Hong Kong's Man Lok Leung hit 11 maximums in a scintillating 3-2 comeback win over Dutch prodigy Gian van Veen in the first round; the World Darts Championship runs all the way until the final on January 3, 2024 - we're back on Tuesday at 12.30pm, live on Sky Sports Darts
Tuesday 19 December 2023 08:50, UK
Gerwyn Price dropped only two legs on his way to an emphatic 3-0 whitewash of Connor Scutt in their second-round clash at the World Darts Championship on Monday night.
Price averaged 98.01, wrapping up victory in less than 30 minutes to book his place in the third round, with only a mini wobble in the third set to perturb him
Welcomed on stage with the smattering of boos that traditionally greet his Alexandra Palace appearances, the 2021 champion played along with the reception, smirking away as he clapped the crowd.
Behind Price's calm exterior though was a steely determination to get the job done and he romped through the first two sets without dropping a leg.
Scutt finally got on the board to open the third set and he might have had Price briefly worried when breaking the Welshman as he threw for the match, forcing a final-leg decider.
But it merely sparked another gear in Price as he produced a 12-dart leg to break straight back, taking out 96 to clinch a most comfortable of victories.
After his win, Price praised the crowd while also commenting that that he pondered perhaps not playing in the tournament.
He told Sky Sports: "I was sat in my house at 6 o'clock yesterday and probably wasn't going to play the tournament. I wasn't even on my way to London.
"It is really difficult to come here with crowds on your back but credit to the crowd. If they keep on like this, there is no reason I can't win it."
Price added: "It wasn't my A-game - first-round jitters - but I am happy to get through... I played pretty decent.
"The crowd were brilliant. Last year they got on my back but this year they were brilliant. I was a bit apprehensive but fair play to them."
Hong Kong's Man Lok Leung had earlier stolen the show with his scintillating 3-2 comeback victory over 21-year-old Dutch prodigy Gian van Veen, Leung throwing as many as 11 maximums in the match!
Despite missing a staggering 22 darts at double, struggles which dug him an early 2-0 hole in sets, Leung's sensational scoring - averaging 96.26 - eventually saw him get the better of his opponent.
Van Veen, a European Championship semi-finalist this year - beating Damon Heta, Daryl Gurney and Michael van Gerwen during his run - wrestled the first two sets away from Leung thanks to superb checkouts of 116 and 112 in the fourth legs of both.
But, despite the deficit, Leung was never disheartened and he eventually made his superior scoring count, claiming each of the next three sets 3-1 to book a matchup with 22nd seed Gabriel Clemens in the next round.
Thibault Tricole made history when beating Mario Vandenbogaerde 3-1 to open the evening, the first Frenchman to compete on the Ally Pally stage winning on his World Darts Championship debut.
Tricole, a beaten finalist in the 2022 WDF world final, came back from a set down to defeat Vandenbogaerde in a real back-and-forth contest in which all four sets went into a final-leg decider.
In the first two sets, both Tricole and Vandenbogaerde let a break advantage slip, wasting opportunities when throwing for the set, with the latter taking out the first of two ton-plus checkouts on his way to claiming the first set.
But Tricole fought back, angrily celebrating winning the second set by throwing one of his darts on the floor, and he eventually battled through to beat the Belgian and book a second-round clash with 2018 Worlds winner Rob Cross.
Martin Lukeman made relative light work of New Zealand's Haupai Puha in the remaining first-round clash of the night, triumphing 3-1.
The Englishman quickly raced out into a 2-0 lead in sets, claiming six of the opening seven legs, thanks to his superior work on the doubles.
Puha battled hard to edge the third set 3-2, but it merely inspired Lukeman to take his game up another level as he swept the fourth to confirm his passage through to the second round where he'll play Damon Heta.
Three-time champion Michael van Gerwen enters the fray on Tuesday, while Steve Beaton - making a record-extending 33rd consecutive World Championship appearance - plays Dutch debutant Wessel Nijman in round one.
Four-time semi-finalist James Wade will headline the afternoon session, before Japan's Mikuru Suzuki makes her World Championship return against Germany's emerging star Ricardo Pietreczko in the evening session.
The sport's biggest event sees 96 players compete for the Sid Waddell Trophy and £2.5m in prize money at Alexandra Palace. You can watch all the action live on our dedicated Sky Sports Darts channel.
Watch the World Darts Championship all the way until the final on January 3, 2024 - live on Sky Sports Darts. NOW Sports Month Membership: £21 a month for 6 months
