Adrian Lewis and South African Wynand Havenga have both reached the last 16, after winning seven set marathons.
Havenga – the Unicorn Global South African No.1 – stunned the No.7 seed Peter Manley to reach the 3rd Round. He was a virtual unknown a week ago but now everyone in darts is aware of the larger-than-life man from Cape Town.
For Peter Manley, it will be a huge disappointment – after reaching the World Championship Final only 12 months ago.
Lewis was involved in a thriller against last year’s World Championship semi-finalist Wayne Jones. We saw the sheer brilliance of the Unicorn Contender to the downright frustrating.
Lewis certainly hit the jackpot on the 180s – banging in 13 maximums in a high quality match but he made hard work of it against the man from Wolverhampton.
The 21-year-old produced some stunning darts early on. He won the opening set in under five minutes, with an average of 122, winning in 11, 14 and 12 darts. When he took the second set, it looked like being a stroll into the last 16. He missed six darts for a three set lead and then Jones levelled the match with a terrific 101 finish.
The tension was building. Lewis took set five with another 11 darter, before he made a complete mess of it to allow Jones back into this dramatic match.
In the 6th set, the Unicorn ace missed the bull to win the match – leaving 25. He then went for single nine to leave double eight but hit single 12…..his shot at single five went into the 20 bed and as the youngster buried his head in his hands, Jones stepped in with a brilliant 101 to take us into a deciding set.
This time though, Lewis wasn’t to be denied. He reeled off three consecutive legs and won it in style, with an 85 finish on the bull. His average was an impressive 96 but he will know that he can’t afford any lapses of concentration in the 3rd Round against either Andy Jenkins or Andy Smith.
“It was a brilliant game,” he said. “Wayne played so well but I got there in the end.”
And Lewis admitted he would receive a severe ticking-off from his mentor Phil Taylor. “He will be happy with some aspects of my game but I am expecting a roasting for the bad bits. I just lost focus and concentration and that just isn’t good enough.”
Lewis also revealed that he and Taylor will be practicing hard on Christmas Day! It was a case of job done but must do better for the Stoke star.
Havenga shocked Manley – racing into a three set lead, as ‘One Dart’ looked totally flat and just couldn’t get into the game. But you never write off Peter Manley. He stormed back winning nine of the next 11 legs – including a brilliant 161 finish.
So, we went to a deciding set and from one leg apiece, Havenga found a magical 180 at the right time and closed out a famous victory. Manley wasn’t in front at any stage of the match.
‘The Cape Crusader’ was stunned after his shock win. “It won’t sink in for a while. When I was three sets up, I thought I would kick his butt! Peter showed great character to come back. He is a real fighter but I always believed in myself. It is an amazing feeling and it will be a massive boost for darts in South Africa.”
“I have been inundated with calls and text messages from home and I am sure my mobile phone will be red hot over the next few days!” he added.
Friday’s 2nd Round results (best of seven sets):
Rico Vonck (Holland) 4-2 Brian Cyr (Canada)
Boxing Day 2nd Round order of play (best of seven sets) 6pm start:
Denis Ovens (England) v Alan Tabern (England)
Merry Christmas from everyone at Unicorn!
BY STUART PYKE
Photo : Lawrence Lustig/PDC
