Catch up on Wednesday afternoon's action at Alexandra Palace with Flashscore:
Radoslav Szaganski (69) 3-2 Marko Kantele (145)
Szaganski missed two set darts in the third leg of the first set and was broken back by Kantele a turn later. The Finn missed six darts in the fourth leg to level the score and saw Szaganski win the set.
As in the first set, Kantele was broken at the first opportunity. The level was not very high and Kantele broke back in leg two. Both men kept their own leg and a fifth leg had to bring decision. Kantele was allowed to start that one and was given all the time by Szaganski to win the set.
In the third set, it again went to a fifth leg. Szaganski was allowed to start that one, but it was Kantele who ran away with the set win after misses by the Pole.
After a break, Szaganski traditionally took a 1-0 lead in set four. The first 100+ finish of the match gave Kantele the break back. A break also took place in the third leg and the Pole made it 2-1. As he was the first to keep his own leg in the set, Szaganski moved to 2-2 in sets.
The first leg that went out in 15 darts or less and a 142 finish brought Szaganski into the lead in the fifth set. A leg later, he broke his opponent and got to match point. Kantele had a brief chance to come back in the set, but saw Szaganski walk away with the complete win.
Szaganski will play Raymond van Barneveld in the second round.
Steve Lennon (58) 3-2 Owen Bates (121)
Bates managed to break in the first leg and was not in trouble after that. The doubles were not yet great for the men. Bates hit three out of ten dimes, Lennon one out of nine.
The second set produced no breaks, so Bates was 2-0 up in sets. With some great finishes, he gave Lennon no chance to take the set away. The young Englishman threw out 101, 108 and 94 in his won legs.
After misses by Lennon, the Irishman was immediately broken in the first leg of the third set. Lennon threw his two best legs of the match and led 2-1. A 118 finish saw him take the set.
The first three legs of the fourth set produced breaks, but Lennon managed to keep his own fourth leg and brought the score to 2-2 in sets. Lennon's comeback was complete after he managed to break Bates in the fourth leg of the deciding set.
Lennon will take on Jonny Clayton in the second round.
William O'Connor (38) 3-0 Bhav Patel (-)
In the first set, Patel was already broken twice by O'Connor, who won the set 3-0 in legs. In the first leg, Patel had just reached a finish, but O'Conner threw out 112. In his own leg too, the Irishman did not give the Indian a chance at the leg. In the third, Patel was allowed to try on 116, but he missed the triples, after which tops was no problem for O'Connor.
The second set presented the same picture as the first. O'Connor threw much better than Patel and dragged it in 3-0. In the first leg, by the way, Patel did get his only dart on a leg to throw out 157. Unfortunately, it was too good to be true and his only chance to inject some excitement into the match was lost.
He was then broken again in the leg that saw the only 180 of the match pass (from O'Connor), and the Irishman won his sixth leg in a row with 15 darts.
Patel could not make a fist in the third set either, or anything like it. As in the first set, his first leg was lost on a finish. O'Connor put the door ajar in the second leg for a break, but Patel did not find the triples he needed to throw out 147.
The ninth and final leg was more of the same again. Patel had another chance to get on the scoreboard, but missed on 116, after which O'Connor had three match darts on tops. His first went into the 20, but the second nestled safely into the double 10, ending the match with the biggest power difference so far.
In every statistic, the Irishman's dominance was expressed. He threw 140+ 12 times, Patel did so only twice, both in the first set. O'Connor finished at a good 75 per cent on checkouts, Patel at 0, he had also only had that one chance at the start of the second set. There was also a big difference in the 3-dart average: 98.74 for O'Connor, compared to 82.00 for Patel.
Ross Smith (16) 3-1 Niels Zonneveld (83)
Zonneveld had to start throwing after only finding out that his grandmother had died. The first set was lost rather hopelessly in three legs. Smith was allowed to start and shot out of the starting blocks with a 180. Zonneveld stayed behind his level, but Smith failed to throw out 85, giving Zonneveld another chance at 119, but that was too much to ask.
In Zonneveld's leg, Smith threw the second 180 of the match, but that was the only 140+ throw of the leg, and the power difference was too great. Zonneveld failed to throw out 137, Smith hit the double 8. The third leg contained the first real chances for Zonneveld, but he missed the double three times after Smith failed on 48.
In the first leg, Zonneveld had another chance to get on the scoreboard, but he again missed three darts on the double, much to his despondency, and the break was a fact. For a moment there was a danger that the match would end in as heavy a defeat as the previous one had done for Patel, but that was the moment Zonneveld straightened up. He broke back by finally hitting on the doubles and even made it 2-1 with his first 180 of the match.
Smith then held his own leg after Zonneveld missed a set arrow. In his leg, he unfortunately failed again. The triples were not found and the Briton put himself away on 32, while Zonneveld had not yet reached a finish. Smith's first set arrow was a hit though.
The third set started with a Big Fish for Smith. It was the second 170 finish of the tournament and it was met with loud cheers from the crowd. This came just after Zonneveld had thrown his second 180 of the match. Zonneveld just barely held the second leg, keeping a glimmer of hope for set win.
For that, Smith needed to start dropping some stitches and he did, allowing Zonneveld to try on 160. However, he missed all triples. Smith did throw his triple to clear 96 but missed two on the double. Zonneveld failed to throw out 100 and the chance for the necessary break was lost.
The fourth leg started spectacularly with two 180s. Smith then let up a little more, giving Zonneveld three darts at tops. The second went into double 10, making it 2-2 and a break was needed to force a fourth set. After a couple of unexceptional throws, Smith was on 141, Zonneveld on 138. Smith did not put away well on 115; Zonneveld slightly better on 80. Smith hit his triple, but missed the match dart. Zonneveld hit his triple, finding the double 10 immediately: 2-1.
Set four started right away with a break. The difference in scores expressed itself again, and this time Zonneveld did not get the opportunity to punish Smith on missing checkouts. Leg two saw few triples from either player and Smith threw out 85 for a quick 2-0 lead, and also match point. Zonneveld kept his leg this time, however, as Smith failed to throw out 121.
So the Brit was given the go-ahead to finish the match in his own leg. However, he started with 45, to which Zonneveld threw 140. The initiative was with Zonneveld, who put himself away on 86, while Smith had to throw out 119. However, that missed the bull, leaving it to the Dutchman to take the set to his hand. However, he failed miserably. Smith needed only one match dart to eliminate Zonneveld.
