Darts results: Peter Wright dresses as the Grinch to steal the show on opening night of Dartmas
A review of Tuesday's action at PDC's William Hill World Darts Championship, as Peter Wright stole the show with his Grinch outfit.
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Snakebite was kicking off his title defence against Steve West, who earlier opened the tournament by brushing aside Indian debutant Amit Gilitwala 3-0 for the loss of just one leg, and only a shock defeat could have made more headlines than his attire.
It was a fitting way to entertain the Alexandra Palace crowd before the event goes behind closed doors due to London heading into tier three until at least December 23 although Wright may yet play in front of fans again when he next appears in the post-Christmas part of the tournament.
Wright's comfortable 3-1 victory, in which he averaged 92.6 and dropped just one leg in the three sets he won, wasn't exactly a vintage performance but he did fire in two 100+ checkouts of 144 and 101.
The 50-year-old is marginal third favourite in the betting at 9/2 with Sky Bet to retain his title (currently Price Boosted to 11/2) while Gerwyn Price, who is in his half of the draw, is 4/1 and Michael van Gerwen 9/2.
"Obviously, there was a bit of pressure on me tonight," Wright told www.pdc.tv. "Steve didn't play his game. It's a big ask to play well for two games in one night. I'm just happy to be safely through, but I know I wasn't at my best tonight.
"My last three darts at double ten were near enough exactly the same as the ones I threw to win it last year, which was strange.
"I'm happy with the darts. Now I'm going to use my days off to rest up and come back refreshed for the rest of the tournament."
Meanwhile Steve Beaton's record-breaking night ended up being a highly emotional one for his conqueror as Brazil's Diogo Portela claimed his first ever victory on the Alexandra Palace stage at the fourth attempt.
The Bronzed Adonis was playing in his 30th World Darts Championship - and 20th in the PDC version - to eclipse the tally he shared with Phil Taylor but he produced arguably his worst display of all his previous appearances in a 3-0 drubbing.
Beaton, 54, averaged just 84.14, failed to hit a single 180 and missed nine of his 12 darts at doubles as his poor season, in which he's fallen out of the world's top 32, ended on its lowest note.
By contrast it was night that Portela will never forget after finally ending his country's wait for a win on the sport's biggest stage.
'Braziliant' broke down in tears after sealing glory with a clinical 85 checkout and he can now look forward to a second-round tussle with Premier League champion Glen Durrant on Wednesday night.
"Tonight will be in my heart forever. It was a fantastic win and it means everything to me," said Portela. "I've been through so much this year in my personal life. It left me thinking about quitting darts.
"This was a win for me to prove I can compete with the best players; Steve has been a class player for many years.
"I was having a nightmare in practice so I don't know where this performance came from, but this is just the start for me."
In the night's other clash, Jeff Smith battled past teenage sensation Keane Barry 3-1 in a hard-fought encounter in which neither player produced their best.
The 45-year-old from Canada, who is approaching the end of his maiden season as a PDC Tour Card holder, averaged slightly less than the Irishman's 88.11 with a mark of 85.44 but he crucially held his nerve to pinch two sets with deciding legs, including the one that sealed his progress.
Smith's first Alexandra Palace victory at the third attempt means he'll now meet Chris Dobey on Wednesday afternoon but will probably need to raise his game if he's venture much further.
"I'm happy with that win tonight. When I got drawn against Keane I knew it would be a tough match and he put me under real pressure there," said Smith.
"It's been a fantastic year for me on the board, even with all the restrictions. Kudos to the PDC for putting the tournament on at all.
"I'm looking forward to playing Chris [Dobey], we've had a couple of good battles and I'm sure we will have another one tomorrow."
Barry, 18, will be disappointed to have missed as many as 22 darts at doubles but darts fans will be seeing much more of his budding talents over the next two seasons having earned a Tour Card by virtue of his efforts on the Development Tour.
World Darts Championship: Tuesday's results & Wednesday schedule
Tuesday December 15
Evening Session (1800 GMT)
First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)
- Steve West (90.75) 3-0 (80.59) Amit Gilitwala (R1) (3-0, 3-1, 3-0)
- Steve Beaton (84.14) 0-3 (89.16) Diogo Portela (R1) (1-3, 1-3, 1-3)
- Jeff Smith (85.44) 3-1 (88.11) Keane Barry (R1) (3-1, 3-2, 2-3, 3-2)
- Peter Wright (92.6) 3-1 (88.82) Steve West (R2) (3-0, 3-0, 1-3, 3-0)
Wednesday December 16
Afternoon Session (1200 GMT)
First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Darts
- Ryan Joyce v Karel Sedlacek (R1)
- Ross Smith v David Evans (R1)
- William O’Connor v Niels Zonneveld (R1)
- Chris Dobey v Jeff Smith (R2)
Evening Session (1800 GMT)
First/Second Round (Best of 5 sets)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Darts
- Max Hopp v Gordon Mathers (R1)
- Callan Rydz v James Bailey (R1)
- Adam Hunt v Lisa Ashton (R1)
- Glen Durrant v Diogo Portela (R2)
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