World Championship Review - Day 5 evening
Posted on December 22nd, 2007
NUMBER THREE SEED James Wade made a fine start to his bid for the 2008 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship on Friday night.
The World Matchplay and World Grand Prix champion dropped just one leg in a 3-0 destruction of Australian Steve MacArthur at London’s Alexandra Palace to reach the last 32.
Wade will now take on Steve Beaton in the second round on Boxing Day, with the 1996 World Champion having earlier overcome Steve Evans in straight sets.
Canada’s John Part, the 2003 PDC World Champion, survived a scare from South Africa’s Charles Losper before taking a 3-1 victory.
Losper came from a set down to level and pushed Part all the way before the experienced Canadian pulled clear.
Mark Dudbridge, the runner-up three years ago, saw off qualifier Steve Hine to set up a tasty second round meeting with Ronnie Baxter.
Baxter was forced to dig deep to earn his place in the last 32 with a 3-2 win over impressive Canadian qualifier Dan Olson.
The second round begins with six matches on Saturday, including 13-time World Champion Phil Taylor facing Mark Walsh and qualifier Jamie Caven taking on Wayne Mardle.
The afternoon session features the all-Cumbrian meeting between three-time finalist Peter Manley and Alan Warriner-Little, who overcame China’s Shi Yongsheng 3-1 on Friday.
2008 Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship
First Round
Alan Warriner-Little 3-1 Shi Yongsheng
Colin Osborne 1-3 Erwin Extercatte
Andy Smith 2-3 Mensur Suljovic
Steve Beaton 3-0 Steve Evans
Evening Session (7pm start)
Ronnie Baxter 3-2 Dan Olson
James Wade 3-0 Steve MacArthur
John Part 3-1 Charles Losper
Mark Dudbridge 3-1 Steve Hine
RONNIE BAXTER 3-2 DAN OLSON
(3-0, 1-3, 3-1, 2-3, 4-2)
RONNIE BAXTER overcame the Canadian challenge of Dan Olson in another final-set thriller at the Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship.
The Lancastrian went ahead twice during the match, but was pegged back by the plucky Canadian, who put in an impressive display on his World Championship debut.
Olson started superbly with a 180 in the opening leg, but it was Baxter who took the lead with a 118 finish.
He then went on to take the first set without reply, hitting a 104 checkout to clinch it 3-0.
Olson hit a 120 checkout to start of the second set and then took a 2-1 lead when he landed double eight.
Both came close to completing big finishes in the fourth leg but it was the Canadian who levelled up, hitting double four.
The opening two legs of the third set where shared before Baxter stepped up a gear to claim the set, hitting a two-dart 74 checkout and a 13-dart finish in the fourth to regain his lead.
Olson missed two darts to take the opener to the fourth set, and Baxter made the Canadian pay to break the throw, then taking the next leg to claim a fourth straight leg.
However, Olson came back to win the next three to take the contest to a decider, despite Baxter having three darts for the match.
The Canadian continued his good run to take the opening leg of the final set and then hit a maximum in the second, but he could not capitalise and Baxter levelled up.
Baxter then took the next leg to establish a 2-1 advantage but Olson hit back, landing double 16 to extend the match.
But Baxter’s experience proved crucial and he took the next two legs in 15, and 16 darts to book a place in the next round.
JAMES WADE 3-0 STEVE MacARTHUR
(3-0, 3-0, 3-1)
JAMES WADE powered past Steve MacArthur to book his second round berth at the Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship.
The World Number Three was in fine fettle to begin his bid for a third successive Sky Sports-televised major title, following his World Matchplay and World Grand Prix successes this year.
He overcame a rocky start, with Australian star MacArthur missing four darts to win the first leg before being given little chance in the remainder of the contest.
Wade stepped in on double ten to win the opener, and then took the next four on double top, including a 120 finish, to take the first set and a 2-0 lead in the second.
Wade’s superior scoring even allowed him the opportunity to miscount in the next and still return to land double four for a two-set lead.
Scores of 170 and 136 set up finishes for Wade in the next two before MacArthur finally got off the mark, taking out double eight to save the match as the Englishman waited on 40.
But Wade wasted little more time in setting up a second round clash with Steve Beaton by landing his favoured double top to seal the win.
“It’s the opening game and you’re always nervous - you just want to get the win under your belt and I can have a good Christmas now,” said Wade.
“It’s a massive event and the one everyone wants to win. It’s brilliant.”
Wade also revealed he will be practising on Christmas Day to stay focused on his title bid.
“I’ve heard Phil Taylor talking about doing it for years and I can see what he means because you have to do if you’re going to be that successful,” added Wade.
“It’s a case of enjoying your Christmas dinner, having a drink and then getting on the practice board.”
JOHN PART 3-1 CHARLES LOSPER
(3-2, 2-3, 3-1, 3-2)
JOHN PART came through a close encounter with South African Charles Losper to reach round two at the 2008 Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship.
Losper, the Emperors Palace South African Open winner who appeared in the Grand Slam of Darts last month, put in an excellent performance against the two-time World Champion.
The first set proved to be a close affair, with each leg going the way of throw, Part landing double ten in the decider to take the lead.
The Canadian missed chances to break the throw at the start of the second set and Losper hit double eight to take the leg.
The next three legs where shared, meaning that the second set also went to the deciding leg.
Part created an opportunity to give himself a 2-0 lead, but failed to convert and the South African hit double top to level up.
Part opened up a 2-0 lead at the start of third set, but Losper won the next leg, which included a maximum.
Part closed out the third set to take a 2-1 lead, landing a two-dart 64 checkout, with his opponent waiting on 80.
The Canadian started well in the fourth set, hitting a 116 checkout to break the throw and then followed that with a 62 finish to move one leg away from victory.
But Losper hit back, landing a 94 checkout in the third leg and then levelling up the set after Part missed five opportunities to win the match.
Part put that disappointment behind and hit scores of 180 and 140 in the fifth leg, followed by double eight to end the South Africans hopes.
“It was a really good game,” said Part. “He represented himself well and is a very good dart player.
“He showed experience and took advantage so many times. I always had the edge, I wasn’t playing and stroked a few 140s and the odd 180, and was mostly hitting my finishes.
“I was a little nervous because I knew he was playing well and capitalising if I missed. It was a great first round test for me I can relax over Christmas now.
“I’m staying over, I play again on Boxing Day so I’ll see a few films, have some time on the practice board and enjoy Christmas Dinner!”
Losper said: “I’m proud of myself. I didn’t think I would perform as well as I did, especially against a former World Champion.
“I think I did pretty well under the circumstances and I kept up with him with the scoring.
“The Grand Slam was an eye-opener for me but I was amazed when I got here and saw the set-up - we’re not used to anything like this in South Africa, it’s tremendous.
“When I got back from the Grand Slam I practised for two or three hours a day when I wasn’t working, and it shows I’ve improved a lot since then.
“Hopefully I will have a good year and I’ll definitely be back!”
MARK DUDBRIDGE 3-1 STEVE HINE
(3-1, 2-3, 3-0, 3-1)
MARK DUDBRIDGE defeated qualifier Steve Hine 3-1 in the first round of the 2008 Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship.
Dudbridge lived up to his Flash nickname with flashes of his talent during the course of the match.
The man from Bristol took the first two legs of the contest, despite Hine having a dart in each to complete big checkouts.
Dudbridge missed an opportunity to wrap up the set in the next leg and Hine cashed in, landing double top.
The 2005 finalist made no mistake in the next, converting a 90 checkout to take a 1-0 lead.
The opening two legs where shared at the start of the second, then Dudbridge took a 2-1 advantage with a fantastic 11-dart finish to break the throw.
However, the Coventry man immediately broke back to level the set and stepped in, after Dudbridge missed a dart for a 71 finish, to take the set.
Hine then missed a series of doubles in the third set, allowing Dudbridge to open a 2-0 lead before double ten gave him the set and a 2-1 lead.
Dudbridge took the first two legs of the fourth set, to go one away from victory, but Hine put in an 11-dart finish of his own to reduce the deficit with a 100 finish.
Both players missed opportunities to win the fourth leg, but it was Dudbridge who held his nerve to land double ten and book a place in the second round, where he will face Ronnie Baxter.
“It wasn’t easy at all and there were a lot of occasions when Steve missed a few doubles,” said Dudbridge.
“It was the last game of the first round and I’ve seen a lot of seeds go out. I was the favourite and I know what Steve can do, so I was nervous.
“I checked out really well in the first set but hit some good shots when I needed to.”
Dudbridge has enjoyed mixed fortunes in recent years, but is confident he can enjoy a successful World Championship.
“There is belief there and I know what I can do,” he said. “Sometimes it does get frustrating but I’ve proved I can do it at the top level and that I can beat the best players.
“That was a tough match for me because I was expected to win, it was a fantastic new venue but I felt comfortable on the oche and had no problems.
“Doubles has been my problem for the past few years but I was checking out well, so I’m happy.”
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