Michael van Gerwen (4/1 – Matchplay Outright) saw off a spirited challenge from Damon Heta, while there were also wins for Gary Anderson, Ian White and Nathan Aspinall in the Betfred World Matchplay on Monday night.
Monday 19th Results:
Ian White 10-7 Daryl Gurney
Nathan Aspinall 10-6 Mervyn King
Michael van Gerwen 10-7 Damon Heta
Gary Anderson 10-5 Stephen Bunting
Tuesday 20th – Order of Play:
Rob Cross vs Callan Rydz (19:00)
Luke Humphries vs Krzysztof Ratajski (20:00)
Gerwyn Price vs Jonny Clayton (21:00)
Dimitri Van den Bergh vs Dave Chisnall (22:00)
Heta looked on course for a big upset earlier in the evening as he led the Dutchman 6-4 before MvG stormed back in front of 2,000 fans inside Blackpool’s Winter Gardens to seal his place in the second round.
Van Gerwen is on the hunt for his first title of the year and the two-time Matchplay champion admitted afterwards he remains some way off his best but was pleased to eventually get the job done as he won 10-7 in front of supporters again.
He said on Sky Sports: “Of course this was a relief, I didn’t play my own game, I didn’t play my own pace, I was trying to follow into his game and it didn’t really work.
“Everybody knows I’m capable but you still have to do it on stage. It’s been so long since I’ve played with crowds like this, it’s been unrealistic, it’s not normal for us anymore. Of course I had to change my game to adjust a little bit but I’m looking forward to the next one.”
Van Gerwen will face White next, after he entertained the crowds with a 10-7 win over Daryl Gurney in the opener on Monday, before Aspinall beat Mervyn King 10-6.
The final match of the evening saw Anderson prevail fairly comfortably against Stephen Bunting as he carved out a 10-5 victory.
The Betfred World Matchplay continues on Tuesday night when Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton and Dimitri Van den Bergh are amongst those in action also looking to book their places in the last-16.
Current world champion Price is favourite to see off Clayton (Price 8/15, Clayton 7/5) in an all-Welsh showdown, while Rob Cross takes on Callan Rydz (Cross 2/5, Rydz 19/10) and Luke Humphries (EVS) goes up against Krzysztof Ratajski (4/5) in what is expected to be a tight contest.
Defending champion Van den Bergh is last on on Tuesday evening when he is fancied to progress past Dave Chisnall (Van den Bergh 8/15, Chisnall 6/4).
Whenever you bet on Darts, Betfred.