Gary Anderson (22/1 – to win World Championship) has played down his chances of winning a third PDC World Championship despite booking his place in third round thanks to a 3-1 victory over fellow two-time champion Adrian Lewis on Thursday.
Thursday 16th December Results:
Afternoon Session
Steve Lennon 3-1 Madars Razma (R1)
Scott Mitchell 0-3 Chris Landman (R1)
Chas Barstow 3-1 John Norman Jnr (R1)
Daryl Gurney 3-1 Ricky Evans (R2)
Evening Session
William O’Connor 3-2 Danny Lauby (R1)
Ryan Meikle 3-0 Fabian Schmutzler (R1)
Ron Meulenkamp 3-0 Lisa Ashton (R1)
Gary Anderson 3-1 Adrian Lewis (R2)
Friday 17th December Order of Play:
Ryan Joyce vs Roman Benecky (R1 – 12:30)
Keane Barry vs Royden Lam (R1 – 13:30)
Jermaine Wattimena vs Boris Koltsov (R1 – 14:30)
Krzysztof Ratajski vs Steve Lennon (R2 – 15:30)
Joe Murnan vs Paul Lim (R1 – 19:00)
William Borland vs Bradley Brooks (R1 – 20:00)
Ross Smith vs Jeff Smith (R1 – 21:00)
Peter Wright vs Ryan Meikle (R2 – 22:00)
‘The Flying Scotsman’ was pitted against his old adversary Lewis in what was a blockbuster second-round contest, with the two having previously met in the World Championship finals of 2011 and 2016, winning one of those meetings apiece.
It was Anderson that prevailed this time, however, with the sixth seed battling back from losing the first set to win nine of the next 10 legs to seal his place in round three.
Anderson made it all the way to the final of the worlds last year before losing to Gerwyn Price and he has reached at least the fourth round on each of his last seven appearances at Ally Pally.
Despite that impressive record, the 50-year-old was quick to play down his hopes of going all the way and making it a hat-trick of world titles this year.
“It’s got to be each game as it comes, I’ve not got any high hopes, but we’ll just throw, ” Anderson, who will face either Ian White or Chris Landman in round three after Christmas, told Sky Sports.
Daryl Gurney was Thursday’s other second-round winner, as the 22nd seed booked his place in the last 32 with a 3-1 victory over Ricky Evans – Rob Cross could await for ‘SuperChin’ in round three.
Other notable first-round results on Thursday included Ron Meulenkamp’s 3-0 victory over four-time Lakeside women’s champion Lisa Ashton, while Ryan Meikle got the better of teenage sensation Fabian Schmutzler.
Meikle’s reward for that victory is a second-round clash with 2020 world champion Peter Wright on Friday (Wright 1/8, Meikle 5/1 – Match Betting).
Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski is also in second-round action on Friday against Irishman Steve Lennon (Ratajski 3/10, Lennon 5/2 – Match Betting), while the pick of the first-round matches see Jermaine Wattimena take on Boris Koltsov (Match betting – Wattimena 4/9, Koltsov 7/4) and Joe Murnam faces the evergreen 67-year-old Paul Lim (Match betting – Murnam 4/6, Lim 7/4).
PDC World Darts Championship Betting Odds