Gerwyn Price (Picture: Lawrence Lustig/PDC)

World Darts results: Gerwyn Price survives huge scare as Steve Beaton hits a 170 checkout

By Chris Hammer

00:46 · FRI December 20, 2019

A review of Thursday's action at the William Hill World Darts Championship as Gerwyn Price survives scare and Steve Beaton hits a 170 checkout.

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World Championship schedule and results

EVENING SESSION

Price survives huge scare

Gerwyn Price's World Darts Championship dream is still alive but only after coming through an intense deciding set against William O'Connor, who was left to rue a baffling moment of miscounting.

The tournament's second favourite, who is widely tipped to be facing Michael van Gerwen on New Year's Day in a blockbuster edition of their budding rivalry, found himself 2-1 down in sets against his plucky opponent before battling to a 3-2 victory.

Price had to win a deciding leg to force the fifth set, which he also trailed 2-1 before holding his throw to take the match into a tie-break situation, when the Irishman's costly error occurred.

After leaving himself four following two missed darts at doubles in the previous visit - the last of which being outside of double two - O'Connor took aim at two ones instead.

The Grand Slam of Darts champion made the most of his reprieve by taking out 75 for a crucial break and he comfortably served it out with a clinical 13-darter.

Price was infamously the pantomime villain on this very stage 12 months ago during a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat against Nathan Aspinall, in which he missed a match dart at 2-0 up and crumbled under the weight of the boos, but on this occasion he enjoyed huge support in an excellent sporting match packed full of drama and passion.

Afterwards he spoke about how he's turned the jeers to cheers in an incredible year of five titles, three major finals and stellar performances but also admitted how crucial the fans can be in matches, citing Fallon Sherrock's victory over Ted Evetts as a prime example.

Price, who will face John Henderson in the next round, also said: "That's the most uncomfortable I've ever felt in a darts match, I couldn't handle the heat up there. From the moment I walked out I never felt at ease and I ended up chasing Willie throughout; he was probably the better player.

"He put me under pressure and I knew I don't have the best of records here but a win's a win. I had a bit of luck with Willie going for the wrong double at the end but I'm not going to tap him on the shoulder and tell him that!

"I've won tournaments before where I should've gone out in my first game so maybe this could be another one of those."

Price, who had won the opening set 3-2 before losing the next two 3-1, only averaged 90.98 compared to his opponent's 93.22 and while he hit five fewer 180s with three, he was pretty solid on his doubles, pinning 12 of his 26 attempts.

Hollywood ending for Dobey

Chris Dobey battled back from the brink in a pulsating clash with Ron Meulenkamp as he moved into the third round at the Ally Pally.

In a dramatic final set true to his Hollywood nickname, Dobey came from 2-0 down and survived three clear match darts from the Dutchman before holding his nerve to triumph 3-2.

The highly-fancied Northumberland thrower, who has reached two major semi-finals at the World Grand Prix and Players Championship Finals in the past couple of months, was seemingly flying to a straight sets victory when he won the first two with 3-1 scorelines.

However, after missing a dart to take the third set to a deciding leg,

Meulenkamp began his comeback by racing through the next 3-0 and after Dobey then missed a dart at a double to take the fourth to a deciding leg as his opponent levelled the scores.

The Bomb moved 2-0 up and looked set to pull of a big shock but when Hollywood piled on the pressure by halving the deficit, he spurned two match darts.

Now in a tie-break situation, the tension cranked up and it was Dobey who coped best as he punished Meulenkamp for missing darts at doubles in each of the next two legs to triumph.

The 29-year-old could meet Fallon Sherrock after Christmas if the new darting superstar sees off Mensur Suljovic on Saturday night and he has no doubts who he’d rather face.

In this video, Dobey also revealed why he wouldn’t expect Sherrock to quieten the crowd like he had to against Meulenkamp.

Chizzy charges into next round

Dave Chisnall defeated Vincent van der Voort 3-1 but there's still room for improvement as he targets his first major title on the biggest stage of all.

Chizzy, who has enjoyed a superb season with three titles and a run to the World Grand Prix final, was seemingly on course for a straight sets triumph as he made the Dutchman's missed darts in the deciding leg of the first en route to going 2-0 up.

Van der Voort suddenly found a new lease of life as he raced through the third set without reply to give Chisnall something to think about but the St Helens man kicked off the next with a 124 checkout and closed it out 3-1.

Chizzy averaged 93.1 and hit four 180s but the key to his triumph was pinning nine of his 14 darts at doubles as the wasteful van der Voort missed 22 of his 29.

Noppie ends Rydz dream

Callan Rydz's dream debut at the Alexandra Palace came to an agonising end as he suffered a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Danny Noppert.

The 21-year-old from Newcastle, who beat Steve Lennon in a deciding leg in round one, gave the 31st seed a real scare when landing a 160 checkout en route to a 2-1 set lead.

Neither player could find a break of throw in the opening 10 legs of the match, with Noppert levelling it up at 1-1.

The pattern continued into the third set as well as five more successive holds meant Rydz moved one away from yet another famous victory.

Ab absorbing encounter then swung in Noppert's favour as a 12-darter was followed by the first break of the match before Rydz was left to rue four missed attempts at a double.

The World Series of Darts Finals runner-up maintained the momentum into a decider, with a 110 checkout helping him seal his place in the last 32 of the PDC World Championship for the first time.

AFTERNOON SESSION

Beaton rolls back the years

Steve Beaton produced a vintage performance on his 29th successive appearance at a World Darts Championship as he moved into the third round for the first time since 2005.

The Bronzed Adonis, 55, threw a 170 checkout during his 3-1 victory over Kyle Anderson while he also three two more 100+ finishes, seven 180s and ended with an average of 91.92.

Beaton, who competed in 10 BDO world championships before crossing over to the PDC in 2002, hadn't advanced to the third round since 2005 but it's performances like these that show just why he's been in the world's top 32 for such a long time.The 1996 Lakeside king

The 1996 Lakeside king finished from 107 to seal the first set that he won 3-1 - despite Anderson's 142 checkout - and kicked off the next with the Big Fish before following it up with another fine checkout from 133 when trailing 2-1.

Anderson, however, restored parity in sets with a sublime 116 checkout to complete a 12-darter.

Beaton threatened a nine-darter with back-to-back 180s at the start of the third set, which he breezed through 3-0 with the help of two double eights in an exhibition style finish in the second leg.

Anderson had three darts to force a deciding set from when he led 2-1 in the fourth but he missed the lot and the 55-year-old from Coventry took full advantage.

After the match Beaton talked about his longevity in the sport, why he keeps coming back for more and whether he has time for one last hurrah.

Emotional win for Pipe on Ally Pally return

Justin Pipe marked his Alexandra Palace return with a highly-emotional victory, but he had to survive three match darts against the unheralded Benjamin Pratnemer.

The Somerset thrower was last seen on this stage two years ago when being heavily booed against Phil Taylor due to the 'cough-gate' victory over Bernie Smith in the previous round - a moment he recently admitted "destroyed his darts career for 12 months".

Pipe, who wholeheartedly denies he made any noise with his coughs that he was subsequently fined £3,000 for, was also making his first appearance at the Alexandra Palace since losing his father earlier in the year.

Despite enjoying crowd support, he found himself in real trouble against the second ever Slovenian to play at the World Championship when losing the opening set in a deciding leg.

Pipe, who was 1/7 favourite before a dart was thrown, responded by taking the second set 3-1 but any thought that he'd go on and rattle through the next two - relatively speaking of course - were kicked into touch when his virtual unknown opponent moved one away from victory with a 3-1 scoreline in the third.

A match high 118 checkout from the Force at the start of the fourth was quickly wasted by missing five darts at doubles in the next leg, which Pratnemer took full advantage of before moving 2-1 up.

Pipe levelled with a finish from 70 and then forced a deciding set after the Slovenian blew three clear darts from 20 to seal the biggest victory of his life.

The 48-year-old made the most of his reprieve with 14 and 13-darters and although Pratnemer pulled one back, it would merely delay Pipe's moment of closure.

After the match,Pipe revealed one of the secrets behind his climb back up the rankings was going back to the practice regime that his late father had taught him.

Ryan not so mighty

Ryan Joyce produced a fine comeback from two sets down but then spurned four match darts in an agonising 3-2 defeat to Jan Dekker.

Last year's quarter-finalist, who had hopes of repeating his exploits on the Alexandra Palace stage, was punished for a sloppy start as he missed five darts at doubles in the opening set, which Dekker won 3-1.

The Dutchman raced through the next by the same scoreline before Joyce started his recovery thanks to an 11-darter and a 110 checkout in set three and then it was his turn to take advantage of his opponent's poor finishing to force a decider.

Joyce seized the initiative with a break of throw to go 2-1 up but he blew three match darts and watched Dekker take out 96 under huge pressure to force a sudden death leg.

The affable Geordie looked to have put those woes behind him as he reached a finish first but he failed to get down from 140 in two visits, spurning another match dart at double 16, and Dekker made him pay.

Three and easy for Hendo

John Henderson cruised into the third round of the World Championship with a crushing 3-0 victory over James Richardson.

The popular Scotsman dominated the clash from start to finish with an average of 93.34 and four 180s as he only allowed his opponent eight darts at doubles in the match.

Richardson, who had come through a pulsating sudden death leg to beat Mikuru Suzuki in the opening round, only managed to hit three of those but he did manage the high checkout of the match with a 106.

Afterwards, Henderson compared the experience of playing at the World Championship with the incredible atmosphere he created during one of the most memorable matches of the year - his 6-6 draw with Michael van Gerwen in the Premier League in front of a partisan Aberdeen crowd.

Many fans would have branded that the darting highlight of 2019 until Fallon Sherrock's history-making exploits on Tuesday night - but does he feel aggrieved to be knocked off top spot?

Watch the video below to find out.

World Darts Championship: Thursday results & Friday schedule

Thursday December 19
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Darts

Justin Pipe 3-2 Benjamin Pratnemer (First Round)
Ryan Joyce 2-3 Jan Dekker (First Round)
John Henderson 3-0 James Richardson (Second Round)
Steve Beaton 3-1 Kyle Anderson (Second Round)

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

Chris Dobey 3-2 Rob Meulenkamp (Second Round)
Danny Noppert 3-2 Callan Rydz (Second Round)
Dave Chisnall 3-1 Vincent Van der Voort (Second Round)
Gerwyn Price v William O’Connor (Second Round)

Friday December 20
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Second Round (Best of 5 sets)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Darts

Darren Webster v Yuki Yamada (Second Round)
Mervyn King v Ciaran Teehan (Second Round)
Jonny Clayton v Joyce/Dekker (Second Round)
Ricky Evans v McGeeney/Campbell (Second Round)