Michael van Gerwen beat Luke Littler 10-6 in a marquee first-round clash at the World Matchplay on Monday.
In the 10th meeting between the two sides, after a string of disappointing performances this year, Van Gerwen proved his critics wrong, denying Littler a first win on debut at the Winter Gardens.
Van Gerwen was visibly emotional after the match and will now face Joe Cullen in the second round.
“It’s always fun playing at this level,” Van Gerwen said. “I know I’m up against players with great talent but I have to rise to the challenge, I can’t let myself get down and I have to work hard and it’s good that it’s paid off.”
“I had a few days off. I practiced hard every day. This means a lot to me.”
“As we all know, I’ve been through some tough times, so it’s always nice to actually do something good and have your hard work pay off.”
It was a bizarre match for much of the match, with Little leading 2-1 after the first break and Van Gerwen looking to struggle early on.
But the Dutchman quickly broke back and won the next three legs to take a 5-2 lead.
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Michael van Gerwen produced a brilliant 146 checkout to beat Luke Littler 10-6 in the first round of the World Matchplay.
Both players piled on the points, averaging around 110 points midway through the match, before sharing another break at 6-4.
Van Gerwen held on for a 146 checkout to lead 8-5 but the mercurial Little could not break back this time and was broken again in the deciding leg.
Smith overcomes slow start to edge out Anderson
In Monday’s other big match, Michael Smith overcame a 3-0 deficit to win 10-5 against Gary Anderson in a battle of former world champions.
Astonishingly, Smith won seven legs in a row to lead 7-3, while Anderson seemed unhappy with some fans mocking Scotland, at one point signalling “2-1” in a reference to the scoreline that saw England lose to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.
Smith, whose best result was runner-up in the 2019 Match Play, was in fine form dropping just two legs.
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The best action from the final match of the first round of the World Matchplay Darts at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens
“I was down 3-0 and I wasn’t playing well. I could have shot two for 85 but then I hit five in a row and it was frustrating,” he said.
“He let me go and I won the next five or six legs and just kept going. I was trying too hard. [early on]I have a lot of respect for Gary, so I thought, “I’ve got to do it, I’ve got to do it.”
“He controlled me and the crowd went wild. I could tell he was keeping quiet because he didn’t think it was right. I wanted me and Gary to give our best performance.”
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Gary Anderson won Game 3 in style with a double-double finish to take a 3-0 lead over Michael Smith.
Smith will face Chris Dobey in the last 16. Nicknamed “Hollywood”, Dobey defeated Richie Edhouse 10-7 in a tough final match of the night.
Earlier, Ryan Searle produced a brilliant performance to defeat Australian number one Damon Heta 10-4.
What’s happening at the World Matchplay on Tuesday?
The second round of the World Matchplay gets underway on Tuesday with Gerwyn Price and Ross Smith facing off in the last 16 at 7pm. Watch the main events and action live on Sky Sports.
Defending champion Nathan Aspinall will take on James Wade while world champion Luke Humphreys will take on Stephen Bunting in a fascinating clash.
The final match of the night sees Jonny Clayton take on Dimitri van den Bergh, who is riding high on his nine-dart win at the weekend.
The World Matchplay continues on Tuesday at 7pm with the second round being shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and the action. Get instant access to World Matchplay for just £26 now.
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