Reigning champion Luke Littler worked hard to secure a 3-0 win over David Davies while Gerwyn Price suffered a shock second round loss at Alexandra Palace.
Davis came out and played an epic game in the first set, averaging over 103 in the early exchanges and breaking the world’s No. 1 player’s throws.
But when Littler took the fourth leg after the Welshman dropped six set darts, Davis panicked and tried to exit the stage without realizing the set was still alive, giving Littler control to take the lead with 82 points despite a low average of 89.04.
But it didn’t take long for Littler’s average to rise above 96, and after an impressive 145 checkout, he began to break away, picking up three legs on a spin and moving a set out of his third-round spot.
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Watch the funny 60 seconds between Luke Littler and David Davis on the fake 170 checkout and walkout.
Davis’ doubles were the element of the game that let him down, at one point Davis was missing 16 doubles while Littler only had 16 chances to double.
Littler closed the contest with a favorite of 10 and never dropped a set, but the match was by no means routine, with the Welshman pushing ‘The Nuke’.
He will face Mensur Suljovic in the third round, aiming to become the fourth player in history to appear in consecutive matches.
According to Littler, when the draw was confirmed, Suljovic sent a message saying he expected them to meet in the third round.
“I’m happy, but I just didn’t do well the whole game,” Littler told Sky Sports.
“David missed 16 darts on the double, and every dart he missed was important – double 18, or the top.
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Luke Littler says he got the job done against David Davis, noting that his next opponent, Mensur Suljovic, expected them to meet in the third round
“If he had hit it, it would have been a completely different game, but I’m glad he missed. He got the job done.”
“I watched it this afternoon and Mensour (Srujovic) was playing well.
“Of course, no one knows this, but when we found out the brackets for the tournament, Mensour messaged me and said, ‘See you in the third round.’
“Well then, Mensour, let’s have a good game.”
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Luke Littler says he will prepare for Mensur Suljovic’s slow-down tactics in his third round match at the World Darts Championship.
When Prezier shines on the palace stage, prices plummet.
Price is finishing up the dismantling process from Wesley Plazier, with the Dutchman pulling off the biggest shock of the tournament so far and the “biggest win of all time”.
The No. 9 seed screamed just a few days ago that he was going to win the world championship, including a possible quarter-final match against Luke Littler midway through, but he couldn’t find what he needed at the crucial moment of the match, with Plesier reaching the third round in his second appearance at Ally Pally.
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Wesley Plazier beats Gerwyn Price in straight sets to advance to Round 3 of the World Darts Championship
Prezier came into the fight in the first set, won the dart count and beat Price’s throw in the fourth leg to take a 1-0 lead and came out on top with a 60 percent double success.
The Dutchman didn’t let his level drop in the second set, and his doubles began to slip past Price. An early pitching break gave Prezier the advantage, then a clutch dart on D4 put him ahead in a monumental upset.
Prezier kept the pressure on, and in the third set he used throw to his advantage to maintain control and take D10 to seal the deal.
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Wesley Praser said he was still working as a forklift driver in between darts tournaments after defeating former champion Gerwyn Price.
“I still can’t believe it. I’m really overjoyed,” Plesier told Sky Sports.
“I think this is the biggest win ever for me. I don’t know how I won, but I’m glad I was able to stay calm and play at the end.”
“I was very nervous, but I’m very happy to have crossed the line. I can’t explain it in words, but it’s really special.
“I expected him to have a bad game, but I didn’t expect him to win.”
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Watch Wesley Prezier defeat Gerwyn Price in the second round of the World Darts Championship.
In other matches, 16th seed Damon Heta survived a scare when he was taken all the way by Stephen Belmont, but the Australian held firm to break the throw at a crucial moment to set up a clash with former champion Rob Cross after the Christmas break.
Meanwhile, Martin Schindler made his mark with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Keene Barry, winning each set 3-2 on legs that included clutch doubling, and averaging 96.16 points.
What happened in the afternoon session?
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Mensur Suljovic defeated Joe Cullen in the second round of the World Championship, but Rockstar was not happy with the Austrian player
Littler’s next opponent, Suljovic, advanced to the last 32 of the world championship by defeating a visibly frustrated Joe Cullen 3-1 in a heated encounter on Sunday afternoon.
The Austrian star averaged 82 points, hit three shots in the 180s and posted a high checkout of 100 points to win, but referee Kirk Bevans warned Suljovic to collect his darts quickly after celebrating too much on stage.
Curren, nicknamed ‘Rockstar’, was not happy with the veteran Austrian after the match and accused him of gamesmanship in a social media post.
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Mensur Suljovic responds to accusations of deliberately slow play against Joe Cullen and reveals why the referee sent him off during their second round match at the World Championship
Former world champion Rob Cross won a close match against Ian White 3-1 with an average of 91.71 points, a 41 per cent doubles success rate, three 180’s and a 113 checkout.
Krzysztof Ratajski put in a strong performance to beat Ryan Joyce 3-1, helping the Polish player reach the last 32 for the sixth time in his career.
He finished with a 94 average, hit the 180s three times, and advanced to the third round with a checkout of 135.
And Luke Woodhouse pushed aside German Max Hopp in straight sets to set up a showdown with Andrew Gilding.
What’s next?
The second round will continue on Monday 22nd December, with two further darts sessions taking place on Sky Sports.
From 12:30 p.m., you can watch Darren Beveridge vs. Madas Razma, Wessel Nyman vs. Gabriel Clemens, David Munyua vs. Kevin Duetz, and James Wade vs. Ricky Evans.
Then from 7pm, Jan Van Veen takes on Alan Souter, Nathan Aspinall takes on Leonard Gates, Luke Humphries takes on Paul Lim and Charlie Manby takes on Adam Sevada.
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.
