Gian van Veen survived a scare against Cristo Reyes to pick up a 3-1 win at Alexandra Palace, his first victory in the World Darts Championship at the third time of asking. World No 7 Van Veen had lost to Man Lok Leung and Ricardo Pietreczko on his two previous appearances but this time battled through. He wrapped up the opening set with a 92.26 average, then produced a staggering 107 average in the second to move 2-0 ahead. Reyes hit a brilliant 167 checkout and fought back with two breaks of throw to claim the third set, and the fourth went the distance before Van Veen clinched the win on D16. “Finally across that line! The last few years have been a massive struggle here on this stage but today I felt right at home. Luckily it paid off,” Van Veen told Sky Sports.
Ross Smith became the first seed to fall at this year’s tournament as he squandered six match darts in a surprise 3-2 defeat to 50-year-old Swedish debutant Andreas Harrysson. Smith, seeded 12th, led 2-1 but failed to convert in the fourth set after an on-court wasp incident and was punished as Harrysson won five legs in a row to take the match to a deciding set, then sealed the victory in the fifth.
Ricky Evans produced a solid 3-0 victory over Man Lok Leung. Evans delighted the crowd with a festive walk-on to Shakin’ Stevens’ “Merry Christmas Everyone” and a sensational 134 checkout in the first set. He held firm through a scare in the second, and after Lok Leung broke to force a deciding leg in the third, Evans fired his 11th 140 of the match to leave 84 and nailed D12 to finish the contest.
Damon Heta claimed a comprehensive 3-1 win over Steve Lennon. “The Heat” took the opening set with 144 and 110 checkouts, added a 100 finish to seal the second set, saw Lennon take the third in a decider, then won three legs on the bounce to close out the fourth and the match.
Former world champion Rob Cross thrashed Cor Dekker 3-0 in the afternoon session, dropping just two legs and closing with the tournament’s first 170 “Big Fish” checkout. Cross described himself as “a little bit edgy” but said there was “lots of fire in the belly” and expects to be better in the next round. Cross will next face Ian White, who recovered from a two-set deficit to beat Mervyn King 3-2. Neils Zonneveld set up a second-round meeting with former world champion Michael Smith after a 3-0 win over Haupai Puha. Ryan Searle thrashed Chris Landman 3-0 and is set to face either Brendan Dolan or Tavis Dudeney.
What’s next: Mario Vandenbogaerde faces David Davies in Saturday’s afternoon session live from 12.30pm on Sky Sports Darts, with reigning champion Luke Littler awaiting the winner. Andrew Gilding plays Cam Crabtree, Luke Woodhouse meets Boris Krcmar and Gary Anderson begins his campaign against Adam Hunt before Luke Humphries headlines the evening session from 7pm. Jeffrey de Graaf faces Paul Lim and Wessel Nijman plays Karel Sedlacek ahead of Humphries’ opener with Ted Evetts; the final match sees Gabriel Clemens take on Alex Spellman.
Results, Friday December 12, Evening session
– Ross Smith 2-3 Andreas Harrysson
– Ricky Evans 3-0 Man Lok Leung
– Gian van Veen 3-1 Cristo Reyes
– Damon Heta 3-1 Steve Lennon
Watch every match live on Sky Sports’ dedicated darts channel until January 3.