Anderson closes out opening night of World Matchplay with victory
Joe Cullen 10-7 Mike de Decker
Joe Cullen was the first to reach the last 16 of the World Matchplay tournament. The Briton won in 17 games against Mike de Decker, who at times was able to make Cullen sweat. He was broken twice at 4-1 after five legends and things were looking pretty hopeless for the Belgian, but after the break he fired out of the starting blocks and got to 4-3 thanks to a 164 finish in his own leg.
Again he lost the next four leagues and things looked equally hopeless at 8-3, but again he caused a reversal and took the next three leagues. There was no real comeback as Cullen broke again and then had three match darts, all of which he missed. In the next game, Cullen broke again, this time securing the win.
Cullen's level of play throughout the match was higher than de Decker's, with a three-shot average of 100.67 compared to 91.86. The Briton was also better at closures, throwing 47.62 per cent compared to 35 per cent. Cullen also threw eight 180s, compared to de Deckers' six.
Rob Cross 10-12 Daryl Gurney
In an exciting match in which the level rose and fell like a yoyo, Daryl Gurney emerged victorious, beating Rob Cross after overtime. Initially, it looked like it was going to be a lot easier - the Northern Irishman took a 4-0 lead and the men went into the break at 4-1. This was followed by five consecutive broken legs, making the score 6-4 for Gurney at the second break.
Again there were two breaks on both sides, including Cross finishing on 170, and the score was 8-7, with Gurney in the lead. The third break was followed by five leg breaks, in which he only broke once. This was made by the Englishman, leaving the score 10-10 on the board and extra time had to be played. Cross was immediately broken again and then at 147 had another chance to get back into the match, but failed to do so and Gurney kicked off with 59 for the match.
Cross' three-throw average was 98.08 compared to Gurney's 95.33, who won due to better throwing on doubles: 66.67 per cent of throws hit compared to 58.82. Gurney threw 6 180 (including two to start the leg side, unfortunately he failed to repeat this) and Cross only had 2.
Gerwyn Price 10-3 Stephen Bunting
In a strong show of strength, Gerwyn Price made it to last 16 at the expense of Stephen Bunting. The match started fairly evenly, with Bunting even breaking Price in the first leg to lead 2-0, but the Welshman bounced back to lead 3-2 after the first break. Bunting then won his first leg at 3-3, but that was also his last feat. Price won the next seven games, breaking the Englishman three times, and was clearly unhappy with his game despite his dominance.
The stats weren't too far apart, but Price did manage to hit some important shots. He threw an average three-darter of 96.88 against 92.34 and achieved a percentage of 45.45 against 33.33 on checkouts. Price had five 180s, Bunting three.
Dave Chisnall 6-10 Gary Anderson
In legs two and three, the men exchanged breaks, as they did in legs five and six. After that, Anderson began to dominate. The Scot broke the Briton in the eighth and tenth games, leading 7:3 and seemed to be heading straight for victory. However, Chisnall did not give up and broke once. He was close to equalising, but Anderson dropped 115 to prevent that. The two-time world champion also held his next leg and brought the score to 9-6 and a moment later to victory.
Anderson's three-dart average was 94.07, while Chisnall's was 91.49. In doubles, the Scot was also better, throwing 43.48 per cent, the Briton achieving 31.58 per cent. Anderson threw two 180s, while Chisnall threw three.
