World Darts Championship: William Borland makes nine-dart history as Peter Wright sails through
William Borland steals the show ahead of Peter Wright's costume with a show-stopping nine-darter; Saturday at the Worlds will see Michael van Gerwen open his challenge to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy for a fourth time against Chas Barstow
Saturday 18 December 2021 09:16, UK
Scotland's William Borland made darting history at the World Championship by winning his first-round clash with a nine-dart finish on debut.
Borland, from East Caulder, produced a storybook ending to his match as he edged out fellow youngster Bradley Brooks in a blistering tungsten tussle.
World No 2 Peter Wright began his quest for a second Ally Pally title in three years with victory over Ryan Meikle, while the legendary Paul Lim bowed out after suffering a painful defeat to Joe Murnan.
In a humdinger of a first-round clash, Brooks averaged 112.73 in cleaning up all three legs of the opening set without reply.
His opponent Borland took out 92 to seal the second set 3-1 and level an entertaining encounter. The first two sets lasted just under 12 minutes.
The third set went all the way and it was 'Big Willie' who produced a brilliant 13-dart leg to turn the match around.
Borland completed another 13-darter to break throw at the start of the fourth before landing an exhilarating 148 to move within a leg of victory.
'Bam Bam' replied with a hold before breaking in the next leg with an outrageous 134 (T17, T17, D16). He forced a deciding set with a neat 98 checkout to delight a raucous crowd.
Back came 25-year-old Borland with a 130 checkout on the bullseye to close in on victory, but Brooks wasn't going to lie down and he sent the contest all the way to a sudden-death leg.
A magnificent match was given a dream ending as Borland landed a 180, a 177 and a 144 checkout for a blistering nine-dart leg to win it in style.
He will next face 'Heavy Metal' Ryan Searle in the second round next Wednesday afternoon in what should be another classic.
Borland became the 11th player to join the nine-dart club at the Worlds, along with Raymond van Barneveld's double to Gary Anderson and Michael van Gerwen as well as Adrian 'Jackpot' Lewis cashing out in the 2011 final.
Wright began his World Championship bid with a steady display of arrows against 'The Barber' from Ipswich, easing to the opening set before clinching the second set 3-1 to double his lead.
He soon completed the job with a drama-free performance to sail through to the third round.
The legendary Lim, who turns 68 next month, was making his 14th PDC World Championship appearance, and 'The Singapore Slinger' made an explosive start against Murnan with a majestic 118 finish in the opening leg before holding throw in the fourth leg to seal the first set.
Lim, who first played in the 1982 Worlds at Jollees Cabaret Club in Stoke-on-Trent, was still producing some top tungsten on the big stage, 39 years later. But his form deserted him in the second set with Murnan taking advantage to level up.
The next two sets were shared before Lancashire thrower Murnan nailed tops with his sixth match dart to stumble over the finishing line.
Ross Smith wrapped up a commanding 3-0 victory over Canada's Jeff Smith with finishes of 144 and 116 along the way to set up a second-round meeting with Stephen Bunting.
Live World Darts Championship
Live World Darts Championship
Earlier in the day, Krzysztof Ratajski became the first seed to exit this year's tournament, after succumbing 3-1 to Steve Lennon in a topsy-turvy affair.
Ratajski recovered from losing the opening set by taking out a sensational 132 checkout to level at one apiece, but Lennon's superior scoring paid dividends as he dumped out the world No 12.
Ryan Joyce raced into a two-set lead before defying a spirited fightback from Czech debutant Roman Benecky to prevail in a last-leg shootout, and 'Relentless' will now meet Mervyn King for place in round three.
Keane Barry triumphed in similar circumstances, edging out Hong Kong's Royden Lam in a dramatic fifth and final set to secure his first victory at the World Championship, and the teenager's reward is a fascinating showdown against eighth seed Jonny Clayton.
Elsewhere, Russia's Boris Koltsov recorded one of the biggest victories of his career to dispatch Jermaine Wattimena in straight sets, converting 130 and 121 checkouts to the delight of the partisan Ally Pally crowd.
Join us for the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace on Sky Sports Darts across 16 days of action. Check out daily Darts news on skysports.com/darts, our app for mobile devices and our Twitter account @skysportsdarts
