A nervous Nathan Aspinall stumbled in his first match of the World Darts Championship, beating Leonard Gates on the same night Christian Kist hit nine darts in defeat.
Aspinall, who suffered a shock defeat at the same stage last year, almost avoided an upset this time, booking their progress after Christmas with a 3-1 victory.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Watch Nathan Aspinall’s 3-1 victory over Leonard Gates in the World Darts Championship second round tie
Gates, who defeated a tearful Cameron Menzies in their first-round matchup on Monday, showed glimpses of the first two sets shared before Aspinall finally pulled away.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Watch the best of the action from night four of the World Darts Championship
The American scored 106 for a break in the first set, only for Aspinall to immediately improve on that with a 114 in the next leg to take the first set.
But the 12th seed was desperately poor in losing the second set, averaging less than 80. Despite such struggles, he would have two darts on top for a two-set lead, but would ruin his lines when Gates instead leveled the scores. things.
Aspinall improved marginally in the final two sets, but survived some nervous moments along the way, including parrying a pair of darts when Gates threatened to force a deciding set.
The two-time semi-finalist will know he will have to play much better if he is to have another deep run at Alexandra Palace.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Who had the better move between Aspinall and Gates ahead of their second round match at the World Darts Championship?
Kist makes an impressive nine-dart throw but loses
Kist’s nine-dart throw was his 15th at the Worlds and his first since Michael Smith’s famous “I can’t talk” perfect leg in the 2023 final.
The Dutchman, however, could not take advantage of his incredible moment to win the first set against his rival. Madar Razma he kept his cool and won the next three sets in style to set up a match against Dirk van Duijvenbode.
However, Kist wins £60,000 for his nine-dart, as does one lucky fan in the Ally Pally crowd, and tournament sponsors Paddy Power also donated £60,000 to Prostate Cancer to mark the moment.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘Rapid’ Ricky Evans beats Gordon Mathers 3-2 in their World Darts Championship first round tie
Ricky Evans He was far from his “fast” best when he worked hard in his first match against Gordon Mathers, forced to play the decider in the last set.
Evans finally claimed victory to set up a second-round clash with sixth seed Dave Chisnall by removing 109, the first over-a-ton finish from an otherwise sloppy encounter.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Evans warms up the crowd with a rendition of ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’ for a very festive outing.
In the first match of the night, a dejected Jim Williams missed five darts before losing 3-2 in his first round match against Pablo Nebrida.
To make matters worse for the Welshman, he also missed three darts to take the first set on the way. Ross Smith awaits Nebrida in the next round.
What’s next?
It’s another great day of action on Thursday 19 December with the return of the afternoon session, live on Sky Sports Darts from 12.30pm – the line-up is as follows: Chris Landman vs Lok Yin Lee, Callan Rydz vs Romeo Grbavac, Martin Lukeman vs Nitin Kumar and 27th seed Gabriel Clemens in second round action against Robert Owen.
Starting at 7pm, live on Sky Sports Darts, former world champion Michael Smith headlines the night session, the 2023 champion and second seed will face Kevin Doets to close the night, while all three first round matches Previous ones include Nick Kenny vs. Stowe Buntz. , Mensur Suljovic against Matt Campbell and last year’s semi-finalist Scott Williams against Niko Springer.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live until January 3 on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel. Stream darts and more sports highlights with NOW.
