Wade’s reputation goes before him now but he brought his ‘C’ game to the oche and had to draw on this year’s valuable big match experience to win 4 sets to 3.
Wade was the first to admit that he is struggling at the moment. “I am just not playing well enough to threaten anyone….but I am a fighter!”
He added: “I am a lucky boy and I think it’s fair to say that Father Christmas has visited me twice over the last few days! I just hope my true form comes out in the last 16 against Terry Jenkins.”
He’ll certainly have to play at his very best in the last 16 against Jenkins. It was a patchy performance from the Unicorn Contender. He averaged only 83 and stumbled over the finishing line.
Wade won the first set against the throw and was two legs up in the second, before Ladley reeled off three on the spin to level the match. The next four sets were shared, as the pair traded blows and we went into yet another deciding set in what has turned out to be the most dramatic 2nd Round ever seen at the Circus Tavern.
The qualifier from Scunthorpe took the first leg after the Unicorn man just missed a 105 finish. Wade took the next, before Ladley edged ahead again. In the 4th leg, Ladley had one dart at double 17 to win the match. Wade stepped up to nail double eight under intense pressure. He won the next against the throw and after Ladley missed three darts at double 18, Wade took out double 19 to finally scrape through to the last 16.
It certainly isn’t the same sparkling James Wade that we saw reach the World Matchplay Final at Blackpool, so let’s hope the best is yet to come!
There was World Championship woe for another Unicorn Contender Wes Newton. His tournament was ended by talented newcomer Colin Osborne.
Newton, from Fleetwood, stayed down in the South over Christmas to prepare but he hurt a muscle in his throwing arm, which clearly affected his game. “I won’t make that an excuse,” he said. “Colin played well. Obviously I’m disappointed but I hope he goes on from here and does really well.”
Osborne started in sensational fashion – winning the opening set with check-outs of 141, 122 and 134. The Derby publican took the 2nd, before Newton finally found his range to take the next two and he looked to be right back in the match.
But it wasn’t to be………..Osborne took six out of the next seven legs to reach the 3rd Round on his World Championship debut. He is a talented all-round sportsman and he is now guaranteed a place in the world’s top 32, when the new Order of Merit comes into play in January.
Osborne will now take on No.4 seed Roland Scholten. The Dutch star was taken to the brink by Alex Roy and came from 3-2 down to win 4-3. Scholten missed five darts for the match and Roy took it all the way to the tie-break and a sudden death final leg shoot-out.
Scholten missed those five darts to win it in regulation in the final set and so nearly paid the ultimate price. In that last leg, he missed two more at double 18, then Roy blew two chances at double 15….Scholten finally nailed double nine to take a humdinger.
In another amazing comeback, Dennis Priestley edged out Denmark’s Per Laursen. ‘The Menace’ was 2-0 and 3-1 down and well below par…..so much so, the Dane looked the only winner. Laursen incredibly missed eight darts for the match, before Priestley took it a final set nail-biter.
There was a personal milestone for Andy ‘Rocky’ Jenkins. His win over ‘The Pie Man’ Andy Smith took him into the World Championship 3rd Round for the very first time – at the 14th time of asking!
Dutch darting legend Raymond Van Barneveld was the first man through to the quarter-finals. After his amazing comeback victory over Colin Lloyd, Barney found the going a lot easier against Dutch teenager Rico Vonck.
Barney hit the 300th 180 of the tournament in the opening set and never looked back. The whole occasion clearly affected the youngster, who had done well to reach the last 16.
He was two sets up in the blink of an eye – winning all six legs. At that stage, the tournament sponsors actually suspended betting on Barneveld! In the event, they still had to pay out £25,000 to punters, who had piled on a whitewash.
Barney wasn’t about to let them down! He raced through the next two sets, to complete a 4-0 victory, without dropping a single leg! It was the first time anyone has won 12 consecutive legs in a best-of-seven sets match in the history of the event at the Circus Tavern….and Barney won those 11th and 12th legs in style with a 135 check out then a 156 finish to win in spectacular fashion. The whole match lasted just 25 minutes! Barney’s end average was 102.48. It was ruthless and certainly sends out a message.
Are we moving towards that Taylor/Barneveld showdown in the final on New Year’s Day or will the likes of Adrian Lewis, James Wade, Andy Hamilton and Dennis Priestley have something special to say before the week is out!?
Of the Team Unicorn stars, Lewis, Wade, Taylor and Hamilton are all chasing quarter-final places on Thursday.
2nd Round results (best of seven sets):
James Wade 4-3 Dave Ladley
3rd Round results (best of seven sets):
Raymond Van Barneveld 4-0 Rico Vonck
Thursday’s 3rd Round order of play:
Wynand Havenga v Darren Webster
BY STUART PYKE
Photo : Lawrence Lustig/PDC
