66-year-old Paul Lim claimed an astonishing first round win at the William Hill World Darts Championship on Friday, while James Wade and Adam Hunt progressed to round three at London’s Alexandra Palace.
Lim, making his 25th World Championship appearance 39 years after his first, drew on his experience and kept his cool to come back from two sets behind against two-time Ally Pally quarter-finalist Luke Humphries.
Former World Youth Champion Humphries hit seven 180s and missed a dart to close out victory in four sets before missing 12 darts to lead 2-1 in the decider, allowing Lim to move ahead and go on to seal glory with a 14-darter.
“I kept telling myself to pressure him [Humphries] after losing the first set. I dug deep and it paid off,” said Lim, who famously hit the first ever World Championship nine-darter in 1990.
“He was very good in the first set and I knew that if I didn’t apply pressure then everything would come easy for him and I would be out.
“I felt really prepared for the match and I am glad that I managed to produce a good game and get the win. I have spent a lot of time on the dartboard in what has been a very difficult time for the whole world.
“I’m really grateful that the PDC put on a qualifier and that I won it and got the chance to be here. I’m very happy to take that chance. This is one for the old guys.”
Humphries had looked on course to continue his excellent record at Alexandra Palace, having reached the last eight in each of the last two years, as he won both of the first two sets 3-1.
Lim took the third set by the same margin before surviving a dart that would have condemned him to defeat in set four, which he won 3-2 and sealed with an 84 checkout.
Humphries responded with a brilliant 11-darter but was made to pay for a dozen missed darts to hold his throw in the third leg of set five.
Lim cashed in and broke his opponent’s throw and then punished Humphries for another missed dart to stay alive, as the Singapore star pinned tops to set up a second round meeting with World Matchplay champion Dimitri Van den Bergh.
Three-time semi-finalist Wade made light work of young prospect Callan Rydz, winning his opening match in straight sets.
Wade raced through the first set before inflicting the killer blow on his opponent in the fifth leg of set two by taking out 100 after Rydz had missed three darts to level the tie.
The world number seven went on to complete a comfortable victory as he eased into the last 32.
“I was fortunate to get a shot at the 100 but it was a good shot at a good time,” said Wade.
“I have a renewed enthusiasm for darts. I have a lot of good people around me and I’m in a good place at the moment.
“If I play my best game then I will win this tournament quite comfortably.”
Jamie Hughes became the first seeded player to lose their opening match as Hunt booked his place in the third round.
Hunt followed up his impressive round one success over Lisa Ashton with a straight sets victory against an out-of-sorts Hughes, hitting four 180s in the process.
“I think the game against Lisa really helped me. I felt really well prepared for this one,” said Hunt.
“Jamie wasn’t at his best but I feel like I kept my focus and played quite well. I’m happy to be through and looking forward to enjoying Christmas with my family before coming back for the third round. I will be putting in some practice at home.”
Dutchman Dirk van Duijvenbode pulled off a great escape against the unfortunate World Championship debutant Bradley Brooks.
20-year-old Brooks, who won the PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship last month, made his mark on the Ally Pally stage immediately by winning the first set with an average of almost 110.
He continued his blistering start to the match by taking the second set 3-1 before winning the first leg of set three to leave Van Duijvenbode on the brink of elimination.
The 2020 World Grand Prix runner-up roared back, however, winning nine consecutive legs in an unstoppable surge that saw him snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
“I never thought I was out of it because I never think about what my opponent is doing. I just concentrate on myself,” said Van Duijvenbode, who will take on Rob Cross in round two on Tuesday.
“I started off a lot worse than I expected to play and it made me really angry, which seemed to make me play well.”
John Henderson made it past the first round for the fourth consecutive year but was disappointed with his standard of performance against seasoned Finnish player Marko Kantele.
Henderson was the better player throughout the match but became embroiled in a scrap when, having taken the first set 3-0, he missed two darts to win the second set allowing his opponent to level the match.
Two 13-darters helped the popular Scotsman regain that advantage but he missed a dart for the match at two apiece in the fourth set and Kantele capitalised again to force a decider.
Henderson kept his cool and closed out the victory, sealing the final set 3-1, to set up a second round tie with Welsh World Cup winner Jonny Clayton.
“I couldn’t get going on stage. I’ve won but I was awful,” said Henderson.
“It was terrible at times but I did enough to get through and that’s what it is all about. The first round is always difficult so I’m happy to get through.
“I’ll have to be better against Jonny in the next round but I have done okay here the last few years and it will be a different game, I’m sure.”
Wayne Jones clinched his first World Championship win since the 2012 tournament with a hard fought triumph over Ireland’s Ciaran Teehan.
The 55-year-old won the first set 3-0 but lost set two against an opponent 34 years his junior, despite big finishes of 143 and 118.
The next two sets were shared before 2006 semi-finalist Jones closed out the match in style, winning the deciding set without dropping a leg.
Mickey Mansell reeled off nine consecutive legs against New Zealand’s Haupai Puha to claim his first ever victory on the Alexandra Palace stage.
The Northern Irishman closed out the first whitewash win of this year’s tournament to set up a second round meeting with Ricky Evans.
Darius Labanauskas also recorded a straight sets success as he defeated China’s Chengan Liu, who was competing 15 years after his previous World Championship appearance.
Finishes of 97 and 124 saw Liu claim two legs but the experienced Lithuanian thrower proved to be too strong and earned himself a round two tie against Simon Whitlock.
The William Hill World Darts Championship continues on Saturday with another two sessions of first and second round action, as Michael van Gerwen begins his bid for a fourth world title against Ryan Murray.
Global coverage of the tournament is headlined on the dedicated Sky Sports Darts channel, while the PDC’s international broadcast partners will include RTL7 in the Netherlands, DAZN in various territories, Fox Sports in Australia, Sky Sport in New Zealand, PDCTV for Rest of the World Subscribers and at matchroom.live.
2020/21 William Hill World Darts Championship
Schedule of Play
Friday December 18
Afternoon Session (1200 GMT)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Mickey Mansell 3-0 Haupai Puha (R1)
Darius Labanauskas 3-0 Chengan Liu (R1)
Wayne Jones 3-2 Ciaran Teehan (R1)
Adam Hunt 3-0 Jamie Hughes (R2)
Evening Session (1800 GMT)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Dirk van Duijvenbode 3-2 Bradley Brooks (R1)
John Henderson 3-2 Marko Kantele (R1)
Paul Lim 3-2 Luke Humphries (R1)
James Wade 3-0 Callan Rydz (R2)
Saturday December 19
Afternoon Session (1200 GMT)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Steve Lennon v Daniel Larsson (R1)
Scott Waites v Matt Campbell (R1)
Kim Huybrechts v Di Zhuang (R1)
Mervyn King v Max Hopp (R2)
Evening Session (1800 GMT)
3x First Round, 1x Second Round
Andy Hamilton v Nico Kurz (R1)
Andy Boulton v Deta Hedman (R1)
Damon Heta v Danny Baggish (R1)
Michael van Gerwen v Ryan Murray (R2)
