2018 William Hill World Dart Championship Round 1 & 2 Recap
The 2018 William Hill World Darts Championship has and will hopefully continue to be one of the most exciting and unpredictable darts tournaments in history. The tournament, in which 72 players from around the world compete, is hosted at London’s famous Alexandra Palace. Before the tournament even began people knew it would be big, as its prize fund hit a record £1.8 Million, with a life changing £400,000 going to the eventual winner. But for many whatever way the tournament goes, it will be remembered as the last tournament of a darting legend. The 16-time champion of the world Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor goes into retirement no matter whether he succeeds or fails in his final few games.
The tournament sold out in record time, and the draw was conducted live on Sky Sports. The first session kicked of on the 14th December. Former Steve Beaton eased 3-1 passed world ranked 64 William O’Connor. But the headline of the night game later on as the current World Champion and World number one ‘Mighty’ Michael Van Gerwen took on fellow Dutchman Christian Kist. Van Gerwen survived a 3rd set scare and went on to win the match 3-1, averting an impressive 106.
On the next day many big names were on show. It started of with World Youth Champion Dimitri van den Berg defeating the former BDO World Champion Steven Bunting 3-1. Next up Phil Taylor took on Chris Dobey, in what could’ve been his last ever competitive game, but he beat Dobey 3-1 with a less than impressive performance. Later on that night, debutant and 20th ranked Rob Cross defeated preliminary round qualifier Seigo Asada 3-0.
Later that week, Jermaine Wattimena beat Joe Cullen in a stunning 3-2 match. Also on that night an all-Dutch game took place between Jan Dekker and Jele Klassen. Dekker won the game 3-1, with a mediocre 95 average. Rounding of that evening, 2 time World Champion Gary Anderson eased pass Canadian Jeff Smith, winning 3-0 with a 100 average. On the 18th of December Mensur Suljovic and Daryl Gurney both beat their opponents. But the real story of the night went to 63 year old Paul Lim as he scraped past Welshman and seeded Mark Webster. The game finished 3-2 to Lim.
After that day more seeds fell with both Dave Chisnall and James Wade losing. The next day Raymond van Barneveld smashed world ranked 57 Richard North 3-0. But preliminary round qualifier Kevin Munch stole the spotlight with a stunning 3-1 win over former back-to-back World Champion Adrian Lewis. After that more seeds tumbled as James Richardson beat Belgian Kim Huybrechts 3-0. However, World number 2 Peter Wright defeated the first ever Brazilian World Championship Qualifier Diogo Portela 3-1 in the last first round game.
After that the second round began with all the big names going though. Gary Anderson beat Paul Lim, who in the games missed double 12 of a nine darter, 4-1. The next day another headline game took place as Rob Cross booked his place in the 3rd round with a 4-3 win over Michael Smith. Among the 3rd round qualifiers were also: Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld, Michael van Gerwen and Austrian Mensur Suljovic.
Now the attention turns to the 3rd round. Who will reach the last stages, and who will go home early? Let us know in the comments below.
Photo Credits: Pablo Monteagudo