Gary Anderson beats Jeff Smith in World Darts Championship opener
Anderson eases through; seeds Joe Cullen and Jelle Klaasen knocked out
Monday 18 December 2017 16:23, UK
Gary Anderson kicked off his bid for a third World Darts Championship title with a straight-sets victory over Jeff Smith at Alexandra Palace.
The Scot dropped just two legs and fired seven 180s to breeze past the Canadian qualifier, who had beaten Luke Humphries 2-0 in the Preliminary Round earlier in the evening.
Anderson opened with a 13-dart leg on his way to claiming the first set, despite throwing a number of loose darts, before threatening a tournament record by posting an 11-dart finish and a 10-darter on his way to a 132 average in the second.
The four-time world finalist's struggle finding doubles returned in the third, only converting a third of 27 checkout attempts in the match, but Anderson's scoring power saw him safely book his place in the last 32.
Jermaine Wattimena set up a second-round clash with Steve West by edging past 19th seed Joe Cullen in a fast-paced thriller, where extra legs were required to produce a winner.
The two players raced through the first two sets inside eight minutes, both winning in straight legs, before Wattimena took the third and Cullen whitewashed the Dutchman in the fourth.
Cullen moved ahead in the decider but missed four darts for victory, allowing Wattimena to extend the contest and take the next two legs to progress.
Jan Dekker fought back from a set down to see off former BDO world champion Jelle Klaasen 3-1 in an all-Dutch encounter, securing him a meeting with World Youth Champion Dimitri Van den Bergh.
Dekker lost his first four legs but recovered to claim the second set and fire two ton-plus finishes on his way to winning the third, with the 27-year-old capitalising on Klassen's missed chances in the fourth by continuing his high double percentage and sealing victory.
The pick of the afternoon session saw Robert Thornton fires six 180s on his way to a hard-fought 3-1 success against Brendan Dolan, who had despatched Croatia's Alan Ljubić in straight sets during the preliminary round.
Former World Championship semi-finalist Mervyn King threw away a two-set lead to lose 3-2 against Austria's Zoran Lerchbacher, while West reached the last 32 for the first time in his career thanks to a 3-1 win over 14th seed Benito van de Pas.
The 2018 World Championship from Alexandra Palace continues on Friday with Phil Taylor in action and the tournament ends on New Year's Day - coverage available on Sky Sports Darts
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