World Championship 1st round: Taylor, Wright, Hamilton feature
Published:On day two of the World Darts Championship first round, three former finalists are in action, including 16-time champion Phil Taylor, last year’s runner-up Peter Wright and 2012 unlucky loser Andy Hamilton.
Andy Hamilton (12) v Dave Richardson
Englishman Hamilton was a runner-up here in 2012, losing out Adrian Lewis, and faces an easy first round task against virtual unknown international qualifier Richardson, who is from Canada.
The Hammer is a tempting 33/1 chance with Coral to reach the final again this year, and odds-on at 2/9 to overcome his first opponent. Hamilton is a more enticing 7/4 chance to beat Richardson 3-0.
Peter Wright (5) v Gerwyn Price
Snakebite Wright goes up first against a man who is new to professional darts, but used to competitive sport, having recently turned out on loan for Scottish rugby union side Glasgow Warriors.
But Welshman Price is unlikely to cause any problems for last year’s beaten finalist Wright, who is the odds-on 1/4 favourite for victory. Scotsman Wright is 14/1 to reach the final again, and 33/1 to lift the Sid Waddell trophy.
Phil Taylor (2) v Jyhan Artut
Taylor needs no introduction, but the 16-time champion of the world is aiming to extend his unmatched title haul. Coral have priced him as the 7/4 tournament favourite.
The Power (odds-on 1/33 favourite) goes up first against little-known 38-year-old German Artut (11/1). They have faced each other once before in competition, with The Power defeating him 6-3 in 2012 at the UK Players’ Championship.
Stuart Kellett (32) v Kim Viljanen/Sascha Stein
Kellett has a chance to finally make the second round of this PDC tournament, after falling at this stage in each of the last three years. The Englishman, nicknamed simply ‘KO’, will face one of preliminary round qualifiers Kim Viljanen of Finland (odds-on at 8/13) and German Sascha Stein (6/5).
Manchester-born Kellett has made it to the last 16 of the BDO World Championship in 2011, though, and is an 80/1 chance to be the first quarter winner.
