PDC World Darts Championship 2017: Monday Scores, Results and Updated Schedule
Adrian Lewis waltzed his way into the second round of the 2017 PDC World Darts Championship on Monday, where a 3-0 thumping of Sweden's Magnus Caris sent a statement of intent to the Stoke native's peers.
Jackpot overcame a slow start before gathering some momentum at Alexandra Palace in north London and got off to a beaming start in his campaign to clinch a third career PDC World Darts Championship.
Mervyn King also booked his place in the second round of the competition after surviving a wobble to thunder back from two sets down and defeat Steve West 3-2 in his tournament opener.
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Joe Cullen rounded off Monday evening with a 3-1 victory against Australian Corey Cadby, who slumped in his second match of the day having already defeated Sun Qiang in a preliminary qualifier.
Read on for a roundup of Monday's action from Alexandra Palace, complete with a breakdown of the latest PDC World Darts Championship scores and a look toward Tuesday's schedule.
| Corey Cadby def. Sun Qiang | 2-0 |
| Mervyn King (22) def. Steve West | 3-2 |
| Adrian Lewis (5) def. Magnus Caris | 3-0 |
| Joe Cullen (28) def. Corey Cadby | 3-1 |
| Boris Koltsov vs. Dragutin Horvat | 7:15 p.m. GMT/2:15 p.m. ET |
| Brendan Dolan (23) vs. Christian Kist | 7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET |
| Raymond van Barneveld (12) vs. Robbie Green | 8:45 p.m. GMT/3:45 p.m. ET |
| Simon Whitlock (17) vs. Koltsov/Horvat | 10 p.m. GMT/5 p.m. ET |
Recap
Lewis was admittedly slow off the line in his maiden outing of this year's competition, but there was little that could stop the 31-year-old after he built up a head of steam against the unfortunate Caris on Monday.
A 10-dart leg ignited Jackpot's drive in the first set, where he sealed three successive legs to get on the scoreboard, and 3 Dart Analyst pointed out Lewis had a sterling first-round streak to maintain:
A 180 early in the second set saw Lewis preserve that run before moving on to bigger things in his meeting with Caris, who missed his own share of finishing chances to let his opponent off somewhat.
Lewis saw out the win as Caris faded while he soared in the opposite direction, and PDC Results illustrated just how far apart the two competitors ultimately were in terms of their three-dart average:
"(R): World Championship, Last 64, Adrian Lewis (93.25) 3 (5) 0 (80.64) Magnus Caris #WHDarts #Darts
— PDCResults (@PDCResults) December 19, 2016"
King will line up against Michael Smith in the Round of 32, and the veteran cast an emotional figure when talking to the official PDC website about what this win meant to him.
"I haven't got words for this," King said. "I played one of my best mates and I feel really sorry for Steve. I've played some fantastic games and won a lot of things over the years but getting through the first round here is special. I'm going to play a lot better against Michael so he better watch out."
Sky Sports Darts also showed just how special a fixture this was for King, especially after he was forced to respond from two sets down:
"WHAT A LEG! Mervyn King's face says it all: https://t.co/1II3oHtZzf #LoveTheDarts pic.twitter.com/xQPKw2Er02
— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) December 19, 2016"
The 50-year-old's career-best finish at the PDC World Darts Championship remains his semi-final run in 2009, but King will be hopeful of beating last year's dim campaign, when he fell to Jelle Klaasen in the second round.
Cullen was also pegged back in his outing against Cadby but returned from a set down to defeat the Australian qualifier 3-1 and set up a second-round meeting against Lewis.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
