James Wade knocked out of World Championship by Jim Williams
James Wade was knocked out of the World Championship in the second round as Jim Williams delivered the biggest shock of the tournament so far.
Wade, who recently detailed his battle with Bi-Polar, is a four-time semi-finalist at the flagship event and seeded eighth but is eliminated before Christmas after going down 3-2 to the Welshman.
Williams, ranked 77th in the Merit List, had the performance of his life to oust Wade in a playoff where he came up with some clutch darts, threw three 180s and averaged 98.48.
The Welshman admitted it was the biggest win of his career despite not doing his best.
“Yes, it’s the biggest win,” he said during a press conference after the game.
“I felt like I was struggling, I’m just in and out, my mindset is in and out, I just need to focus all the time when I can.
“It was a tough game, it was tough for James too. I was surprised by his goal, he didn’t score nearly as well as he could. I ended up just pulling it out.
Two-time champion Gary Anderson gave himself the perfect birthday present by booking his third-round spot.
The Scot, who won back-to-back 2015 and 2016, has lost his place at the top of darts lately but enjoyed a celebratory boost with a 3-1 win over Madars Razma.
It wasn’t a classic performance from the 52-year-old by any means, as Razma put up some stiff competition that included a memorable 154 checkout, but he got the job done with three tons and more checkouts.
Despite his success, Anderson doesn’t expect to be in contention for a third title this year but is enjoying being back at Alexandra Palace.
“I don’t know what this year is, my game is nowhere near where it should be,” Anderson said.
“We keep trying, I practice a lot more. My goal is to start from scratch next year and just get out of the house and start throwing again.”
Fifth-seeded Luke Humphries won another close fight as he defeated Germany’s Florian Hempel 3-2 while Vincent van der Voort swept aside Cameron Menzies 3-0.
In the afternoon session, Dirk van Duivenbode came out on top against Karel Sedlak with a crucial set trick.
The 14th-seeded Dutchman struggled down 2-1 to win 3-2 and won the deciding set 4-2.
He nearly wowed the Alexandra Palace crowd when he was just millimeters from darts perfection, missing double 12 for a nine-dart finish.
Mensur Suljovic defeated Mike de Decker 3-0, the same score by which Ryan Searle toppled Adam Gawlas, while Krzysztof Ratajski defeated Danny Jensen 3-1.
