Coverage continues on Sky Sports Darts with another double session on Friday, kicking off at 12.30pm and then again at 7pm
Friday 20 December 2019 10:06, UK
World No 3 Gerwyn Price survived a huge scare as he fought back from 2-1 down to beat William O'Connor 3-2 and reach the third round of the World Darts Championship.
'The Iceman' has been the form man behind Michael van Gerwen over the second half of the season, reaching the last three major televised finals, but he has never gone beyond the third round of the sport's premier event.
Against O'Connor he was twice left on the brink, needing to win the fifth leg to claim the fourth set and then, after trailing 2-1 in the deciding fifth set, he once again battled back and pounced to claim the victory after O'Connor had miscalculated when requiring a double-two finish.
"After he threw his first dart [at double one], I was like 'happy days'. I knew he was going for the wrong shot," said Price.
"You need a little bit of luck like that, and I wasn't going to tap him on the shoulder and say, 'you're going for the wrong shot'. But I had a little bit of luck there and you need that sometimes."
World No 2 and 2018 champion Rob Cross has already fallen in the opposite section to Van Gerwen and Price, the second favourite to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy, just avoided the early exit that has also befallen last year's runner-up Michael Smith and five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld.
Price's World Championship woes almost returned to haunt him, but, rather than an early departure, it was the battling qualities that have made him one of the sport's most feared men that eventually did for a crestfallen O'Connor.
With the match poised at 2-2 in the deciding fifth set, O'Connor had 4 remaining, but miscounted and went for double one. That opened the door for Price to swoop and break throw before sealing his third-round meeting with John Henderson
Before that the Irishman had been coolness personified as maximum hitting and superb finishing saw him into a 2-1 lead and twice standing one leg away from victory.
It all started in routine fashion for Price, who coasted to a 2-0 lead in the opening stanza before O'Connor got into his groove, levelling the set to force a decider where the Iceman claimed the early lead
Averaging 100 amid a barrage of 180s, it was O'Connor's turn to storm into a 2-0 advantage before he missed a dart at bullseye for a 124 finish. Price's classy 102 kill only delayed the inevitable as O'Connor sealed the set with the next leg and some Price-like celebrations to boot.
The pair went toe-to-toe in the third where O'Connor pinned double four for a 2-1 advantage that left Price on the brink and the fourth set proved pivotal for the Iceman.
Trailing 2-1 he conjured up all the battling qualities that have taken him to back-to-back Grand Slam titles. He reeled off two legs under intense pressure to force the decider which fittingly went the distance too.
Trading blows, the pair battled their way to 2-2 where O'Connor's misjudgement stunned the crowd. Price pinned the required double, barely unable to believe his luck and then claimed the next leg to progress.
Dave Chisnall, runner-up in the BDO World Championship in 2010, began his quest for a maiden major title with a 3-1 win over Vincent van der Voort that was marked by a stellar finishing display.
The man from St Helens has enjoyed a remarkably consistent year and, bouyed by a run to the Grand Prix final in Dublin, the 39-year-old is keen to improve on a PDC World Championship record that has never seen him go beyond the last eight.
The signs looked good in his victory over Van der Voort, though, as the Dutchman was left to rue 22 missed darts at doubles in the match, while 'Chizzy' took full advantage of every chance that came his way, pinning six of his seven darts at the finishing target to move into a 2-0 lead.
Van der Voort stopped the rot to claim the third set but it only delayed the inevitable as Chisnall claimed the opening leg of the fourth with a brilliant 124 finish before coasting to the finish line and a date with Jeffrey de Zwaan.
Chris Dobey is another man keen to take the next step after reaching his first televised semi-finals at the World Grand Prix and Players Championship Finals. The 29-year-old Geordie started his best year to date with a run the last 16 at Ally Pally last year and he was involved in another cracker to kick off the evening session.
Dobey stormed into a 2-0 lead against Ron Meulenkamp, winning six of the opening eight legs, but as he lost his way the Dutchman found his, reeling off an incredible run that saw him win eight out of nine legs to not only level the match at 2-2 but move 2-0 in front in the decider.
But Dobey kept his cool and, as the pendulum swung back in favour of the Englishman, four quickfire legs sealed his place in the third round where will meet either Mensur Suljovic or woman-of-the-moment Fallon Sherrock.
In the afternoon, there were wins for Justin Pipe, Jan Dekker, John Henderson and Steve Beaton, with Beaton producing a sparkling display against Kyle Anderson in a thrilling conclusion to the session
The 'Bronzed Adonis', who made his Worlds debut in 1992 and is playing in his 29th consecutive World Championship, fired in three huge 100+ finishes on his was to a 3-1 victory and a date with James Wade in the third round.
Beaton's 170 finish was the star turn, and the 55-year-old also went six darts of the way towards a nine-dart finish, only to come up short.
Meanwhile Pipe was making his Ally Pally return two years on from a controversial match against Bernie Smith after which he was fined and given a formal warning about his future behaviour, having been accused of coughing on his opponent's throw.
In an emotional press conference after his match, Pipe maintained he had done nothing wrong and had been vilified, resulting in the darkest years of his career.
Pipe survived match darts from Slovenian debutant Benjamin Pratnemer to triumph 3-2 and set up a second-round encounter with Daryl Gurney.
In the final match of the first round, Ryan Joyce, who enjoyed a run to the final 16 last year, missed match darts in a 3-2 defeat to Jan Dekker, who will now face 16th-seed Jonny Clayton.
Dekker's fellow Dutchman Danny Noppert, the surprise World Series of Darts runner-up, was also a winner on day seven, beating debutant Callan Rydz 3-2 in the evening session.
Peter Wright and Nathan Aspinall headline the evening action on a day that will feature eight second-round matches now that the opening stage is over.
Wright, runner-up in 2014, faces Noel Malicdem of the Philippines, hoping to avoid a similar fate that saw him beaten in the second round by Toni Alcinas last year, while Aspinall takes on the last remaining American Danny Baggish.
Michael van Gerwen may not be in action on Friday night, but he may be an interested onlooker in the afternoon session as the winner of Mark McGeeney's clash wIth Ricky Evans will move into a third-round showdown with the world No 1 on Sunday night.
Mervyn King, Jonny Clayton, Joe Cullen and Max Hopp are the other seeds in action.
Check out daily Darts news on skysports.com/darts, our app for mobile devices and our Twitter account @skysportsdarts. The action is on Sky Sports Darts with live coverage from Alexandra Palace until the final on New Year's Day.
