First round comes to a conclusion at Alexandra Palace
Friday 23 December 2016 15:46, UK
The first round of the World Darts Championship came to a conclusion on Thursday night with the speed kings making it through along with young German sensation Max Hopp.
Former World Youth Champion Hopp, followed by his army of fans, came of age on the big stage at Alexandra Palace by upsetting Vincent van der Voort 3-1.
The 20-year-old landed six maximums, recorded 59 per cent on the doubles and struck a 102 checkout on his way to victory.
Van der Voort grabbed the first set after winning a crucial fourth leg with two maximums before a 46 checkout in two darts, but Hopp showed wonderful composure to hit back with a blizzard of blistering arrows in the second set.
Hopp's confidence was growing with the 180s flowing from 'Maximiser' while Van der Voort crumbled under the pressure.
The youngster rallied through the next two sets to record the biggest win of his fledgling career with a 94.59 three-dart average.
"Vincent was the favourite in this game, but I'm so glad I beat him," Hopp told Sky Sports Darts. "I'm looking from game to game now. I heard the German fans, but this crowd is amazing."
His reward is a clash against Kim Huybrechts. The Belgian ace lit up the stage with a display of high-quality arrows to see off debutant James Wilson 3-0.
A 104 secured the opening set for the 13th seed and a 76 checkout sealed the next before sweeping through with a stylish 138 finish.
"Max Hopp is a good player," said Huybrechts. "He's one of the biggest talents in the world so I'm not going to underestimate him."
Dave Chisnall was given a scare by 22-year-old Austrian Rowby-John Rodriguez in a thrilling contest, but the St Helens' thrower produced an incredible 121.86 three-dart average in the final set to win 3-2 and set up a meeting with Chris Dobey.
'Chizzy' received a wake-up call against Rodriguez, who won his very first set at the World Championship to stun the seventh seed. The match went the distance, but multiple major finalist produced finishes of 90, 117 and 96 to go through.
The speedsters put on a fast and furious show in front of a packed crowd with the maximums flowing from the opening game between former Lakeside champion Jelle Klaasen and Jeffrey de Graaf.
The all-Dutch battle lived up to its billing with last year's semi-finalist Klaasen averaging 108 in a superb first set to come through in the deciding leg before his opponent struck back with a clean sweep in the next.
Klaasen showed his class with six maximums, three ton-plus checkouts and an 97.35 average to rally through with a 3-1 win.
'The History Maker' Brendan Dolan now awaits Klaasen in the next round with the 10th seed and Dutch No 2 expecting more slow play to come.
"I didn't expect Jeffrey to slow me down that much when he was taking his darts out the board but I will be ready for Brendan," Klaasen said.
You can see all the action from the Alexandra Palace on Sky Sports Darts HD. Don't forget, you can send us your comments throughout this year's tournament by tweeting us @SkySportsDarts ... #LoveTheDarts
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