Two-time world champion Gary Anderson crashed out of the World Darts Championship after losing to Geoffrey de Graaf in the second round at Alexandra Palace.
Anderson struggled in a one-sided contest against his unheralded opponent, winning only two legs and converting just three of 20 attempts at double en route to a straight-sets loss to De Graaf.
De Graaf cruised through the first two sets and broke Anderson again in the next to wrap up a famous victory to book a third-round meeting with Paolo Nebrida after Christmas.
Anderson became the latest high-profile player to withdraw from the World Darts Championship
Forgetting Anderson’s birthday was the first time he had lost his opening game in 16 World Cup appearances, on a night where colleagues Ross Smith and Martin Schindler were also knocked out.
How Anderson suffered from early dismissal
Anderson was among the names expected to challenge favorites Luke Humphries and Luke Littler for the Sid Waddell Trophy, having been on the other side of the draw for last year’s final, but failed to live up to pre-tournament expectations.
De Graaf opened with 11 darts and fired in Shanghai to crack a second consecutive ton-plus cash register, then responded with Anderson’s stunning 121 and 12 to finish the opener on D9.
De Graaf advances to the third round for the second year in a row
At the start of the second game, the Swede immediately broke with 13 balls and doubled the Flying Scotsman’s six misses to take the next throw, and Anderson finished more stubbornly, allowing De Graaf to close out the set in the following leg.
A clearly frustrated Anderson ended a run of seven straight losing legs with a brilliant 11-ball, with the Scot pulling out a third-set decider after replying to De Graaf, who won the third leg, claiming a 14-dart shot of his own.
Anderson needed to break Degraaf’s throw in the final leg decider to extend the contest but could only look on as Degraaf went out for 76 in the D18 to complete an impressive win.
“Great,” DeGraff said Sky Sports. “Gary didn’t perform as well as he usually does, but I’m very happy with the win.
“I was very nervous after the first set and when I was 2-0 up, I was thinking: “What’s going on now?” I’m glad I finally got through, I’m glad I’m here and let’s move on.
More to follow…
Cullen cuts media duties after cruise
At the afternoon session, Joe Cullen he walked out of his post-match press conference after advancing to the third round with a straight-sets win over Dutchman Wessel Neumann.
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Joe Cullen says he has been shown “no respect” by the media after Wessel Nyman became the favorite in their World Darts Championship clash.
Cullen had won just three of his last 12 matches before this year’s World Championships, but was one of his best results of the year, averaging 98.18 to meet former world champion Gerwyn Price after Christmas.
Rockstar felt slighted in the run-up to the tournament, telling reporters: “.
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Cullen gives brief interview to Sky Sports Darts following dominant win over Nyman
Ryan Searle opened proceedings with an impressive 3-0 win over Matt Campbell, while Dirk van Duyvenbode was the latest to make an early exit after the Latvian. Madar Razma came out of the set to win 3-1.
Ian White Also caused an upset after knocking out reigning European Championship winner Richie Edhaus as the Diamond won 3-1 to see him progress to play pre-tournament favorite Luke Littler in the third round.
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Ian White says he is ready to upset ‘Runcorn’s No two’ Luke Littler in round three
“He (Little) is No. 2 at Runcorn. “I’m from Runcorn and I’m No. 1,” White said. “You want to cause an upset. I’m all for it. Luke Littler has done everything for this sport at this point.”
What’s in store for day nine?
The final eight matches of the second round take place on Monday, with Jonny Clayton headlining the afternoon match against Mickey Mansell and former world junior champion Josh Rock against Rhys Griffin.
Krzysztof Ratajski takes on Alexis Toilo in the day’s opener, while former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding opens his tournament against Martin Luckman, while Dave Chisnall and former world champion Rob Cross are both involved in the evening session.
Chisnall stars as Ricky Evans and Cross stars with Scott Williams, with Gian van Wien next playing Florian Hempel opposite Riccardo Pietrzko and Daryl Gurney.
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