Darts results: Krzysztof Ratajski shines at the World Matchplay as Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson battle on

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MVG denies dogged Dolan

Michael van Gerwen got his pursuit for a third World Matchplay title off to a winning start but wasn't exactly happy with his performance despite an average just shy of a ton.

Such are the sky high standards the world number one sets himself, It was no surprise to see him shake his head with disappointment as he left the Marshall Arena stage, and the way Brendan Dolan stayed with him during the 10-7 victory will give the rest of the field a minor shot in the arm.

Van Gerwen, who last lifted the Phil Taylor Trophy back in 2016 against the man himself, geared up for the return of televised darts with two Players Championship titles during the PDC Summer Series here in Milton Keynes last week and was widely expected to have a relatively easy night against a player who struggled last week.

That's the way it was heading after the world number 32 spurned numerous opportunities in the opening five legs - including when he busted his score with 14 remaining in the fourth - to trail 4-1 at the first interval.

But the Northern Irishman had worked so hard to earn a return to the World Matchplay for the first time since 2016 over the past 12 months and showed plenty of the same fighting spirit to battle back into the contest, with a match high 128 checkout levelling it up at 5-5.

Dolan repeated the trick at 7-5 down to take advantage of van Gerwen's sloppy finishing but with the alarm bells sounding at seven apiece, the three-time world champion rattled off back-to-back 13-darters before punishing his opponent's four missed doubles in the next to complete his victory.

Both players hit just two 180s each while the Dutchman's below-par checkout percentage of 38.46% was considerably superior to Dolan's 26.92%.

"A win is a win and it doesn't matter how you win, but I made it hard work for myself and I struggled today," said Van Gerwen. "I think I played okay but at 4-1 I needed to keep the pressure on Brendan and i didn't. It was strange and it was new for me but you have to deal with it and I'm glad that I managed to win.

"I demand more from myself but I averaged nearly 100 and that was enough. I have to do better but I've got two days to rest and prepare for the next game, but I like to play Simon and I'm looking forward to Tuesday."

Flying Scotsman stutters past Pipe

Gary Anderson was well below his best but still managed to reel off five legs in a row on his way to a 10-5 victory over Justin Pipe.

The 2018 champion, who can ill afford an early exit due to the amount of prize money he's defending from that magical week at the Winter Gardens, admitted he struggled to adapt quickly to the surreal setting at the Marshall Arena and knows he'll need to raise his game to mount a title challenge in Michael van Gerwen's quarter of the draw.

Anderson averaged just 90.59 compared to Pipe's 87.41 and even threw three fewer 180s with two during a lacklustre affair that looked like it could go the distance when the pair were locked together at five apiece.

The Force was performing admirably considering an elbow injury caused him to miss the last two Players Championship events at the Summer Series, and an early 122 checkout in the third leg sent the fake crowd noise wild.

Pipe wouldn't obviously have expected such a roar in his favour against a fan favourite like Anderson in usual circumstances, but he was unable to make the 'levelling' atmosphere count in the second half of the match.

The 48-year-old spurned three darts at a double in the 12th leg as his opponent made him pay with a 120 checkout for a 7-5 lead, while more sloppy finishing saw him fall further behind.

Anderson, who hit 10 of his 28 attempts at doubles, sealed his place in round two with a 112 checkout and he'll next meet James Wade.

Anderson admitted: "It was weird trying to play with no crowd, it was different but I got there in the end. You can usually have a bit of banter with the crowd so it was strange.

"My performance wasn't as good as I wanted but it's good to be back, and the more we play the better I'll get."

Polish Eagle soars into round two

Krzysztof Ratajski underlined just why he's one of the dangerous outsiders for World Matchplay glory with a ruthless 10-4 destruction of Jermaine Wattimena.

The Polish Eagle, who was tipped up pre-tournament at 40/1 each-way on these pages, looked extremely comfortable with the unusual behind-closed-doors environment from the moment he stepped up on the Marshall Arena stage and despite his opponent rattling in a 118 checkout in the opening leg, he bounced back immediately with a superb 132 of his own.

Ratajski won nine of the next 14 legs thanks to a sparkling performance in which he averaged 107.53, hit six 180s and three 100+ finishes overall, while he completed the job with his second 11-darter of the match.

Wattimena's average of 96.47 was as good as it was because he didn't miss a single dart at a double; he simply lacked the consistent scoring power to give himself more opportunities.

Ratajski, who has won eight PDC title since becoming the 2017 BDO World Master, will next meet either Rob Cross or Gabriel Clemens as he continues his quest for a first PDC major.

It's worth noting that only Michael van Gerwen (35), Peter Wright (11) and Gerwyn Price (9) have won more since the start of 2018 and that stat is made even more impressive by the fact Ratajski only had limited opportunities in the first of those years as a non-tour card holder.

His only stage title came at the quieter setting of the Gibraltar Darts Open so this is another reason why he's fancied to produce his very best without a raucous atmosphere that accompanies most majors.

"I am over the moon with this win," said Ratajski. "It was a really good match for me and the average is super.

"I tried to be focused on every dart and the Summer Series helped me to prepare for this because we hadn't played for so long - three months without tournaments."

Wade defies Needle comeback

James Wade defied a stern examination from NHS hero Keegan Brown as he claimed a battling 12-10 victory to book his place in the second round.

In a match almost as gripping as their memorable 2019 World Championship meeting - albeit without the same kind of atmosphere - the 2007 champion stormed into an early 4-0 lead with a 100% record on his doubles and although Brown hit back with an 11-darter, Wade was averaging 113 at the interval.

Needle, who spent most of lockdown working overtime as a key working in a blood science lab on the Isle of Wight, won four more legs after the break to edge 5-4 in front only to miss bullseye for a 170 checkout as the Machine restored parity with a punishing finish from 70.

Wade took his 100+ checkout tally to three over the next six legs thanks to finishes from 120 and 107 as he opened up a 9-7 advantage but the former World Youth champion refused to lie down, surviving a match dart in the 17th leg before a 12-darter in the 18th forced a tie-break situation.

Despite edging ahead at 10-9, Brown was unable to eek out a match dart as Wade picked off three legs on the spin to scrape through.

The Aldershot man averaged 96.58 compared to Brown's 99.45 and while he also hit five fewer 180s with two, his finishing was far superior with 12 hit from 21 attempts as his opponent missed 17 of his 27.

"It should have been over and done with a lot quicker but I'm happy to win," said Wade. "It wasn't my best performance and I was disappointed with how I played, but Keegan played well at times I didn't need him to.

"In my opinion, it's one of the most prestigious events to win and I believe that when all players are going for it, this is the hardest to win. I know what it takes, but talk is cheap."

Whitlock pounces on reckless Relentless

Simon Whitlock won the first live televised match since darts resumed with a comfortable 10-4 victory over Ryan Joyce that owed more to his opponent's struggles rather than any brilliance from the Wizard.

Despite there only being the gentle hum of piped-in crowd noise at the behind-closed doors major at the Marshall Arena, the usually unflappable Geordie seemed to get stage fright on his World Matchplay debut as he failed to produce the kind of form that helped him win his maiden PDC title at the Summer Series last week.

After a near 130-day wait since the last Premier League night graced the Sky Sports cameras before lockdown, Whitlock opened the second biggest major in darts with a 78 finish on his way to an early 3-0 lead before Joyce finally got on the board with a match high 108 checkout.

Relentless pinched the next but it served merely as a false dawn, with the Wizard taking seven of the next nine legs to cruise into the second round with a mediocre average of 89.96 despite hitting five 180s.

Whitlock spurned as many as 19 darts at a double but it was crucially more clinical than the wasteful Joyce, who averaged a slightly higher 90.11 but missed 12 of his 16 attempts at the outer ring.

"It was strange at first but I pretended I was at Blackpool and that I had the crowd there, and that's what kept me going," said Whitlock. "It felt like I was in front of a crowd with the noise.

"Ryan's just come off a good win in the Summer Series and is a class player, so it's good to get one over on him. There are a lot of positives there for me - I felt good."

World Matchplay: Saturday results and Sunday schedule

Saturday July 18 (1800 BST)
First Round (best of 19 legs)

• Simon Whitlock 10-4 Ryan Joyce
• Krzysztof Ratajski 10-4 Jermaine Wattimena
• James Wade 12-10 Keegan Brown
• Michael van Gerwen 10-7 Brendan Dolan
• Gary Anderson 10-5 Justin Pipe

Sunday July 19
Evening Session (1800 BST)
First Round (best of 19 legs)
TV Channel: Sky Sports

• Mensur Suljovic v Jamie Hughes
• Glen Durrant v Jeffrey de Zwaan
• Rob Cross v Gabriel Clemens
• Peter Wright v Jose De Sousa
• Michael Smith v Jonny Clayton

Click here for the full 2020 World Matchplay draw and schedule

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• Chris Hammer's Player-By-Player Guide
• Paul Nicholson's World Matchplay analysis
• World Matchplay betting preview & tips
• 2020 World Matchplay draw and schedule
• Carl Fletcher's vital statistics
• 2020 Premier League venues & dates
• 2020 PDC event calendar & results
• 2020 World Darts Championship results
• 2019 PDC event results
• Sky Bet's darts odds

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