The PDC World Darts Championships commenced on Tuesday evening at Alexandra Palace, and there was plenty of action to get fans started with.
Due to the recent announcement that London would be moved to ‘tier three’ restrictions from Wednesday, fans were only allowed in for the first evening’s session, before the rest of the tournament was due to continue behind closed doors.
The competition began with Steve West facing off to Indian qualifier Amit Gilitwala. Despite a shaky opening set, West remained relatively unchallenged, and comfortably saw off Gilitwala with a 3-0 victory in sets. West would progress into the second round which was the final game of the evening, against defending champion Peter Wright.
The second game of the evening saw a moment of history as Steve Beaton took part in a record 30th consecutive World Championship, as he faced up against Diogo Portela from Brazil.
The match however was unexpectedly one sided, as Portela looked a natural in taking all three sets 3-1, confirming a 3-0 straight sets win.
The Brazilian was visibly emotional after firing in the winning dart, as he had confirmed his first ever win on the Ally Pally stage, and progression into the second round, where he will face a tricky test against 12th seed Glen Durrant.
The penultimate game of the evening saw the tournament’s youngest participant as 18-year-old Keane Barry from Ireland faced Jeff Smith from Canada.
Barry, who was taking part in only his second PDC World Championship, is the current BDO World Youth Champion.
Smith looked comfortable in the opening set and took it 3-1. The second set was a tight one, and Barry rued his missed darts at doubles, as Smith edged the second set 3-2, to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Barry upped his game in the third set, one he had to win to stay alive in the World Championships, and edged out Smith 3-2, to keep his hopes alive.
Barry knew he had to win this set too if he wanted his tournament to last beyond a day. He looked promising after this first leg, however Smith broke back immediately to take the second leg, before Barry retook the lead, and was throwing first to level the game.
The pressure ultimately got to Barry as he missed two darts to take the fourth set, allowing Smith to swoop in and throw for a place in the second round.
Smith made no mistake in the final leg, to confirm his place in the next round with a hard fought 3-1 win.
Smith’s opponent will be Chris Dobey, who he will face on Wednesday afternoon.
The final game of the opening night saw the first second round game take place as defending champion Peter Wright faced Steve West, after his win earlier on in the evening.
Wright, who is known for putting on a show for the crowd was no different here, as he came dressed as The Grinch, including dyeing his hair and beard green.
The defending champion got off to a comfortable start, taking the first two sets 3-0, with West being disgusted with his own performance.
West upped his game in the third leg, taking it 3-1 to briefly keep his hopes alive, but there was no stopping Wright, who took the final leg 3-1, confirming a 3-1 victory in sets also, sending him into round three.
The dart action continues this afternoon, with Glen Durrant and Lisa Ashton headlining, albeit behind closed doors.
By Josh Mann
