Gerwyn Price suffered an early scare in his PDC world championship opener against Luke Woodhouse, but fought back to win the match 3-1 at Alexandra Palace.
Woodhouse, the current world No 50, made a blistering start as he took the first set with an average of 104.95, with Price missing five doubles and struggling for rhythm. Price took out an 83 finish to level the match at 1-1, and broke his opponent’s throw in the third leg of the next set, despite missing six more darts at doubles.
Price, the world No 1 and 2021 PDC world champion, was able to close out the third set as his opponent’s form faltered badly, then landed a bullseye to move ahead in the fourth. The Welshman showed a glimpse of his best form in the next leg, with a 150 checkout to end his opponent’s fading resistance and advance to the third round.
“That was really tough, I should have been 2-0 down but I stuck in there and it got better,” Price said. “I’ve never felt nerves like that before – from the word go, I was feeling it big time. I never usually have a problem.”
A former world champion did go out on Monday night, with the 1996 BDO winner, Steve Beaton, outclassed by the Dutch qualifier Danny van Trijp. Beaton was making his 32nd consecutive world championship appearance but it was the debutant who looked more assured. Van Trijp lost his throw only once in a 3-0 victory and will next face the No 7 seed, Jonny Clayton.
Canada’s David Cameron remains in the draw after producing a dramatic comeback to beat Ritchie Edhouse – with help from an unexpected mascot. After falling two sets and two legs down, Cameron saw his English opponent miss six match darts – then reeled off eight legs in a row despite a wasp taking up residence on his shoulder.
“Sometimes you feel down and out, but you have to stick at it,” Cameron told Sky Sports afterwards. Asked about the wasp that set social media abuzz, he added: “It might be lucky or something, but I didn’t know it was there.” The 53-year-old, who also overcame a miscount in the final set to get over the line, will face Dutchman Danny Noppert in the second round.
CAMERON COMPLETES THE COMEBACK! 🇨🇦
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 19, 2022
A wasp, a miscount and a remarkable comeback! That match had IT ALL!
David Cameron wins nine of the last ten legs to snatch the match from Edhouse!
Up next 👉 Steve Beaton v Danny van Trijp#WCDarts | R1
📺 https://t.co/37DNuuK5Me pic.twitter.com/tf6dZdNCZc
José de Sousa also fought back from two sets down to win a big-name battle with the 2010 finalist Simon Whitlock in the afternoon session. The Portuguese star made a shaky start but won eight of the last 10 legs, landing finishes of 114, 127 and 136. “This means the world to me,” De Sousa said afterwards. “When I was 2-0 down, I thought I had nothing to lose.”
Leonard Gates opened the evening session in style, with the Texan’s dance moves and big finishes getting the Ally Pally crowd on his side against Geert Nentjes. The Dutchman took the first set but struggled on his doubles – hitting only six of 25 – allowing Gates to fight back and win 3-1. “This is the Mecca of darts,” the former baseball player said afterwards. “It’s definitely a different level.”
Earlier, Wales’s Lewy Williams narrowly missed a nine-darter in the final leg but comfortably saw off Niels Zonneveld to book a second-round meeting with Michael van Gerwen. The 20-year-old qualifier dropped his eighth dart but recovered to hit treble 19 – only to clip the wire with his shot at double 12.
WILLIAMS WIRES PERFECTION! 🤯
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 19, 2022
HOW CLOSE WAS THAT?! Lewy Williams narrowly misses D12 for a match winning nine-darter but he gets over the line in the end with a sensational whitewash win!
Up next 👉 Jose de Sousa v Simon Whitlock#WCDarts | R1
📺 https://t.co/37DNuuK5Me pic.twitter.com/lGhQpwpjWh
Danny Jansen fought off Paolo Nebrida of the Phillippines, the Dutch debutant earning a 3-2 win after Nebrida fought back from two sets down. England’s Andrew Gilding was also pushed all the way on his return to the Palace after six years away, beating Wales’s Robert Owen by the same score.
