BDO World Darts Championship 2016: Scores and Results from Monday
Third seed Jeffrey de Graaf is out of the 2016 BDO World Darts Championships, as the Dutchman was defeated 3-2 by compatriot Richard Veenstra at Lakeside on Monday.
The thrilling win for Veenstra was the highlight of an entertaining afternoon session that also saw Martin Atkins make it into the second round at the expense of Philip Blackwell.
Later on the day two-time champion Ted Hankey was eliminated by Martin Phillips. Fourth seed Jamie Hughes is also through, after he was a comfortable victor against Ross Montgomery, as is American player Larry Butler, who edged past Ryan de Vreede in a five-set thriller.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Here’s a recap of the standout moments from Monday’s two gripping sessions and the results in full from the day's play.
| John Walton | 0-3 | Rob Modra |
| Jeffrey de Graaf | 2-3 | Richard Veenstra |
| Philip Blackwell | 0-3 | Martin Atkins |
| Martin Philipps | 3-0 | Ted Hankey |
| Jamie Hughes | 3-0 | Ross Montgomery |
| Ryan de Vreede | 2-3 | Larry Butler |
De Graaf Dumped Out
There was much expected of De Graaf coming into this year’s tournament, with his third seeding evidence enough that he could pose a big challenge to three-time champion and second seed Martin Adams, as well as top seed Glen Durrant. But the Dutchman toiled under the Lakeside lights.
Credit must go to Veenstra in fairness, who wasn’t expected to fare well against the 25-year-old. Indeed, even when the match was levelled by the third seed at 2-2, it seemed as though De Graaf’s class would show amid the pressure of a final-set showdown.
But as Mr. Boom Bets noted, the third seed was unable to show his superior talent at key points throughout the match:
"Fair play to Veenstra. Obviously a good player, but to hold it together on Lakeside debut is another matter. Hands up guys, I got it wrong.
— Mr Boom Bets (@MrBoomBets) January 4, 2016"
It opened the door for Veenstra, who was able to secure one of the biggest wins of his career with some excellent arrows in the final set. He will move into the last 16 with a lot of confidence accrued from this brilliant display.
There, he’ll face Atkins, who was far too good for the 14th-seeded Blackwell in his match, running away a 3-0 winner.
The veteran, whose best performance at Lakeside previously was in 2012 when he made it to the quarter-finals, was very impressive here in what looked to be a difficult contest on paper. For Blackwell, it was the second successive world championships in which he’s been eliminated at the first stage, and he’ll be disappointed not to have shown his quality on the big stage yet again.
It was also an underwhelming evening for Hankey, who was eliminated by Phillips, with the latter romping to a 3-0 victory.
Granted, the man known as the "Count" is not the player he was in his heyday, but he was far from his best in this match, letting his opponent off the hook on multiple occasions. Phillips, seeded 10th at these championships, was on hand to capitalise and whitewashed the former champion with seeming ease.
Hughes was the most impressive performer later on in the day, as he outclassed Montgomery in a 3-0 victory.
The Englishman is only playing at Lakeside for the second time in his career, but he seemed very much at home on stage in what was a lopsided contest. As we can see here courtesy of the BDO's official Twitter feed, if anything Hughes was a little too relaxed:
The fourth seed will feel capable of bettering his run to the last 16 from 2015 too, especially with a very winnable tie in prospect in the next round; he'll face either Gary Robson of Madars Razma.
Martin Adams is the man many are expecting to win this competition for a fourth time and he'll get his tournament underway on Tuesday against Canadian Jeff Smith. Fifth seed Wesley Harms will also be looking to build some momentum when he faces Japanese player Seigo Asada in his competition opener.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
