Sporting Life
Ryan Searle
Ryan Searle

Darts results: Ryan Searle stars on night three of the World Matchplay

By Sporting Life
Darts
Tue July 18, 2023 · 1y ago

Ryan Searle ruined Raymond van Barneveld's Matchplay return with a scintillating performance on Monday night.

Averaging more than 105, Searle romped to a 10-4 win which sets up a mouthwatering second-round clash with Peter Wright, who beat Andrew Gilding by the same scoreline.

Searle recovered from a sloppy start with three 13-dart legs to move into a 4-2 lead, then took out 100 for a 12-darter to really stamp his authority on the match.

With van Barneveld struggling to score, an 11-dart leg soon followed and while there was a brief hiccup when the winning line appeared, Searle was able to pin double 18 for a convincing victory.

"I hadn’t won a game here before so there was a little bit of pressure on me," admitted Searle, who posted his highest televised average to dispatch the five-time world champion.

"Raymond is a legend. I grew up watching him on TV before I was even playing darts, so it’s weird for me now to be playing him at the World Matchplay.

"He’s the crowd favourite so I tried to feed off the energy that the crowd were giving to him, and it worked tonight! I’m really happy with that performance."

While he was understandably pleased, Wright was less than impressed with his own display, which saw him mix seven maximums and three 100-plus finishes with some decidedly modest darts at times.

Asked what pleased him in his performance, Wright said: "None of it! I liked the outfit... !

"The fans got behind me and it's nice to be back on this stage. Andrew is a fantastic player, he used to beat me all the time. Thank god he didn't turn up there.

"Nowhere near (his best). I switched back to my old darts after the first set because I thought it was going to be warmer than it was and I couldn't get them to drop. I went back to my old set, standard flight, and it just made them drop a little bit more which got me through."

Wright had trailed 2-0 before finishes of 107 and 104 in quick succession gave him a 3-2 lead, and he won seven out of the next nine legs to book a meeting with Searle.

Earlier, Dimitri Van den Bergh beat Ross Smith 10-8, averaging in excess of 100 in a free-flowing match which could've gone either way despite the Belgian's superior scoring.

Smith led 4-2 early but from the moment Van den Bergh levelled at 4-4 it was nip and tuck, the pair separated by a single leg at most until Dancing Dimitri powered to the line from 8-8.

Next for Van den Bergh will be a meeting with Jonny Clayton, a 10-8 winner against Gabriel Clemens.

Clemens spurned opportunities to win each of the first four legs, and Clayton profited to establish an early buffer - with the World Cup winner defying a significant gap in the averages.

Despite taking out 108 and producing legs of 11 and 12 darts to hold, Clemens was unable to make inroads on the Clayton throw, and the Welshman duly cantered into a 9-5 lead.

Clemens suddenly sparked into life with a run of three straight legs to reduce the deficit to 8-9, only for Clayton to regain his poise and seal the deal with a spectacular 11-darter.

"There were a few nerves, but the crowd were fantastic and I’ve done the job tonight," insisted Clayton, who dedicated the win to his ill father.

"That was tough. It wasn't the best version of Gabriel Clemens, but it wasn't the best of Jonny Clayton either.

"The 11-darter was amazing. Anybody would take that, and I certainly will! This is just my second win here in five years, so it means a lot."

Monday's World Matchplay results

Monday July 17 (1900 BST)
First Round (best of 19 legs)
TV Channel: Sky Sports

  • Dimitri Van den Bergh 10-8 Ross Smith
  • Ryan Searle 10-4 Raymond van Barneveld
  • Peter Wright 10-4 Andrew Gilding
  • Jonny Clayton 10-8 Gabriel Clemens

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