A nervous Nathan Aspinall stumbled into his first World Darts Championship, pipping Leonard Gates on the same night that Christian Keast hit a nine-dart defeat.
Aspinall, who suffered a shock defeat at the same venue last year, narrowly avoided an upset this time around, sealing their post-Christmas progress with a 3-1 win.
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Watch Nathan Aspinall’s 3-1 win over Leonard Gates in the second round at the World Darts Championship
Gates, who defeated a tearful Cameron Menzies in his first-round match on Monday, showed glimpses in the joint two-set opener before Aspinall eventually prevailed.
“I’m relieved to get it. It was a very tough game of darts,” said Aspinall, who will face either Andrew Gilding, Martin Lukeman or Nitin Kumar in the last 32.
“I felt really good going into the tournament, but I put too much pressure on myself to play tonight. I’ve been under a lot of scrutiny the past few months because I haven’t been playing well.
“I’m here to prove how good I am and go deep into the tournament. It wasn’t pretty, but I won the game and now I can enjoy Christmas and come back stronger after the break.”
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Watch the best of the action from night four at the World Darts Championship
The American checked out 106 for a break in the first set, only for Aspinall to immediately improve from 114 in the next leg to take the first set.
But the 12th seed was desperately poor when he lost the second set, averaging less than 80. Despite the difficulties, he would have two darts on top for a two-set lead, but would lose his lines as Gates leveled instead the things.
Aspinall improved marginally in the final two sets but survived some nervy moments along the way, including dropping two match points as Gates threatened to force a deciding set.
The two-time semi-finalist will know he will have to play much better if he is to have another deep run at Alexandra Palace.
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Who had the best game between Aspinall and Gates ahead of the second round match at the World Darts Championships?
Kist makes an amazing nine but loses
Kist’s 9-darter was his 15th at Worlds and the first since Michael Smith’s famously perfect “I can’t speak” leg in the 2023 final.
The Dutchman, however, was unable to top his incredible moment to win the first set as his opponent Madar Razma kept his cool and won the next three sets in style to set up a match against Dirk van Duijvenbode.
However, Kist wins £60,000 for his nine, as does one lucky fan in the Ally Pally crowd, with tournament sponsors Paddy Power also donating £60,000 to Prostate Cancer to mark the moment.
“The nine-dart was an amazing moment, to hit the double 12 was amazing. It was a great time for everyone and I hope Chris enjoys the money,” Kist said.
“Maybe I’ll go on holiday next month with the prize money. I lost the game though, so I’m a bit disappointed to go out in the first round.”
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“Rapid” Ricky Evans beats Gordon Mathers 3-2 in the first round at the World Darts Championship
Ricky Evans he was far from his ‘fast’ best when he made hard work of his opening match against Gordon Mathers, forcing a final set.
Evans finally got the win to set up a second-round clash with sixth-seeded Dave Chisnall when he took 109, the first wicket in the best fashion of an otherwise sloppy encounter.
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Evans thrills the crowd with a rendition of “Merry Christmas Everyone” for a very festive ride
In the opening match of the evening, Jim Williams missed five match darts on his way to a 3-2 loss in his first round match against Paolo Nebrida.
Making matters worse for the Welshman, he also lost three darts to take the opening set en route. Ross Smith awaits Nebrida in the next round.
What’s next?
It’s another bumper day action on Thursday 19 December with the afternoon session returning, live on Sky Sports Darts from 12.30pm. – the line-up is as follows: Chris Landman vs Lok Yin Lee, Callan Rydz vs Romeo Grbavac, Martin Lukeman vs Nitin Kumar and 27th seed Gabriel Clemens in the second round against Robert Owen.
From 7pm, live on Sky Sports Darts, former world champion Michael Smith headlines the evening session, the 2023 champion and second seed takes on Kevin Doets to close the night, while the three games of the first previous round matches include Nick Kenny vs. Stowe Buntz, Mensur Suljovic vs. Matt Campbell, and last year’s semi-finalist Scott Williams vs. Niko Springer.
Who Will Win The Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live until January 3 on Sky Sports’ exclusive darts channel. Stream darts and more top sports with NOW.
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