win the
first game. I can go home and enjoy Christmas now, and come back for the second round ready to go."
JOHN KUCZYNSKI 3-0 LIONEL SARIS (3-0, 3-0, 3-0)
AMERICAN number one, John Kuczynski, produced a clinical display to
dump number 16 seed Lionel Sams out of the Championship. Kuczynski failed to drop a single leg on his debut at the Circus Tavern. The American
announced his intentions by opening the game...
Continued...
Bull’s-Eye News print subscribers were treated to 15 full pages of
complete Ladbrokes.com World Championship coverage in our Mar/April 2006 edition —including two-dozen great event photos! Isn’t
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