PDC World Championship: De Graaf stunts and DvD thrown out

Brendan Dolan v Michael Mansell (3-2)

Whereas Dolan found only one triple in his first four innings, Mansell had three more and came up with a finish. In 15 darts, 66 finally went out via double 9 and so came the break right away.

In the second leg, the roles were reversed. Dolan had 107 left, where Mansell still had 160. Dolan only missed the double 16, but Mansell failed to throw out 160. Dolan came back for double 16 and took the rebreak: 1-1.

History-maker played a good third leg with lots of triples and threw out 88 via triple 20 and double 14, taking his own leg for the first time in the match. Mansell threw the first 180 in the fourth leg, leaving 51. That went out in two arrows to make it 2-2.

Mansell got one arrow on the set from 104 but missed tops. Dolan also went to tops and hit it with his third arrow to take the lead.

Mansell had to throw out 78 in his leg as Dolan waited for 8. He did so in two arrows by throwing first triple 18 and then double 12. Dolan had a chance to keep his leg from 118, but missed tops. Mansell threw out 157 to take the break: 2-0.

Dolan threw his first maximum score in the third leg, taking the initiative in Mansell's leg. He threw out 129 just short of the mark as the bullseye was missed. He was allowed to come back for 25, but missed two chances on the rebreak. Mansell threw out 56 to win the set 3-0.

Match is evenly matched

In the third set, Dolan also threw his first tonplus finish. 124 went out via triple 20, 16 and double 8. Mansell had an easy leg as Dolan threw poorly. Mansell threw out via double 4 to make it 1-1.

Both men started the leg with 180. The following two legs went with the darts and so Dolan got to start the fifth leg. Dolan threw his third maximum and had six arrows for 36 to take the set. That went all in one and so it was 2-1 in sets. Dolan threw over 103 average in the third set.

He did start the fourth set an old-fashioned pudding and that allowed Mansell to take the first leg via double 10. Mansell grabbed the break by throwing out double 10. Dolan took the rebreak by throwing out 62 via double 16. Dolan started with 25 as one dart flew out of the board and so Mansell had the initiative right away. Mansell threw his fourth 180 and took the set by throwing out tops. Dolan was allowed to start the fifth set and left 7 and threw out in two arrows to make it 1-0.

Dolan had a chance for the break on 78, but missed two darts on the double. Mansell hit double 10 to make it 1-1. Mansell nearly threw out 151 and just failed to grab the break and so Dolan came away well. It was 2-1 via double 4. Mansell made it 2-2 via tops. And so it became extension.

Extension

Dolan started right away with a maximum score in his leg. He grabbed the initiative and threw out 81 via triple 19 double 12. That was already his third 12-darter of the match. Mansell in turn threw out 96 to make it 3-3.

Dolan was not in trouble in the seventh leg and moved to 4-3 via double 8. Mansell in turn started with a maximum score, but Dolan stayed in the leg through a 100 and 140 score. Mansell had one chance at 110 on tops, but missed. Dolan waited on 101 but did not get a matchdart. Mansell came back for tops to make it 4-4.

Dolan came into his leg on 120, Mansell on 140. Both missed and so Dolan came back for tops and threw it out: 5-4. Mansell equalised by throwing out 148 and so it became a sudden death leg. Dolan was allowed to start. He got a matchdart, but missed double 16. He came back for it and threw a hit. Dolan thus won the match.

Jose Oliveira de Sousa v Jeffrey de Graaf (1-3)

De Sousa took an easy 1-0 lead as De Graaf did not open well. Via double 10, 60 went out to make it 1-0. The Portuguese made a silly mistake by going on 80 for tops. He did not throw that one and De Graaf did throw 52 out via double 18 to make it 1-1.

De Sousa threw the first 180 in the third leg and had the initiative. Dan needed 103 out though and that went out: 2-1. De Graaf opened with six triples in three innings and had time to make 2-2. 71 went out via double 16 to make it 2-2. De Sousa threw out 82 to lead 1-0 in sets.

De Graaf got into no trouble in the first leg and moved to 1-0 via double 16. He threw his first 180 in De Sousa's leg, but he was allowed to throw out first. 96 did not go out and so De Graaf came in for 104 to break. He missed tops and the Portuguese did throw it: 1-1.

De Graaf threw a good leg, but missed double 8. De Sousa had 121, but chose the route to the bull and did not get a dart. De Graaf now hit the last dart and was 2-1 ahead. De Sousa threw his second 180 in the fourth leg and eliminated 138: 2-2. De Graaf got on 18 set darts and hit double 9 to make it 1-1 in sets.

De Graaf grabs the break

In the third set, De Graaf got on the break and grabbed it. De Sousa, like De Graaf, did not get 90 out and so he was able to throw out via double 18. He threw his second 180 in the second leg and took the initiative in his own leg. Quietly, De Graaf was able to move to 2-0 and via double 16 it fell.

De Sousa had no problems in his leg either and made it 2-1 via 58. De Graaf missed three set darts and so De Sousa had the chance for the break via 116, but he missed the big 8. De Graaf threw out double 9 and was 2-1 ahead in sets.

De Sousa had a chance at the break via 167, but the bullseye went wrong. De Graaf threw out a handsome 71 via double 16 to lead 1-0 in his set. He opened with a maximum score in De Sousa's leg. He continued with 177, throwing six perfect darts. The seventh did not go in, but he put it away on double 18. He finished that one and took the break: 2-0.

He threw the first 10-darter of the World Cup and opened with six triples in three innings. He failed to throw out 101, but De Sousa just missed the 170 by missing the bullseye. De Graaf threw double 8 and won the match.

Krzysztof Ratajski v Jamie Hughes (3-1)

Jamie Hughes has never advanced beyond the second round of the PDC World Championship and reached this stage despite a very low average of 82 in the previous round. His first three darts against Krzysztof Ratajski were all in the triple-20, but nevertheless the 'Polish Eagle' held his first leg.

In the second leg, his first six arrows - against the darts - went perfectly, but the seventh into the '1'. At arrow 13, the break was complete. Hughes did break back immediately (1-2) and got the hang of it, including his second 180 via double-4 to make it 2-2. In the deciding leg, the Pole missed an arrow for double-bull and Hughes then popped his first set-dart: 3-2.

In the second set, in which Hughes was allowed to start after the break, the Englishman was immediately broken back. The Pole then failed to capitalise on that advantage, as Hughes broke back fairly easily (1-1) and also had the initiative in the third leg, eventually going to 2-1 in legs via his second dart on double-tops. Ratajski struggled to hit a double in the fourth leg, but made it 2-2 via double-4. He failed to throw out 86, but a turn later the double-20 did. So both players broke each other and it became 1-1 in sets in an otherwise tame match.

180s

Set 3 had a very smooth start for Ratajski, who could have thrown out in his fourth turn and eventually put his 13th arrow into double-16 (1-0).

Hughes managed to keep his own leg though and so the scoreboard was completely balanced again at 1-1 and 1-1. With a necessary 111-finish, the Pole managed to keep the initiative in the set, while Hughes was on 56. Hughes still failed to unpack a 100+ finish, but hit double-5 on the next turn: 2-2. In a turn with his 5th 180, it became 3-2 for the Pole in 15 arrows via double-16. Standings: 2-1 in sets.

In the fourth set, Hughes had an opportunity to throw out 154 but failed to do so. Ratajski had one arrow on 32, after which Hughes failed again and Ratajski struck on double-8 for a break. Hughes, however, broke back immediately (1-1). Via 16-16-double-16, Ratajski came back rock hard with another break and with that he got to throw for the match.

With six arrows for 164, it was no longer a problem, although the first matchdart on double-16 went wrong. The second dart hit his favourite double, making it 3-1 in legs and 3-1 in sets.

Dirk van Duijvenbode v Boris Krcmar (1-3)

Dirk van Duijvenbode got to start in his second-round match against Croatian Boris Krcmar, who has never advanced beyond a second round. Van Duijvenbode once reached the quarterfinals. The Dutchman missed one arrow for tops and was then broken in 14 darts.

He came back to 1-1 via a powerful 124 (with bulls-eye). The third leg was a triumph for Van Duijvenbode. Aubergenious also had chances in the fourth leg. With six arrows to go, he needed only two for another break: 1-0.

In the second set, Krcmar - who survived four qualifying matches to reach the tournament - was allowed to start and threw his four dart hit, without the Dutchman coming close to a finish. In his own first leg, the triples did fall again, but the Croatian took the initiative. Again, there was no arrow on a double and Krcmar made it 2-0. And the third leg was then also quite easy for Krcmar, who thus made it 1-1. With that, the doubts about Van Duijvenbode's injury grew.

Doubles

The third set featured a remarkable incident in the first leg, in which Van Duijvenbode suffered from a now famous Ally Pally wasp. He missed on double-tops and saw Krcmar take out 68 for a break, followed by a 140 start.

DvD did throw in a 180 and grabbed a rebreak and the initiative in set 3, but squandered the third leg, allowing Krcmar to throw for the set. He did not fail and brought his throwing average above 50 per cent: 3-1 in the leg and 2-1 in sets.

Set four started for the Croatian with a 180, the fifth of the match. Krcmar then seemed somewhat emotional by his performance so far and took the first leg convincingly in set four. His scoring average was above 100. Van Duijvenbode levelled the 180 at 3-3 and set up a 170 in his leg, for which he got nine arrows, failed and had to watch Krcmar strike: 2-0.

A good start in leg 3 gave the Croatian a free pass to victory. With a 12-darter, the fairytale was over for Dirk and Boris Krcmar advances to the last-32 of the PDC World Championship for the first time.