Dave Chisnall crashed out of the World Darts Championship after suffering a dramatic final-leg loss to Ricky Evans, while former world champion Rob Cross was also dumped out in a remarkable session at Alexandra Palace.
Chisnall won the opening set of a topsy-turvy contest but needed to recover from going 2-1 down to extend their epic clash to a final set, where both players survived match darts to take it into extra legs.
Evans fired a 110 checkout on his way to edging back ahead and saw Chisnall recover from a shocking miscount on a ton-plus finish to hold throw, with ‘Rapid Ricky’ then claiming the final leg of the match to send another seed heading for an early exit.
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An epic pre-Christmas session saw Daryl Gurney come through a final-set decider against Florian Hempel and world youth champion Gian Van Veen knocked out by Ricardo Pietreczko, before Cross was beaten 3-1 by Scott Williams in the last match of the evening.
Cross’ early exit made him the 14th seed to be knocked out of the second round, a new record for this stage of the competition, with Williams – beaten by eventual champion Luke Humphries in last year’s semi-finals – the last to secure their spot in the last 32.
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Early Christmas classic in incredible session
Evans brought the festive cheer with his Christmas-themed t-shirt and Shakin Stevens walk-on track, only for Chisnall to grab the early control by opening with a 12-dart break and holding throw in the next.
Chisnall responded to Evans’ stunning 126 checkout and missed ‘Big Fish’ attempt by clinching the set with a 15-darter, but squandered a set dart on D5 in the final leg of the second to allow ‘Rapid Ricky’ to break throw and level.
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Evans edged ahead by sealing the third set with a 13-darter but watched Chisnall fight back with a clean sweep in the fourth, with ‘Chizzy’ having to come from behind on three occasions to lead a gripping decider.
Both players missed match darts during a chaotic closing stretch, where Evans extended the contest with a remarkable 110 checkout to break back and then found a 17-dart hold to move a leg away.
Chisnall survived an untimely miscounted finish to find the ‘Mad House’ on his next visit and drag the set to an 11th and final leg, where Evans took out tops to nail a 52 finish and spark wild celebrations.
“I’ve played a world-class darts player there, and I’ve played quite well,” Evans told Sky Sports. “It’s nice to say I’ve won a game and played well – normally it’s boring! I wish I’d beaten Chizzy 3-0 because then my ticker would be beating a bit slower!”
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Gurney survives scare as Cross progresses
Another upset looked on the cards when Gurney went a set down against Hempel, who was on the verge of taking the second set to a decider when the Northern Irishman fired in a 156 checkout to break with a 15-darter and level the match.
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Hempel took the third set in straight legs and moved within a leg of victory during a tight fourth, before Gurney delivered back-to-back 13-dart legs to level the match and then break the German early in the decider.
Gurney held throw in the next on his way to closing out a hard-fought victory, leaving him facing seventh seed Jonny Clayton in the third round, while Cross was another big-name exit after a disappointing loss to Williams.
Cross held throw in the final leg of the opening set before Williams grabbed the second with a 14-dart hold in another deciding leg, with the contest also threatening to go the distance when Cross made a 130 checkout at the start of the third set.
But Williams won the next three legs to move a set ahead, capitalising on some poor finishing from Cross, before securing victory in the next set – and avenging his loss to the Englishman two years earlier – by taking out a 14-darter on tops in the final leg.
Elsewhere, Van Veen missed eight darts to break his opponent in a scrappy opening leg as Pietreczko raced through the opening set, although he responded by firing a brilliant 12-dart hold with a 127 checkout on his way to levelling the contest in the second.
Pietreczko moved back ahead when he produced a 122 finish in a third set won in straight legs, then broke Van Veen with a 16-darter and held throw in the next to reach the third round for the second successive year.
Clayton edges final-leg epic and Rock breezes through
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Earlier, Clayton appeared to be cruising to the finish line when he won six legs in a row, only for Mickey Mansell to force a deciding set and then produce staggering 136 and 154 finishes to move within a leg of victory.
The Welshman won the next two legs to extend the contest and both players missed match darts, taking the set to a final-leg shoot-out, where he capitalised on having the darts to find a way over the line.
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Elsewhere, Josh Rock breezed past Rhys Griffin 3-0, losing just two legs to set up a last-32 tie with Chris Dobey, while the other two seeds in action on Monday afternoon also went through.
Poland’s No 1 Krzysztof Ratajski beat Alexis Toylo 3-1 and Andrew Gilding overcame Martin Lukeman by the same scoreline, with Ratajski now up against Kevin Doets – who stunned former world champion Michael Smith – and Gilding up against Nathan Aspinall.
When does the third round take place?
The darts returns after Christmas on December 27, with four consecutive days of double sessions at the Alexandra Palace to leave the third and fourth rounds completed by December 30.
World No 1 Luke Humphries plays Nick Kenny in the evening session on Friday, while reigning Premier League champion Luke Littler headlines Saturday night when up against Ian White.
Elsewhere, Michael van Gerwen faces Brendan Dolan (Saturday) and fellow former world champion Gerwyn Price entertains Joe Cullen (Friday).
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The players have a night off on New Year’s Eve ahead of the quarter-finals held across two sessions on New Year’s Day, with the semi-finals on January 2 and the final on Friday January 3.
The full day-by-day schedule for this year’s tournament can be found here.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live until January 3 on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW
