PDC William Hill World Darts Championship 2015: Sunday Results, Updated Schedule
Raymond van Barneveld took care of business against Dirk van Duijvenbode during his first-round match at the 2015-16 PDC William Hill World Championship on Sunday, while Mervyn King survived a scare from Russian qualifier Aleksandr Oreshkin.
Jamie Caven beat qualifier Rob Szabo in straight sets, and Mesur Suljovic needed four sets to get past Jermaine Wattimena. Debutant Joe Murnan caused the shock of the afternoon session, beating former finalist Andy Hamilton in a decider.
Here's a look at Sunday's results:
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
| Michael Rasztovits | 0-2 | Rob Szabo (P) |
| Andy Hamilton | 2-3 | Joe Murnan |
| Mensur Suljovic | 3-1 | Jermaine Wattimena |
| Jamie Caven | 3-0 | Rob Szabo |
| Aleksandr Oreshkin | 2-1 | Paul Lim (P) |
| Stephen Bunting | 3-0 | Jyhan Artut |
| Raymond van Barneveld | 3-0 | Dirk van Duijvenbode |
| Mervyn King | 3-2 | Aleksandr Oreshkin |
The schedule for Monday:
| Warrick Scheffer | vs. | John Michael (P) |
| Robert Thornton | vs. | Alan Norris |
| Michael Smith | vs. | Jeffrey De Zwaan |
| James Wade | vs. | Scheffer/Michael |
All statistics are courtesy of PDC.tv.
Recap
Van Barneveld didn't have it easy against compatriot Van Duijvenbode, who failed to win a set but made a strong impression on the Ally Pally crowd, nonetheless.
He twice took the veteran to a decider and could have won the second set, but gifted Barney a chance with one of the most unusual and spectacular errors in darts: He busted on a 180.
PDC Darts was kind enough to share the incredible moment:
The error took the sting out of what had been a very competitive match up until that point, and Van Barneveld cruised to a win from that point onward.
Oreshkin shocked the King and the Ally Pally crowd in the first set, showing plenty of scoring potential and taking full advantage of his opponent's inability to land doubles. Already up a leg, he hit an almost impossible shot into double 18, which was being blocked by a dart.
PDC Darts couldn't believe it:
King hit on just 13 percent of his doubles in the first set, allowing the qualifier to swoop in and take a surprising lead. Things got even worse in the second set, as Oreshkin came back from a two-leg deficit to force a decider and took out 134 to put himself on the brink of a huge upset.
But the King showed his class in the third set, bringing his average up to a whopping 102 and blowing the Russian out of the water in the process. He continued his strong run in the fourth set, giving up just a single leg, and the deciding set brought much of the same, as Oreshkin couldn't keep up with King's scoring and bowed out of the tournament, despite his impressive performance.
Oreshkin had booked his spot in the first round by beating Paul Lim 2-1 in the preliminary round.
Stephen Bunting looked far from his best against Jyhan Artut, averaging less than 87 and converting 34 percent of his doubles, but the former Lakeside champion still advanced to the second round with a 2-0 win.
The stage looked perhaps a bit too big for Artut, who struggled tremendously on his doubles and only ever put up a fight in the last set. He had won just one leg up until that point.
Both missed several key doubles in the third, and while the German managed to win two legs in a row to keep his chances alive, Bunting pulled through, hitting tops to complete the whitewash.
Per Live Darts, he admitted he was nervous:
Suljovic has enjoyed a very good 2015 season, and his fine form continued on Sunday after a shaky start against Wattimena. The Austrian had fallen at the first hurdle in the last two editions of the tournament, and in the Dutchman, he faced another dangerous outsider.
Wattimena plays at an incredibly high pace, which often confuses or distracts his opponents. It seemed to work in the opening set, as Suljovic struggled with his doubles, missing four darts to break. He did hit a 110, but Wattimena shocked the crowd by taking the first set 3-2.
Suljovic was only just getting started, however, as you can tell from this statistics, courtesy of 3 Dart Analyst:
Wattimena kept it close in the second set but always seemed to be on the back foot, and Suljovic dominated the decider to pull level. He cruised from that point on, sweeping the third set and easily booking his spot in the next round in the fourth.
As shared by Live Darts, Suljovic's average was more than solid:
Qualifier Szabo pushed Caven hard in the first set, but Jabba never looked troubled during his first-round match, winning via whitewash. Caven managed a 13-darter in the first set and swept the second. He carried his strong form right into the third with a 99 checkout. Szabo barely had a chance at the doubles after the first set, losing 3-0.
Szabo had qualified for the first round by beating Michael Rasztovits in the preliminary round.
Murnan and Hamilton served up a great match during the afternoon session, with the former eventually advancing to the second round with a 3-2 win. Murnan needed six legs in the fifth set to do so.
Making his world championship debut, Murnan immediately showed the fans at London's Alexandra Palace his quality, hitting six perfect darts in the opening set. Hamilton looked excellent on the doubles, however, and finishes of 64 and 70 saw him steal the first set.
The 2012 finalist looked a little shaky in the second, allowing Murnan to pull level. Hamilton looked strong in the third set and had three match darts, leading by two legs in the fourth, but he couldn't hit the bull to come up with a superb 170 finish. Instead, Shaggy forced a decider.
In that decider, the two kept it very close until 4-4, when Murnan hit a superb 112 finish to take the lead. Per PDC Darts, the debutant thought he had won the match:
"5-4 Murnan, and he thinks he's won it before Russ Bray reminds him he needs two clear legs. #WHDarts
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) December 20, 2015"
Boylesports was kind enough to share video footage:
He recovered in time to win the next leg, completing the upset and booking his ticket for the second round.
The first round will continue on Monday, as Robert Thornton and James Wade take to the stage for their first-round matches.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
