Gary Anderson produced one of the greatest performances in World Matchplay history to open his title challenge on Sunday, as former champions Michael van Gerwen and James Wade also advanced in Blackpool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Day Two of the summer\u2019s showpiece event saw eight opening round ties take place at the Winter Gardens, as Anderson kicked off his campaign in vintage style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Scottish icon recorded the eighth-highest average in World Matchplay history, averaging 109.96 in his 10-2 demolition of Ryan Joyce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anderson \u2013 who lifted the famous Phil Taylor Trophy in 2018 \u2013 was irrepressible from start to finish, converting consecutive 144 and 141 checkouts to cap off his best display on the Empress Ballroom stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou get those days sometimes where you can throw with your eyes shut and hit everything, and today was one of those days,\u201d admitted the two-time World Champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve missed a lot of tournaments this year. I play when I can, and honestly I came here not knowing what to expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe next game will be a completely different game, so we\u2019ll see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anderson\u2019s reward will be a blockbuster showdown against 2023 runner-up Jonny Clayton, who ran out a 10-7 winner against Australian number one Damon Heta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite storming into an 8-3 lead, the world number five was forced to defy a spirited fightback from Heta, wrapping up proceedings with a magnificent 144 finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI loved every second of that,\u201d claimed Clayton \u2013 a semi-finalist 12 months ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is the best venue in darts, and I\u2019m a proud man to be standing here with a win to my name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGary Anderson was my hero in darts. I think it\u2019s going to be a battle of the old boys, but I hope it\u2019s going to be a belter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elsewhere, Van Gerwen recovered from a sluggish start to see off Andrew Gilding, overturning a 4-1 deficit to set up a clash with fellow countryman Dirk van Duijvenbode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Van Gerwen missed double 12 for a spectacular nine-darter in leg six of the contest \u2013 sparking a timely turnaround which saw him win nine of the last 11 legs to complete a 10-6 victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was a strange game,\u201d conceded Van Gerwen, who is targeting a fourth Phil Taylor Trophy in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think I had some really good patches and some really poor patches, but when you win the game, that\u2019s the most important thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis was a good win for myself. There is still a lot more in the tank, and I hope I can show that later in the tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Van Duijvenbode, meanwhile, won through an epic affair against Chris Dobey, surviving four match darts and defying 13 maximums from the Bedlington star to prevail in a breathless tie-break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gian van Veen and Wessel Nijman capped off a terrific day for Dutch darts, defeating Krzysztof Ratajski and Dave Chisnall respectively to set up a tantalising clash on Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Van Veen produced a finishing masterclass to account for Poland\u2019s premier player Ratajski, converting a brace of 144 checkouts and a spectacular 160 in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think everyone knows I\u2019ve been struggling in the last couple of months,\u201d revealed Van Veen, who pinned 67% of his attempts at the outer ring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI just needed that win here today. I started off really well but my finishing got me through that game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy scoring needs to improve in the next round, but I\u2019m really happy with this win and hopefully I can continue further like this.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nijman \u2013 a winner of eight ranking titles in 2026 \u2013 enjoyed similarly serene progress, averaging almost 99 to sweep aside five-time quarter-finalist Chisnall in his opener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wade and Ryan Searle will also go head-to-head for a place in the quarter-finals, after the pair recorded hard-fought wins against Jermaine Wattimena and William O’Connor respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2007 champion Wade \u2013 also a six-time runner-up in Blackpool \u2013 began his 21st<\/sup> consecutive World Matchplay campaign with a typically tenacious 10-7 success against Wattimena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Aldershot stalwart \u2013 aided by a clinical 116 kill \u2013 established an early four-leg cushion, before crashing in seven maximums to round off an efficient all-round display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Searle also delivered the goods against debutant O\u2019Connor, converting 56% of his attempts at double to sink the Irish number one, who landed eight maximums in defeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RESULTS<\/strong> Gary Anderson produced one of the greatest performances in World Matchplay history to open his title challenge on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-15056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-darts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
Round One<\/strong>
Dirk van Duijvenbode 13-11 Chris Dobey
Gary Anderson 10-2 Ryan Joyce
Michael van Gerwen 10-6 Andrew Gilding
Jonny Clayton 10-7 Damon Heta
<\/strong>Ryan Searle 10-6 William O\u2019Connor
James Wade 10-7 Jermaine Wattimena
Gian van Veen 10-6 Krzysztof Ratajski
Wessel Nijman 10-5 Dave Chisnall<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"