PDC World Darts Championship Day 4: Wade, Chisnall Too Good

Both top-10 seeds on show on Day 4 of the PDC World Darts Championship advanced with comfortable wins in their first-round matches. James Wade was impressive and, barring a couple of poor legs, gave Jamie Lewis little chance despite a gallant effort while Dave Chisnall overcame a series of misfortune to win with ease.

Wade scored well for the majority of his match, averaging an impressive 97.14 en route to a 3-0 win. It was not as easy as the scoreline would make out, though, as Lewis stuck around and put real pressure on Wade. In fact, he was unlucky not to win a set and against a worse opponent probably would have.

But Wade was clinical and, other than a series of five missed darts at double tops, gave Lewis nothing.

He will need to continue in the same manner if he is to stake a claim to win his first World Championship. No one has a tougher run to the title, with the chance of having to go through Adrian Lewis, Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen in the final three rounds.

Next up, though, he will likely meet last year's Lakeside champion, Stephen Bunting, in what promises to be the most tantalising matchup of the second round.

Chisnall made harder work of his victory over Dutchman Ryan de Vreede. His scoring and finishing were hampered by a series of falling darts, providing frustration for the No. 8 seed. 

These make Chisnall's result look less convincing than it really was. The points left on the floor were not insignificant amounts and on one leg saw a dart fall after landing a three-dart checkout combination.

De Vreede was inconsistent, though, and therefore unable to capitalize. The 3-1 final result was probably a fair reflection of the way the match went.

Other big names to win on Day 4 were Ian White and Kim Huybrechts while Australian Paul Nicholson was upset, continuing the poor run of form of his countrymen from Sunday.