PDC World Darts Championship 2017: Latest Results, Scores and Updated Schedule
Seventh seed Dave Chisnall was given a scare at the PDC World Darts Championship on Thursday, as he narrowly beat Rowby-John Rodriguez 3-2 in a gripping first-round match.
Also through to Round 2 is last year’s semi-finalist Jelle Klaasen of the Netherlands, as he edged past compatriot Jeffrey de Graaf 3-1 in a fascinating contest. Another popular Dutchman, Vincent van der Voort, is out, though, as he was upset 3-1 by youngster Max Hopp.
In the final clash on Thursday's bill, Kim Huybrechts was a class above James Wilson, as he eased to a 3-0 win.
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Here are the results in full from another absorbing night at Alexandra Palace, the matches to come on Friday and a closer look at how Round 1 wrapped up.
| Jelle Klaasen | 3-1 | Jeffrey de Graaf |
| Vincent van der Voort | 1-3 | Max Hopp |
| Dave Chisnall | 3-2 | Rowby-John Rodriguez |
| Kim Huybrechts | 3-0 | James Wilson |
| Dave Chisnall | vs. | Chris Dobey |
| Jelle Klaasen | vs. | Brendan Dolan |
| Ian White | vs. | Jonny Clayton |
| Michael Smith | vs. | Mervyn King |
| Benito van de Pas | vs. | Terry Jenkins |
| Darren Webster | vs. | Simon Whitlock |
| Gary Anderson | vs. | Andrew Gilding |
| Adrian Lewis | vs. | Joe Cullen |
Thursday Recap
Rodriguez showed his skill at the oche pretty quickly in this one and was far from daunted by the World Championship spotlight, taking a tense opening set.
As the clash went on, Chisnall slowly started to settle and levelled the match with an impressive "Shanghai" finish, as captured here by Sky Sports Darts:
The seventh seed took the lead in the next set, too, and really upped the tempo in the final leg, as he put together seven perfect darts on the way to a 2-1 lead. Momentum was well behind Chisnall at this juncture, but the 22-year-old Austrian wouldn't be shaken off easily.
Indeed, Rodriguez capitalised on some sloppy play from Chinsnall to level things up and was emboldened heading into the decider. However, the superior experience did eventually pay off for the former BDO runner-up, as he upped the ante with some big finishes to book a Round 2 berth.
Per Sky Sports, Chisnall needed an incredible three-dart average of 121.86 in the final set to make it past the youngster.
After an impressive run to the final four last year, Klaasen was a player all were watching keenly, as he went up against De Graaf.
The first two sets were shared, as both players started at a brilliant pace; Klaasen logged a 180 and a 121 checkout in the very first leg. However, De Graaf kept with his compatriot and was more than worth the 1-1 scoreline after two sets.
However, as we can see here, as the match rumbled on, Klaasen started to show his quality:
Indeed, while De Graaf kept the pressure on by winning legs regularly, he didn’t have the edge needed to get past the 10th seed, who eventually saw out the match, 3-1.
While there was a comfortable look to the scoreline, as noted by the PDC’s Dan Dawson, there wasn’t too much between the players at all:
Van der Voort will not be joining Klaasen in Round 2, though, as he ran into one of the brightest prospects in the sport.
Hopp stunned viewers last year when he upset Mervyn King in Round 1 before being dumped out by the Dutchman, 4-0, at the second hurdle. After falling one set down, thoughts of that match undoubtedly ran through his mind once again.
However, the 20-year-old showcased brilliant determination and composure to get back in the contest and eventually take the game away from Van der Voort. Per the PDC Twitter feed, ultimately it was the youngster’s finishes that made the difference, as he was far more ruthless when presented with doubles:
As we can see here, via Sky Sports Darts, the German was delighted to get the better of another big name at this iconic darts venue:
Afterwards, Van der Voort said it may be the last we see of him at the Alexandra Palace. “This is probably my last one,” he said, per Dawson, making reference to an ongoing back problem. “I'm ready to give in.”
The final match of the night was the most one-sided, as Huybrechts showed his quality with an emphatic triumph over Wilson.
The Belgian is seeded 13th for this year's tournament and is a dangerous player when he finds his groove. Wilson found that out to his peril, as Huybrechts hit the front and didn't look back in a whitewash win.
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