Michael van Gerwen (Picture: Lawrence Lustig/PDC)

PDC World Darts Championship results: Fan throws beer in Michael van Gerwen's face before victory over Alan Tabern

By Chris Hammer

Darts

Sun December 16, 2018 · 6y ago

Michael van Gerwen had beer thrown in his face before his World Darts Championship match against Alan Tabern but bounced back to claim a 3-1 victory.

Max Hopp triumphed 3-0 over Danny Noppert in the highest quality affair of a largely slow paced afternoon session while all but one of the matches in the evening were whitewashes.

Here we have a round-up of both sessions, video highlights and the updated schedule for the weekend.

MVG bounces back from beer incident

Michael van Gerwen's walk-on ahead of his 3-1 victory over Alan Tabern was delayed after a fan shockingly threw beer in the world number one's face.

The two-time champion was visibly rattled and headed backstage to recompose himself before a second attempt to take to the stage.

Although his opening visits to the oche were a little shaky he soon found his stride, winning the first leg with a 107 checkout en route to taking the set 3-1with an average of 107 and hitting all three darts at doubles.

Van Gerwen, the tournament favourite, breezed through the second set 3-0, closing it out with an 84 checkout although Tabern battled bravely to take the third on a deciding leg.

The Dutchman, who has won the 18 titles this season including the Masters, Premier League and World Grand Prix, stormed into a 2-0 lead in the fourth set but Tabern once again dug deep to force another decider only for van Gerwen to run away with it and secure a third-round meeting with Max Hopp.

MVG ended with an average of 102 and hit 55% of his doubles while Tabern also played an impressive game, matching his opponent for 180s with four and managing an average of 93.

The disgraceful fan who threw beer at MVG was not only kicked out but also banned from all darts events for life.

Van Gerwen is hoping to become the first man apart from Phil Taylor to win more than two world titles but he hasn't had it all his way this season having suffered disappointments in some of the big majors including the World Matchplay, Champions League of Darts, Grand Slam of Darts and the Players Championship Finals.

MVG said: "I got a bit emotional about it at the start but I recovered well and I can't really complain with how I played after that, and I had to be at my best because Alan played a phenomenal game.

"My section of the draw is tough and I will have to beat some great players to win this title but I know if I play well I will do it."

Searle sinks Burton

Ryan Searle set up a second-round clash with Mensur Suljovic after a 3-0 victory over Stephen Burton which was a lot closer than the scoreline suggests.

He won the opening set in a deciding leg having missed a double to win it when leading 2-0 but the second was much more plain sailing, taking it with consecutive legs of 15, 13 and 16 darts.

Burton, who had booked his Alexandra Palace spot by virtue of coming through the last-gasp qualifying event following an impressive display at the Players Championship Finals, showed signs of life again with a 96 checkout but that was to be the last leg he won.

Both players averaged 87 but the difference was the finishing, with Searle making nine of his 29 attempts and Burton missing 20 of his.

Golden Brown...in the end

Keegan Brown overcame a sluggish start to claim a whitewash victory over Karel Sedlacek.

The former World Youth Champion was averaging in the mid-70s when his Czech opponent opened up a 2-1 lead in the opening set but Brown restored parity before a superb 11-darter won the decider.

He needed a 12-darter to secure the second set in another deciding leg but the third was more straightforward as he took it 3-1 to set up a clash with Jelle Klaasen.

Brown ended the match with an average of 95 compared to his opponent's 92 while he hit most 180s with six.

No dream debut for Ross

Tony Alcinas dropped just one leg as he claimed an easy 3-0 victory over World Championship debutant Craig Ross.

His opponent finished runner-up to Tahuna Irwin in the New Zealand qualifier back in July but immigration complications surrounding the winner meant Ross stepped in at the 11th hour to play his first ever match on TV in 25 years of playing the sport.

The occasion clearly got the better of the New Zealander, who averaged just 71 and managed just four attempts at double, as Alcinas powered through with an average of 86.

The Spaniard will now face world number three Peter Wright in the second round on Sunday.

AFTERNOON SESSION

Double trouble for Noppert

It was meant to be one of the closest fought matches of the day but German star Max Hopp produced a clinical display on his finishing to beat Danny Noppert 3-0 and reach the third round.

The former World Youth champion averaged 94 compared to his opponent's 97 and was outscored on the 180s count 5-2 but it was very much a case as doubles for dough at Alexandra Palace.

Noppert headed into the clash as marginal favourite after a strong end to the season which had seen him win his maiden PDC title and also reach the last four of the Players Championship Finals, while he'd also looked impressive during his first-round win on Friday.

Hopp, however, has also come of age in 2018 with two senior titles of his own at the German Open and a Players Championship, so the only shock is the one-sided scoreline.

The rising star of German darts won the first set 3-0 and it took a fine 130 checkout on the bullseye for Noppert to get a leg on the board, as he levelled up the second at 1-1.

However Hopp went on to win the set as Noppert struggled badly on his doubles, missing eight attempts over those next two legs.

The Dutchman opened up the third with a superb 11-dart leg but checkouts of 76 and 92 put Hopp one away from victory and although Noppert forced a decider, he then missed another three darts at doubles and was duly punished.

The Maximiser, 22, will potentially meet Michael van Gerwen in the third round if the world number one beats Alan Tabern later.

Richard's hopes were going south but...

Richard North produced a stunning comeback to defeat Robert Marijanovic 3-2 and progress to the second round of the PDC World Darts Championship.

Marijanovic, who had qualified for the tournament after becoming the German Superleague champion, made a storming start with a 107 checkout and went on to take the opening set.

North missed three set darts in the second as Marijanovic doubled his lead with the help of a match high 147 finish before a 115 checkout gave him the advantage in the third.

North bounced back to edge it 3-2 but despite falling two legs down in the fourth set, he rallied once more with checkouts of 136 and 84 as he restored parity from the jaws of defeat.

The Englishman, who averaged 92.82 and hit 10 maximums compared to his opponent's 85.99 and one, was now on a roll and completed his comeback in the decider to set up a clash with Steve West.

Long trip worth it for Jim

Canada's Jim Long came from a set down against Mickey Mansell to claim a memorable victory on his World Championship debut.

The 50-year-old reached the Alexandra Palace by virtue of topping the CDC's Canadian rankings but it looked like it was going to be a brief visit to London when losing the opening set in a deciding leg.

However Long bounced back with a superb 127 checkout to take the second set in a deciding leg before moving ahead as Mansell, who was favourite having won a Players Championship title earlier this season, struggled with his game.

The fourth set also went the distance with Long holding his nerve once again to set up a clash with Benito van de Pas next Friday.

Both players averaged in the mid-70s, with Mansell hitting the most 180s with three compared to Long's one. But that'll be no consolation whatsoever.

Payne-ful defeat for Smith

Josh Payne came through an entertaining five-set tussle to defeat Canada's Jeff Smith 3-2 which sets him up a second-round meeting with Dave Chisnall.

The English youngster lost the opening set as Smith threatened a minor upset but Payne fought back to take the next two for the loss of just one leg.

The Canadian, who won the North American Darts Championship to book his spot at Alexandra Palace, wasn't finished yet as he edged the fourth set 3-2 to force a decider.

Payne, who hit four 180s compared to Smith's zero, found an extra gear to win all three legs although he ended the match with a slightly lower average than his opponent (87 vs 89) and a worse checkout percentage (32% v 35%).

Saturday's results & Sunday schedule

Saturday December 15
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Darts

Richard North 3-2 Robert Marijanovic (R1)
Mickey Mansell 1-3 Jim Long (R1)
Josh Payne 3-2 Jeff Smith (R1)
Max Hopp 3-0 Danny Noppert (R2)

Evening Session (1900)
First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Darts

Toni Alcinas 3-0 Craig Ross (R1)
Ryan Searle 3-0 Stephen Burton (R1)
Keegan Brown 3-0 Karel Sedlacek (R1)
Michael van Gerwen -1 Alan Tabern (R2)
Full World Championship draw and schedule

Sunday December 16
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Darts

Gabriel Clemens v Aden Kirk (R1)
William O’Connor v Yordi Meeuwisse (R1)
Brendan Dolan v Yuanjun Liu (R1)
Dave Chisnall v Josh Payne (R2)