No Fifth Day Dramas

The fifth night of the World Championships kicked off with Andy Hamilton having to twice come from behind too see off the resilient Spaniard, Antonio Alcinas. The first set went all the way to the deciding leg, which Alcinas won. Hamilton fought back with a 3-1 second set victory. The third and fourth sets went the same way as the first and second sets, Alcinas winning the third set 3-2 before Hamilton won the fourth set 3-1. With Hamilton used to longer televised games, Alcinas couldn't win a leg in the final set giving Hamilton the 3-2 match victory.

The preliminary match of the night saw Finland's Petri Korte take on Denmark's Per Laursen. Laursen took an early 2-0 lead before the debutant fought back and the match went to a deciding seventh leg. Korte went onto win the match to face a debut first round match against the World Number Three, James Wade.

Mervyn King began his World Championships campaign in fine fashion against Australia's Geoff Kime. Not only did King win 3-0, but he didn't even concede a leg on his way to making it through to the second round.

Last week's Player's Championship winner, Kevin Painter, took on the U-21 Champion Aaron Monk. Painter took the first set 3-1 and then doubled his lead with the deciding leg in the second set. The third set went with throw, Monk securing the vital fifth leg to post a set on the board. The fourth set also went to a decider but Painter held his nerve and his throw to win the set 3-2 and the match 3-1.

The final match of the night saw The Machine, James Wade, face the Finnish qualifier Petri Korte. Last year, Wade slipped up against unorthodox thrower Mensur Suljovic but he seemed to cope with Korte's ritualistic throwing style, taking the first set without conceding. Korte did take the first leg of the second set to avoid the whitewash but Wade took it 3-1. As Wade started to cruise, his game started to decrease and Korte remained consistent. Korte's finishing was outstanding and it helped him to win the third set 3-1. It should have gone to a deciding set as Wade failed to improve in the fourth set. It went to a deciding leg and Korte missed two darts a double eighteen, the first time he went for the double, and Wade took full advantage to win the leg, the set and the match to face Jelle Klaasen in the second round.