Simon Whitlock has recaptured some of his old Alexandra Palace magic despite ultimately suffering a thrilling 3-2 loss to Conor Scutt in the first round of the World Darts Championship, where he was the 2010 runner-up and three-time semi-finalist.
Trailing 2-0 in the set, the Wizards came back to life with a stunning finish of 167 on the bullseye en route to taking the third set, with Scutt missing four match darts in the deciding leg.
Whitlock outdid himself with a big fish finish to win the fourth set, only missing the bull on this occasion, but the Australian tied the match regardless shortly afterwards.
Whitlock lost to Scutt 3-2 in a thrilling first round.
Whitlock broke to start the deciding set and took the lead for the first time, but then Scutt suddenly found his best form and took the next three legs for the victory.
This run included a 127 finish in the third leg, then started the fourth leg with seven perfect darts and earned a nine-dart finish that could have ended the match.
Scutt missed his eighth dart on Treble 20 and then missed three more in the match to take his total to seven before ultimately hitting a double four for the win and book a two-round match against two-time champion Gary Anderson.
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Johnny Clayton checks out 145 then 135 on the bull as he pressures Adam Lipscomb
Johnny Clayton overcame a bit of a scare to beat Ally Pally debutant Adam Lipscomb 3-1, with the fifth seed overcoming a shaky start to win five of the last six legs.
The Welshman averaged in the 80s for much of the match, missing 21 darts on a double, but improved to 92.53 thanks to a late scoring streak that included a checkout of more than three tons in the fourth set.
Creighton finished at 145 in the first, then hit 135 in the next leg, and though Lipscomb briefly interrupted the Ferrets’ strong winning streak, he came back and took 100 to wrap things up.
Despite a tense opening, Lipscomb acquitted himself well in his debut, leading the second set and tying the match before Creighton shifted into gear.
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Dirk van Duijvenbode hits his fourth big hit on the Alexandra Palace stage!
Dirk van Duijvenbode came from down 2-1 in a set to win six of the last seven legs to beat Belgium’s Andy Betens 3-2. The match also included a checkout of three consecutive tons or more for the 29th seed, including Big Fish.
Van Duijvenbode started with a 109 and a 106 to tie the match at 2-2 and send it to the final set, but before that his 170 (his fourth of the tournament and second of the day) earned him an early break of throw.
Leading 2-0 at leg, the Dutchman tried to end the match in style with five perfect darts for his next start, but Baetens thwarted him some more with an incredible 142 checkout and 12-dart leg.
However, Van Duijvenbode closed it out in the next leg, finishing the match with eight highest scores and an amazing average of 98.54 points.
Max Hopp returns to the Alexandra Palace stage after five years to win
Max Hopp outscored Martin Lukmann in his first Ally Pally appearance in five years, with the German scoring the most points with seven in a 3-1 victory.
Hopp got off to a particularly strong start, sweeping the first set with a double without conceding a single dart from her opponent, then fighting back from a 2-0 deficit to take the second set.
Lukeman threatened a comeback by stealing the third, but Hopp, who was becoming increasingly sharp, clinched the fourth and qualified for the second round against Luke Woodhouse.
Munby takes the win for Wright, who has won the thriller twice.
In the afternoon session, 20-year-old debutant Charlie Manby shocked Cameron Menzies with a huge five-set victory to win his first match of the tournament so far on the Alexandra Palace stage.
Cammy, seeded 26th, missed 31 darts with a double in a dramatic encounter, before the Scot punched the drinks table in frustration, but the pair hit 14 for their maximum score.
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Cameron Menzies slams the water table with his fist after suffering a dramatic 3-2 defeat to Charlie Manby
Manby battled back from a 1-0, 2-1 deficit in sets to score a sensational victory with five hits in the 180 range and an average of 90.62 points.
Menzies, who was taken to hospital with his knuckles bleeding after hitting a table, later apologized for his response.
“I would like to apologize for what happened,” Menzies said in a statement. “I’m sorry that I reacted this way.”
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Peter Wright hits a stunning 152 checkout in match against Noah-Lynn van Leuven
Two-time world champion Peter Wright qualified for the last 64 with a whitewash victory over Noah Lynn van Leuven despite Snakebite averaging just 83.5 points.
Three-time quarter-finalist Brendan Dolan defeated first-timer Tavis Dewdney 3-1 in an entertaining match, with Dolan defying Dewdney’s incredible nine 180s and the return of Ally Parry to victory.
Dolan, who fell outside the top 32, capped off the win with a checkout of more than three tons, including a “big fish” that sealed the second set. In the second round, he will face No. 20 seed Ryan Searle.
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Brendan Dolan wins second set with 170 checkout against Tavis Dewdney
Mensur Suljovic got back to winning ways on the Ally Pally stage, with the Austrian putting in a great performance to see off a spirited David Cameron 3-1 and set up a showdown with Joe Cullen.
What’s next?
More spectacular double session matches will be played live on Sky Sports Darts on Tuesday’s sixth day of the World Darts Championship.
The afternoon begins at 12:30 p.m. with Alan Souter taking on Teemu Hadju, Nick Kenny taking on Justin Hood and 2024 semi-finalist Scott Williams taking on Paolo Nebrida. The session concludes with No. 8 seed Chris Dobey, who just reached the final four last year, taking on Xiaocheng Zhong.
In the evening from 7pm, Ricardo Pietrico will take on Jose de Sousa, followed by Danny Knoppert taking on Jurgen van der Velde in an all-Dutch match. Former world champion Gerwyn Price headlines the night’s action against Adam Gaulas, and the night ends with Nico Springer vs. Joe Comito.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match live exclusively on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel (Sky channel 407 from 10 December on Sky Channel 407) until 3 January. Stream darts and other top sports now.
