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Day 2 darts afternoon session review: The Spider sweeps through

| 18.12.2015
SPORTSBOOK ODDS

Holly Thackeray | December 18, 2015

Day two afternoon reaction

  • McGowan pushed past fan hero Sun in the preliminary round
  • D.Webster came back from a poor first set to sink Henderson
  • Pipe got just two legs on the board as Kist whitewashed The Force 3-0 in sets
  • McGowan got stuck in The Spider’s web, losing 3-0


Check out tomorrow’s afternoon and evening action in our previews.

Summary

A couple of outsiders aiming to upset the elite’s apple cart at later stages got off to great first round fixtures in the 2016 PDC World Darts Championship, as the afternoon session saw namesakes Darren and Mark Webster both progress.

While, as Coral predicted former BDO world champion Christian Kist posed Justin Pipe all kinds of problems to cause somewhat of a shock, as he wiped the floor with The Force. If you missed anything, read on for a more detailed reaction.

Qiang Sun 0-2 Mick McGowan (0-3, 1-3)

A seemingly mismatched preliminary wrangle between soft-tip thrower underdog Sun and steely pro McGowan provided some wayward darts and plenty of nerves, with neither player looking a match for lurking first round opponent Mark Webster.

Spirited Sun started off with a rather woeful throw to miss the board and some poor counting, but soon got the crowd onside with his big grin. Though, the cheerful Chinese star allowed The Magnet to steam unchallenged to the first set, failing to make his chances count.

McGowen continued to grow into the game in the second set and eventually finished the job, but Sun, willed on by the crowd, finally got on the scoreboard by checking out from 48 to avoid a whitewashing, though couldn’t force a deciding leg.

John Henderson 1-3 Darren Webster (3-1, 2-3, 0-3, 1-3)

The day’s quality really went up a notch as Henderson tremendously took out the first leg with tops before his break of throw, later decisively doing the same again to clinch his second.

Once wobbly Webster finally awoke to get on the board, Highlander responded authoritatively with two successive 140 finishes, showcasing his confidence to snatch the opening set. Hard-hitting Highlander looked bullish, reacting as Webster romped back from the break with a 180, matching that with two magnificent maximums of his own and narrowly missing out on a nine-darter. But it was all about to change.

Demolition Man managed to strike back and level sets, despite missing a hat-full of darts at the double. As is the beauty of darts, the tables were then turned emphatically, with Webster taking the lead in sets for the first time as he won six straight legs in a row and doggedly refused to let go. Up next for the Demolition Man, though, could well be Michael van Gerwen.

Justin Pipe 0-3 Christian Kist (2-3, 0-3, 0-3)

Languid Pipe came out of the blocks with some precise finishes, his famously methodical approach contrasting nicely with Kist’s crisper throwing, but both took a while to warm-up. Cranking through the gears, The Force was pushed into a deciding leg in just the first set and allowed The Lipstick, who consistently averaged around 100, to capture a cracking first set against the throw. Kist’s cool continued in the second and third to put 20th seed Pipe under increasing pressure, whitewashing his peer and leaving him requiring three consecutive sets to go through.

The Force could not comply and his play collapsed, as confident Kist capitalised on Pipe’s problems with consistent scoring, not allowing the Englishman to grab another leg and leaving The Lipstick to potentially take on Dave Chisnall next.

Mark Webster 3-0 Mick McGowan (3-2, 3-2, 3-2)

The Spider made a storming start, spinning McGowan a merry web to take the first leg with blistering speed, though Demolition Man keenly kept pace, refusing to be left in the dust and punishing mistakes to force a decider for the opening set.

Welshman Webster (an 80/1 outsider with Coral to win the tournament) still produced the goods when it counted, though, with a classy 126 checkout to go 1-0 up and give McGowen an uphill tungsten task. The Irishman was far from intimidated, however, forcing The Spider to pull out all the stops, including a 12-dart leg and two 180s on the trot, though the second set still similarly went to a decider.

Pushed to his limits, Webster produced another maximum and two darts at the double to claim the second, but Demolition Man kept pressing in the third for yet another decider, making Webster wait for his win and cruelly ending up without a set to his name.

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Author

Holly Thackeray

Holly is a member of the content team, and can often be found on the sports desk writing about favourite topics Serie A and East Asian footballing nations. A recent darts convert, she is also a fully-fledged member of Barney's Army and a proud Leeds-born Manchester United fan.