Adrian Lewis showed just why he is World Champion as he won arguably the best 1st Round match in the 18-year history of the World Matchplay….and at the same time he broke Kevin Painter’s heart.
It was simply sensational……Lewis winning 14-12 in the tie-break after Painter had missed six darts to cause a big upset in an amazing all Unicorn clash
Lewis had put his darts away when Painter stepped up needing ‘tops’ to clinch a 10-6 victory, but all three darts hit the wire and the chance had gone.
‘The Artist’ also missed one dart at the bull and two more at D8 to win 12-10, as Lewis held his nerve to show World Champion class in a thriller on opening night at the Winter Gardens.
And on a fabulous opening night – former Unicorn ace John Part hit a 9 dart finish in his match against Mark Webster!
But Lewis and Painter took centre stage!
“Kevin played fantastically well,” Lewis conceded. “I put my darts away because I thought I had lost and all three of those darts at ‘tops’ hit the wire. I felt it was all over for me.”
Painter was devastated. “I am shocked and gutted. I can’t believe that I missed those three darts at D20. They were all so close. I let him off the hook. I should have won. No luck again.”
Lewis added: “I have to think I can win it now. I have to after that. I know I shouldn’t still be in the tournament but now I can really make a charge on the title.
Lewis will now face Vincent van der Voort in the 2nd Round on Wednesday night after the Dutchman beat Alan Tabern 10-7.
But what a match it was, as Lewis and Painter went toe-to-toe….
Painter raced into a 4-1 lead as Lewis just looked out-of-sorts and he missed one dart at D10 for a 5-1 advantage…..Lewis started to find his range with four 180s in as many legs and he got it back to 4-6.
At this stage though, Painter was in control and at 9-5, there looked to be only one winner – especially when ‘The Artist’ banged in back-to-back 180s in that 16th leg, but then came those three misses and Lewis hit D5 to stay alive.
He won four legs on the spin – averaging 110 in the process – to take it to nine legs apiece and force the tie-break. It was nail-biting stuff – as Lewis hit two 11 darters and five more 180s.
Lewis then led 10-9 but Painter responded with a brilliant 12 darter and then an 86 finish broke the Lewis throw and yet again, Painter stepped up to throw for the match.
But then came the miss at the bull and those two misses at D8 and Lewis dug himself out of trouble again and on we went!
Darting drama!
In the end a 12th 180, followed by a fantastic 90 finish on the bull, pinched it for Lewis.
But it turned into a darting disaster night for Terry Jenkins.
The Unicorn star produced one of his worst performances in a TV ‘Major’ for some time, as he crashed to a 10-3 hammering at the hands of Steve Beaton in the first match of the tournament.
And this defeat could have serious consequences for Jenkins, because he was defending £50,000 on the PDC Order of Merit from his appearance in the Blackpool final two years ago.
So, by the end of the World Matchplay, Jenkins could now tumble out of the World’s top 10…..he will desperately disappointed because he just never got going and ‘The Bull’ has now fallen at the first hurdle for the last two years in Blackpool.
Beaton raced into a 3-0 lead after Jenkins missed four darts to win the opening leg on throw…..it should have been 4-0 but Beaton missed six darts himself, and ‘The Bull’ came back to level at 3-3 thanks to a 118 check-out.
But that was as good as it got.
Jenkins’ game went to pieces under serious pressure from his opponent…..Beaton won seven straight legs, including two 11 darters and two 13 dart legs and terrific finishes of 81, 85 and 80 – all two dart check outs.
Beaton averaged 101 to Jenkins’ 86 and that tells its own story.
Despite his first ever televised 9 darter, Part missed a stack of doubles and ended up losing to Webster. The Welshman won 10-8 after the Canadian made a poor start….Part’s consolation a cheque for £10,000 for his brilliant 9 dart finish.
Saturday 1st Round results
Terry Jenkins 3-10 Steve Beaton
Vincent van der Voort 10-7 Alan Tabern
Adrian Lewis 14-12 Kevin Painter
Mark Webster 10-8 John Part
Sunday 1st Round schedule:
Paul Nicholson v Colin Osborne
Mark Walsh v Dave Chisnall
James Wade v Jamie Caven
Raymond van Barneveld v Steve Brown
By STUART PYKE in Blackpool
Photos courtesy Chris Sargeant