World Matchplay Darts: St Helens pair Michael Smith and Dave Chisnall face tricky second-round opponents

Former world champion Gerwyn Price stands between Dave Chisnall and the quarter-finals.
By John Yates
Published 20th Jul 2022, 11:14 BST
Dave Chisnall was victorious in his first Betfred World Matchplay outing on Monday evening Picture: Taylor Lanning/PDCDave Chisnall was victorious in his first Betfred World Matchplay outing on Monday evening Picture: Taylor Lanning/PDC
Dave Chisnall was victorious in his first Betfred World Matchplay outing on Monday evening Picture: Taylor Lanning/PDC

St Helens pair Michael Smith and Dave Chisnall have cleared the first hurdle in the £800,00 World Darts Matchplay at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool.

Smith, seeking his first major TV title, defeated Andrew Gilding of Ipswich 11-9 in an encounter, which went down to the wire.

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Fellow St Helens-born ace of the oche Chisnall, KO’d Belgium’s Kim Huybrechts 10-7 and now meets former world champion Gerwen Price on Wednesday night for a spot in the quarters finals.

Bully Boy, too, had to dig deep to overcome Gilding and looked set for an early exit from the competition, which runs until Sunday, when trailing 8-4.

But he stormed back in typical fashion to claim a nerve-tingling tie-breaker 11-9 and now standing in his way in round two is Dutchman Dirk van Duijvenbode.

A third local player, Stephen Bunting, lost 10-6 to Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski in round one.

Related topics:DartsStephen Bunting

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