Новости Unicorn

An inspired Mark Walsh produced one of the best performances of his life, only to see Taylor find an extra gear when it really mattered to win in the final set.

After seeing Michael Van Gerwen miss one dart to beat him in the 1st Round, Taylor came up with the Great Escape Part II, after he trailed by 2 sets to 1 and by 3 sets to 2.

Walsh showed no fear and when he lead 2-1, the sets he won, he hadn’t allowed Taylor a single leg. Even at 3-2 down, Taylor looked nervous and edgy. He’d even changed his shirt during one of the breaks to try and make a difference.

Then came some inspired darts – a brilliant ‘Power’ surge as Unicorn’s 13 times World Champion showed yet again just why he is the best there has ever been and arguably will ever be!

He won six consecutive legs to break Walsh’s dreams of a massive upset.

“I still don’t feel quite right,” admitted Taylor. “I don’t know what it is but I will have to work it out and soon. I seem to be making things very hard for myself at the moment and I will have to fight very hard if I want to win this World Championship.”

Taylor’s average was a reasonable 95.5 and he now plays Alan Tabern in the 3rd Round. Walsh coped with everything Taylor threw at him until the business end and ‘The Power’ won it in style with a cool 95 finish.

If there is going to be a 14th World Crown for Taylor, it looks like he is going to have to do it the hard way. It is difficult to remember him ever being pushed so much in the early stages of the World Championship. In the end though, those champion qualities saw him through yet another nail-biter.

If there’s one rule in big tournaments – you never write off Peter Manley!

‘One Dart’ will have a fantastic Christmas after breezing through to the last 16 with a comfortable win over Alan Warriner-Little and Manley will now take on Dutch qualifier Jan van der Rassel in the 3rd Round.

And the way that his quarter of the draw is shaping up, Manley can surely see through the tungsten to the trees! He will be thinking about a possible semi-final with Taylor and it is certainly within his reach.

Manley is still far from his best but apart from a blip in the 3rd set, he looked at ease against Warriner. The Unicorn Maestro raced through the opening set with a 106 average and a sweet double top won him the second in a set which went all the way.

Warriner came back but it only delayed the inevitable, as the man from Cumbria won the fourth set in double quick time and the final leg was classic Manley – a 13 darter with a 96 finish.

“I will go home and enjoy my Christmas,” he said. “I know I have a real chance to go a long way in the World Championship. All the results have gone my way and I’m certainly not complaining.”

Manley added: “I’m sure the experience of playing in front of big crowds in the Premier League is helping me and I know the pressure is on with me defending £50,000 in the Order of Merit, after reaching the final two years ago, but I am just taking it game by game and let’s see what happens.”

Elsewhere, St.Helens Alan Tabern was the first man into the last 16 – demolishing Andy Jenkins 4-0…..after losing the first leg of the match, Tabern amazingly then won 10 consecutive legs and that was that!

Meanwhile Dutch qualifier Van Rassel continues to spring surprises. After beating Colin Lloyd, he took the scalp of World No.16 Denis Ovens with a classy 4-1 win and Manley will have to be at his best to beat him.

2nd Round results (best of seven sets):

Andy Jenkins 0-4 Alan Tabern
Jan van Rassel 4-1 Denis Ovens
Peter Manley 4-1 Alan Warriner-Little

Evening session:

Roland Scholten 4-2 Mervyn King
Phil Taylor 4-3 Mark Walsh
Wayne Mardle 4-1 Jamie Caven

Boxing Day 2nd Round schedule:

Barrie Bates v Erwin Extercatte
Kirk Shepherd v Mick McGowan
Adrian Lewis v Vincent van der Voort
John Part v Mensur Suljovic
James Wade v Steve Beaton

The 2008 World Championship resumes on Boxing Day. Everyone connected with Unicorn would like to wish darts fans around the world a very Merry Christmas.

BY STUART PYKE