PDC World Darts Championship Day 3: Whitlock Loses, Anderson Advances

It was a bad day for the men from Down Under on the third day of the PDC World Darts Championship. With three Australians and one New Zealander on show, only Kyle Anderson managed a win, with the others, including Australian star Simon Whitlock, struggling for accuracy.

Whitlock's loss was the big story of the day, going down to Englishman Darren Webster by three sets to one. Webster strung together four impressive three-dart checkouts of 101, 118, 120 and 138, remaining calm and compounding Whitlock's problems.

The Australian entered the tournament in a run of bad form, but it was not until today that it became obvious just how shaky Whitlock's throwing has been of late. Shaky in the literal sense too.

Not only was he missing darts, but his hands were visibly shaking as he lined up his doubles, and for large periods, he looked remarkably flat. 

The loss marks Whitlock's earliest exit from a World Championship event, joining Wes Newton and Stuart Kellett as the third-seeded player to lose their first-round match-up.

Gary Anderson was the other big name on show in the late session, emerging victorious 3-1. Anderson was less than convincing, struggling to find the treble consistently and opening the door for Scott Kirchner through a handful of missed doubles.

In fact, he was lucky to win as convincingly as he did. With the set on the line, Kirchner missed a double only for Anderson to make him pay a throw later. It was the defining moment of the match.

Kirchner showed composure throughout the majority of the match but became flustered in the crucial moments and seemed to psych himself out with lengthy breaks when faced with a dart for the set. His slow approach did unsettle Anderson, though, and kept the game interesting for a long period.

In other games, Terry Jenkins scored well and found both double 10 and 20 with consistency to impressively dispatch John Weber, while in the early session Rob Thornton was convincing in a 3-0 win.

Australian Kyle Anderson was too good for Steve Beaton, winning 3-0.

The early session saw Ronnie Baxter beat Daryl Gurney in an exciting match, Lawrence Ryder toppled Justin Pipe, while Ronny Huybrechts was far too good for Andy Smith.