BDO World Darts Championship 2017: Tuesday Scores and Results from Lakeside

Defending champion Scott Waites advanced to the second round of the 2017 BDO World Darts Championship after beating Dennis Harbour at Lakeside on Tuesday. 

Waites won, but things were a lot closer than the 3-1 scoreline suggested. Harbour kept the sets close but missed too many openings to take the lead.

Waites will be joined in the second round by highly touted Dutchman Danny Noppert, who beat David Cameron in the day's first match. Noppert is now set to face fellow countryman Richard Veenstra, who proved to be too much for Ross Montgomery.

Speaking of too much, Krzysztof Ratajski was exactly that for Wesley Harms, beating him in straight sets. Eighth seed Dennis Labanauskas overcame Conan Whitehead, while Mark McGeeney saw off James Hurrell.

There was a major shock in the women's event when Casey Gallagher dumped top seed and last year's finalist Deta Hedman in the opening round. Later, Anastasia Dobromyslova beat fourth seed Rhian Griffiths by the same 2-1 scoreline.

Here are the results from Tuesday's matches:

Category	Player	Score	Player
Men's	(3) Danny Noppert	3-1	David Cameron
Men's	(14) Richard Veenstra	3-1	Ross Montgomery
Men's	(9) Wesley Harms	0-3	Krzysztof Ratajski
Men's	(11) Mark McGeeney	3-1	James Hurrell
Men's	(8) Dennis Labanauskas	3-1	Conan Whitehead
Men's	(6) Scott Waites	3-1	Dennis Harbour
Women's	(1) Deta Hedman	1-2	Casey Gallagher
Women's	(4) Anastasia Dobromyslova	2-1	Rhian Griffiths

Tuesday Recap

The women's event saw Hedman get stunned by Gallagher after being guilty of some shaking throwing at the oche. The top-ranked Hedman struggled to find doubles, while her upstart opponent delivered when it mattered.

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A 117 checkout proved vital for Gallagher, who pushed the match into a deciding set. Hedman was expected to hold her nerve, but it was Gallagher who stayed calm and accurate to seal an unlikely win.

The result meant the 2016 finalist Hedman was condemned to a humiliating early exit. The BDO's highest-ranked women's player has never won this title.

Later, Dobromyslova staged an excellent encounter with Griffiths. The former eventually confirmed victory after finding double eight.

Dutch player Rilana Erades congratulated Dobromyslova on her performance:

In the men's event, the champion made clutch throws to survive a tough test against Harbour. It took a 142 checkout for Waites to claim a first set he should already have been out of.

Yet Waites hit a brilliant double 11 to complete the checkout and pile the pressure on Harbour. The latter had missed treble 20 to seal the set.

However, the 55-year-old struck an early maximum to restore his confidence in the second set. Yet it was still Waites who made the throws he needed when he needed them.

A great example came with the second tied at one leg apiece. Waites needed 60 and didn't flinch when chasing double 10.

Harbour didn't show anywhere close to the same level of composure. He might have evened the second at two each but twice missed tops, allowing Waites to find double 18 for a huge lead at the break.

It rated as a surprise when Harbour staged a terrific comeback in the third. A double four was enough to give the Harbour Master a foothold in the match.

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Waites' response was typical of a champion, as he began the fourth with a timely 180. He eventually landed double 16 to ensure a place in the next round.

Earlier, Hurrell pushed McGeeney all the way to begin the evening session. The Gladiator had to hold his nerve despite a 2-1 lead.

McGeeney sealed his progress to the next round with more than a little trouble, and things were even more tense between Labanauskas and Whitehead.

The players traded sets before the break, but it was Labanauskas who returned the strongest, as BDO Darts detailed:

Such prolific scoring carried the Lithuanian Labanauskas to two set wins on the bounce and a place in the second round.

Earlier in the afternoon session, Noppert staked his claim to provoke an upset or two this year. The Dutchman sent the Canadian Cameron packing after a convincing 3-1 win. Checkouts of 116 and 117 launched Noppert into a commanding position.

Ratajski couldn't match Noppert's prolific form, but he was the only man to win by a whitewash on the day. The Pole triumphed as Harms became another highly rated player to slip to an early exit.

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Harms entered as the ninth seed but couldn't stay with Ratajski, who found double 16 to book his passage into the next round. 

Ratajski had pulled off a notable upset, but Montgomery couldn't do the same against Veenstra. The latter hit a monster 144 to take control of the first set, before taking down 120 to seal the third.

Montgomery wouldn't go away easily, though. The Scot eventually forced a fourth set, but Veenstra's greater quality and class showed.

Veenstra's match with Noppert, who has been the standout player so far, will highlight the second round. Waites is likely to have a keen eye on that one, but he'll also know he needs to improve if his title defence is going to last the distance.