Earlier in the day, Adrian Lewis fought back from two sets down to defeat Darren Webster in an epic seven-set tussle.
Tuesday 24 December 2019 07:26, UK
Gary Anderson survived a major scare as he fought back from 3-1 down to defeat Ryan Searle at the World Darts Championship, as Jeffrey de Zwaan produced a majestic display to dump out 10th seed Dave Chisnall.
Play was disrupted at Alexandra Palace due to a power cut in the venue, but it was otherwise an evening of electric darts, with Anderson's stirring comeback the headline act.
'The Flying Scotsman' maintained his bid for a third World Championship crown after being given a stern examination by Searle, who has an excellent habit of producing his best on the biggest stage.
Anderson's World Cup of Darts partner Peter Wright also progressed to the fourth round, overcoming Japan's No 1 Seigo Asada in a gruelling affair.
The seventh seed changed his darts early in the second set and defied an impressive display from the World Cup semi-finalist to set up a showdown with Jeffrey de Zwaan for a place in the quarter-finals.
De Zwaan is through to the last 16 for the first time in his career, accounting for 10th seed Dave Chisnall in a seven-set epic.
The prodigiously-talented Dutchman survived a match dart in his opening round showdown against Darin Young and he's making the most of that reprieve, defying a 102 average and 10 maximums from Chisnall to triumph.
Anderson came back off the canvas to win 9 of the last 11 legs in another clash that went the distance, to set up an enthralling last-16 showdown against last year's semi-finalist Nathan Aspinall.
There was real scepticism surrounding Anderson's prospects heading into this year's showpiece following his injury-marred campaign, but after impressing against Brendan Dolan in his opener, he showcased his fighting qualities in abundance against Searle.
Searle - who reached the fourth round 12 months ago, frittered away three set darts in a closely contested opening set, but he defied a stunning 170 finish from Anderson - the seventh of the tournament - to restore parity at one set apiece.
'Heavy Metal' crashed in eight maximums in the opening three sets and continued his blistering barrage of scoring in the fourth, taking out a clinical 90 combination en route to establishing a 3-1 cushion.
Anderson was on the brink of suffering his earliest World Championship exit since 2014 but with his back against the wall, he produced his brilliant best - averaging 110 in set five, which was book-ended with tidy 84 checkouts.
Searle was beginning to wilt as Anderson followed up a fine 11-darter with a 96 kill to send the match into a seventh set and the two-time world champion breezed through it without reply to prevail with a 99.85 average.
All seven sets went against the throw in a captivating contest, with De Zwaan averaging 106.09 - the highest of the tournament. The game also featured 17 maximums, with De Zwaan landing an astonishing 31 scores of over 140.
'The Black Cobra' had won five of his previous seven meetings against Chizzy and he clinched the opening set in comfortable fashion, only to see the St Helen's star level up matters with a 14-darter in a second set decider.
The Dutchman regained the initiative by wrapping up the third set without reply, only to see Chisnall repeat the feat - firing in 11 and 12-dart legs against the throw to average 113 in the fourth.
The obscene standard continued as De Zwaan registered back-to-back 11-darters to wrap up the fifth, although with the 23-year-old closing in on victory, Chisnall conjured up an inspired 161 checkout to swing the pendulum and force a seventh set.
Many would have buckled after Chisnall's skin-saving checkout, yet De Zwaan rose to the challenge and underlined his credentials with a blistering barrage of scoring in the decider.
The former World Matchplay semi-finalist, who also converted 54 per cent of his attempts at double, crashed in a sumptuous 10-darter - sandwiched in between clinical 76 and 78 combination finishes, to seal his spot in the fourth round.
Wright drew first blood in a tightly-contested opener after Asada missed double 16 to take it, although 'The Ninja' raced into a 2-0 lead in the second which prompted a change of darts from Snakebite.
The Scot is renowned for consistently tinkering with his set-up and it almost inspired an improbable turnaround, but Asada levelled the contest on tops after Wright failed to hit the same target for a 160 clincher.
There was little to separate the pair for large periods, but big stage experience paid dividends for Wright, who kicked off the third with a classy 120 combination.
Asada showed glimpses of quality with 116 and 104 finishes, but in the crunch moments of the respective sets, the Japanese star was found wanting and Wright capitalised to forge a 3-1 buffer.
The former world finalist conjured up finishes of 131 and 157 in the fifth but improbably lost the set after missing the bull for a 170, allowing Asada to complete a clinical 96 kill and prolong the drama.
The Japanese star was growing in confidence and rattled in a 130 finish to continue the fightback, but Wright avoided becoming embroiled in a deciding set, sealing his progression with an 84 outshot on the bull.
PDC Worlds Champs: Results, draw, schedule
Adrian Lewis is through to the last 16 for the ninth time in 10 years, as he fought back from two sets down for the second straight game to defeat Darren Webster 4-3 in a pulsating affair on Monday afternoon.
Webster punished a sluggish start from Lewis to lead 2-0, but the 51-year-old gifted 'Jackpot' a reprieve, squandering three set darts at double 12 in the third and missing one at tops to snatch the fourth as Lewis levelled with a 12-darter.
The two-time world champion appeared poised to register his third set on the spin before an inspired 140 checkout from Webster swung the pendulum and saw him restore the lead, before a remarkable sixth set ensued.
Lewis fired in stunning 132 and 124 combinations to seize the initiative, but Webster produced a stunning 142 finish and followed that up by missing double 12 for a nine-darter - the third time we've seen eight perfect darts hit in this event.
However, 'Jackpot' held his nerve to force a seventh set and although 'The Demolition Man led 2-0 in the decider, Lewis reeled off three straight legs in 13, 15 and 13 darts, before converting a two-dart 78 kill to triumph in the tie-break.
Dimitri van den Bergh fired in four ton-plus finishes to record a hard-fought 4-2 success against Luke Woodhouse and move one win away from reaching his second World Championship quarter-final in three years.
The Belgian raced out of the blocks and landed a classy 128 checkout en route to establishing a 2-0 lead and although an under-the-weather Woodhouse rallied to reduce the arrears to 3-2, Van den Bergh survived two set darts in the sixth before sinking a nerveless 86 outshot to prevail.
World Youth champion Luke Humphries reached the last 16 at Alexandra Palace for the second straight year, reeling off three straight sets to defeat debutant Nico Kurz - the last German representative in this year's competition.
The opening four sets of the contest were shared before Humphries snatched a crucial fifth set via double one, after Kurz squandered one set dart at tops. The German landed a skin-saving 131 checkout to stay alive in the sixth, only for 'Cool Hand' to wrap up the win inside 13 darts.
Check out daily Darts news on skysports.com/darts, our app for mobile devices and our Twitter account @skysportsdarts. The action is on Sky Sports Darts with live coverage from Alexandra Palace until the final on New Year's Day.
