The seeds have tumbled in the 1st Round of the World Championships but Kevin Painter made sure his name wasn’t added to the casualty list. Unicorn’s No.7 seed looked good against youngster Dale Newton and taught the apprentice a darting lesson. Painter’s experience on the big stage came into play, as ‘The Artist’ won 3 sets to 1, to stay on course for a quarter-final showdown against Unicorn stablemate Phil Taylor. “I felt really confident up there,” he said. “I was only too well aware of all the upsets and that made me so determined. There is still a lot left in the locker and I will get better as the tournament goes on.” Painter averaged 88 despite dropping the 3rd set, when he missed two darts for the match. A classy 123 check-out at the start of the 4th and there was no way back for the 22-year-old from Fleetwood. Painter reached the final two years ago, when he lost to Taylor, and he still believes he can win the biggest tournament in world darts. He will play Newton’s brother Wes in the 2nd round on Tuesday. By Stuart Pyke
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