Day two at Blackpool and we were treated to another session of darting drama. The opening game of the night was a tale of missed doubles as Mark Walsh waited until the 17th leg to take the lead and overcome Colin Osborne.
The game began with Osborne taking two double tops before Walsh responded to level at 2-2. Osborne did miss three darts to lead 3-1 but would soon lead 4-2 with Walsh missing five darts at the double. A 96-checkout helped Ozzy on his way to extending his lead to 6-3. Walsh did get to within a leg before the scoreline read 7-5. A 126-checkout from Walsh did level the match before an easier 40 finish made it 8-8. With extra time looking imminent, Walsh pulled out a further two legs to initially take the lead for the first time and then win the game.
The Players Champion, Kevin Painter, lost out to Steve Beaton in the second game of the night. After initially taking a 3-1 lead, Painter soon lost his form and found himself 6-3 down, the highlight being a 78-checkout on the bull in leg six. Painter did leave his mark on the tournament with a 160-checkout in leg 12 to make it 7-5. Beaton would then take three of the next four legs to progress into the second round.
There was no such drama for James Wade, although Richie Burnett did threaten a mini comeback. Wade was business like on the oche to begin with, taking a 3-0 lead before strolling into an 8-1 advantage. Burnett had been beating himself up throughout the match as he never looked quite with it. But the Welshman came back after the second break to win four of the next five legs, making the score 9-5. But Burnett's resistance was soon broken as an 83-checkout was enough to seal Wade's place in the next round.
The final game of the night saw perhaps the surprise of the night as Michael Van Gerwen dumped Simon Whitlock out of the competition. Van Gerwen showed no nerves and instantly took a 3-0 lead. The Dutchman missed darts in the following two legs to take a 5-0 lead going into the first break, instead he went off stage with a 3-2 advantage.
Whitlock returned from the break and turned the game on its head, taking a 5-3 lead including a 116-checkout in leg nine. That was then 6-5 before Van Gerwen battled back, taking the lead via a 110 finish. The 21-year old followed that with a further three darts to take the game 10-6, scoring a 104-checkout on the way.
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