PDC World Championship: Cross and Chisnall battle into fourth round

Catch up on Wednesday's early action from Ally Pally:

Scott Williams (52) 4-3 Martin Schindler (26)

Schindler got an arrow in the first leg for a break, but Williams held on. Throwing out 100, the German did manage to break in the third leg of the match to make it 2-1. The first set was of quite a high standard and it was Schindler who gave nothing away by excellent finishing and took the first set.

Williams was broken again in the second leg of the second set and Schindler showed no signs of decay. The German took his sixth leg in a row to make it 2-0 in sets.

Resilient Williams

Williams finally grabbed another leg at the start of the third set. With Schindler on 189, Williams threw out 152 for a break and a 2-0 lead in legs. Schindler had two darts to break back in the third leg, but 57 did not go out. For Williams, 56 did go out a turn later and he took the third set.

Important fourth set

Schindler seemed to lose it for a while and was also broken in the first leg of the fourth set. With Schindler on 68, the Englishman threw out 146 for his fifth straight leg for a 2-0 lead in legs. Schindler managed to hold his own third leg and Williams' run was interrupted. The German needed a break and was allowed to dock for 36. The third dart disappeared in double 18 and he was allowed to start the fifth leg himself. Williams grabbed the initiative, getting six arrows for 76, but had enough with three for a full tie.

In the first leg of the fifth set, Schindler broke immediately and kept his own leg simple the next leg. Schindler had a break opportunity in the third leg from 161 and seized it with both hands. The German took another lead by taking all three legs in the fifth set.

New balance

Williams was looking diligently for a break in the sixth set. Helped by a 180 in the third leg - which Schindler had started - he took the initiative and threw out 81 for a 2-1 lead. A leg later, Schindler threw his 10th 180 of the match, missed three darts for the break and saw Williams take the sixth set.

That extension meant winning by two legs. Schindler got an arrow on double 16 in the fifth leg to break, but saw Williams take the lead. Williams finished it off after his 10th 180 of the match by hitting the double 18 with his first match arrow.

Williams will play in the fourth round against the winner of the match between Damon Heta and Berry van Peer.

Dave Chisnall (11) 4-1 Gabriel Clemens (22)

Clemens missed a great opportunity in the second leg of the first set from 30 to break and lead 2-0, after which Chisnall levelled the score. The German also missed chances in his own third leg and fell behind by a break in his own set. Throwing out 100, Chisnall kept his own leg to win the first set.

In the second leg of the second set, Clemens again missed a double and was broken by Chisnall, who took a 2-0 lead in legs. In the third leg, Clemens missed a dart on the bullseye for the break back and lost the set in straight legs.

More misses

In his own first leg of the third set, Clemens again ran into trouble and saw Chisnall throw out 72 for his seventh win in a row. Chizzy managed to cash in on his break and looked to be on his way to 3-0 in sets. Clemens needed a lot of darts on the double to keep his own leg, saw Chisnall miss a chance and finally got to leg win again. With Chisnall on 28, Clemens missed two more darts from 96 for a break and Chisnall took the set.

Chisnall missed three darts on double 20 in his own first leg of the fourth set and was broken by Clemens, who threw out 60. The break was cashed in a leg after and Clemens looked like he could fight his way back into the match. Through sublime scoring, the German did not get into trouble in his own fourth leg and won the set.

The first leg of the fifth set produced an immediate break for Chisnall, who could smell victory. In his own second leg, the Englishman reached match point. Clemens kept his own leg but needed a break in the fourth leg to stay alive.

From 115 Chisnall was allowed to dock for the match and on double 19 he missed his first matchdart. Clemens took advantage from 72 to start the fifth. After Chisnall's 180, he tried again from 81. Because of a loose dart, he missed a match dart, but Clemens did not take advantage. With three darts in hand, the first was enough for tops and victory.

Chisnall will play in the next round against the winner of the match between Ricky Evans and Daryl Gurney.

Rob Cross (8) 4-2 Jeffrey de Graaf (164)

Helped by his first 180 of the match, De Graaf managed to snatch the first leg from Cross. De Graaf could not enjoy his break for long, as the score was 1-1 after two legs. Both men then kept their own leg and a fifth leg had to bring the decision. De Graaf tried from 88 but just missed the bullseye. Cross managed to get a handful of arrows and took the first set.

Misses by De Graaf

De Graaf missed a dart on the double in his own first leg of the second set and was broken by the 2018 world champion. After further misses by De Graaf, he was also broken in the third leg and fell behind 2-0 in sets.

Cross started the second leg of the third set with two 180s and was allowed to dock for a nine-darter. However, the seventh dart was immediately wrong and after Cross missed on the double a turn later, De Graaf was able to keep his own leg. Via 148 Cross took his own third leg and De Graaf also kept his own leg. The fifth leg could be started again by Cross, but after the Englishman missed it was De Graaf who took the spoils and won the third set.

With De Graaf on 54, Cross threw out 84 in his own fourth leg after a finish on the bullseye. Again a fifth leg came and De Graaf had to hold it. Cross took the initiative with a 180, but after a miss on the bullseye, a chance came for De Graaf from 146. However, the Dutch Swede did not get it out and Cross took advantage with the break and the fourth set.

De Graaf breaks back

Cross quite easily held his own first leg in the fifth set and a leg after that De Graaf did the same. Just keeping his own legs would not have been enough for De Graaf, who was looking for a break. A seventh 180 of the match helped him get a chance from 41 and De Graaf grabbed it with both hands for a break and a 2-1 lead. De Graaf kept his own leg by throwing out 42 and took the fifth set.

Decision

After misses by the Englishman, De Graaf managed to keep his own first leg of the sixth set. In the second leg - which Cross managed to keep - both men threw their eighth 180 of the match. In the third leg, things went wrong for De Graaf, who had to give Cross six darts for 140, which was more than enough for Voltage, who reached match point through the break.

Helped by his 10th 180 of the match, Cross had no problems to finish the match and eliminate De Graaf.

Cross will play in the fourth round against the winner of the match between Jonny Clayton and Krzysztof Ratajski.