As entertaining an opening night as we have all come to expect from the PDC events, there are no easy first round matches these days in the world of darts, and especially not in a tournament like the World GrandPrix which just showcases the 32 of the top players in the game.
Performance of the Night
There’s no way that World Champ Adie Lewis ever thought that taking on former three time World Champion John Part was going to be an easy first match and the Canadian proved his quality yet again to knock out the world number two.
It didn’t look like Darth Maple was going to get anywhere near Lewis after the first set as he lost it in no time at all and was badly struggling to get off the mark aiming at double top.
Jackpot cantered into an early lead, but then the fight back began and Part rattled off three legs in a row to level the match up in sets and then used the momentum to take the decider, despite Lewis showing he wasn’t entirely out of form when he won the first leg with two double tops.
Part’s climb back up the Order of Merit continues…
A Very Close Second
Wes Newton has undoubtedly proved he is a world class performer over the last six to nine months and has moved all the way up to seven in the world, breathing down the neck of the established top six and hunting for a place in the Premier League.
He didn’t look like that player in the first set against Colin Lloyd though as he lost it by a leg, but he showed how far he has come in recent times by clicking into a higher gear and producing the best two sets of the evening and winning them both 3-0.
Part’s victory over the World Champ got him the performance of the night, but as far as quality goes it is the Warrior who excelled, as his average of 95, the highest of the night, proved, and he is without doubt a real contender for this title.
Bronze Medal
It’s tempting to put Brendan Dolan’s victory over Wayne Jones down to some kind of home advantage, but that certainly didn’t work out for William O’Connor later in the night and Dolan deserves full credit for what was a surprise victory.
Getting his doubles in early was the key for the Northern Irishman as he registered 60% on his starting doubles, and kept it up well enough to finish off Jones with 50% on the ending doubles.
Jones is always a solid performer and regularly a quarter-finalist, so for a man outside the top 32 to claim his scalp is quite a performance in straight sets, and the 38-year-old may well be moving up the rankings after this week.
And the Rest…
Another surprise on the opening night saw Justin Pipe fail to continue his form from Sunday’s Player’s
Championship which saw him defeat the likes of Gary Anderson and Phil Taylor in the final as he crashed out to John Henderson 0-2.
Laser eyes or not Kevin Painter couldn’t keep up with Vincent van der Voort who raced to a 3-0 win in the first set and despite a spirited performance from the Artist in the second, the Dutchman took the game
2-0.
Raymond van Barneveld continued Mervyn King’s television torment as the former World Champ prolonged the world number 11’s misery in front of the cameras. King played reasonably well, as his 60% on opening doubles showed, but Barney’s class shone through, and the King’s road to recovery continues as he went down 2-0.
The final clash of the night was local hero William O’Connor taking on Andy Smith but the Pie Man ruined the party in Dublin with a very professional win in straight sets.
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