Dobey advances to the last 16 where he will take on Glen Durrant in a Tyne-Tees derby
Friday 27 December 2019 22:34, UK
Fallon Sherrock's hopes of a place in the last 16 of the PDC World Championship are over after a 4-2 third-round defeat to Chris Dobey ended her history-making debut at Alexandra Palace.
Sherrock twice led by a set in a high-quality contest that featured 19 maximum 180s and five 100+ finishes, three from Sherrock, but in the end Dobey's greater consistency got him over the line.
Twenty-five-year-old Sherrock, from Milton Keynes had thrilled the pre-Christmas crowd with wins over Ted Evetts and World No 11 Mensur Suljovic but in the first session back after the festive break, Sherrock's fairytale was to have no silver screen ending as Hollywood Dobey proved too clinical and underlined his own growing status in the game.
Having reached the last three major televised semi-finals, the 22nd seed is into the last 16 at the Worlds for the second year in succession and he will take huge pride in how he powered to the finish line, averaging 101 overall and winning six of the last seven legs to claim a last-16 date with Glen Durrant.
Sherrock took the acclaim of the crowd at the end of the match, and will now switch her focus to the women's BDO World Championship after a fortnight she'll never forget.
With the fancy dress outfit of the day, pink shirts and blonde wigs, Sherrock was calmness personified as her walk-on was once again greeted with rapturous applause, while Dobey, one of the nicest players on the tour, found himself the subject of a cacophony of boos.
It seemed to rattle the usually unflappable 29-year-old Geordie as three 180s in the first two legs set the tone for Sherrock, who admitted after her win over Suljovic that she has been focusing on her finishing.
Three of her five darts at double in the opening set hit the required target, finishing with a classy 77 combination via double top to wrap up the opener in the cool, composed manner she has displayed throughout the tournament so far.
If the first set was nerveless, Sherrock started the second in even more impressive style, a brilliant 104 finish threatened to take the roof off Ally Pally as she again claimed the first leg. With Dobey starting to settle he averaged more than 120 to win back-to-back legs for the first time in the contest.
The finishing was proving the difference, Sherrock hit almost everything but Dobey was anything but. He missed three for the set to allow his opponent another chance and she punished him with a nerveless two-dart combination, a classy 96 forced the decider.
Three more went begging for Dobey but for once Sherrock's scoring let her down and Dobey finally claimed the set, hitting just his fourth double from 19 attempts in the contest.
Three more missed doubles cost Dobey the opening leg of the third set, and Sherrock's spectacular 142 finish gave her a break of throw which she consolidated for a 2-0 lead when 'Hollywood' missed a dart at bullseye.
Sherrock continued to punish Dobey's missed opportunities and when a dart at bullseye went begging from the Newcastle man, Sherrock pinned double 16 to claim the set and stand two away from victory.
For the first time in the tournament, Sherrock faltered at the same time as Dobey pushed his level up. Moving through the gears the 22nd seed kept his composure, sweeping all three legs in the fourth set, twice after Sherrock had missed a dart to get on the board.
With the match locked at 2-2, it effectively became a best of three shoot-out - a third huge finish (124) this time via double 11 gave Sherrock a break of throw to kick of the fifth set as the pair traded 180s again, but an increasingly calm Dobey took out a pair of legs to claim the advantage.
That was the start of his sprint to the line, as Sherrock could not keep pace with a relentlessness to Dobey's game that has seen him tipped as an outsider for a run at this year's tournament.
A brilliant 141 got Dobey over to within striking distance and as he finally pinned the winning double, he respectfully handed Sherrock the crowd's acclaim and they responded with a huge chorus of 'One Fallon Sherrock' to end a memorable tournament debut on a high, but it's Dobey who advances.
Check out daily Darts news on skysports.com/darts, our app for mobile devices and our Twitter account @skysportsdarts. Coverage of the World Darts Championship continues on Sky Sports Darts throughout the tournament with another double session on Saturday getting underway at 12.30pm and 7pm.
