The penultimate group of first round matches gripped Blackpool with four rather tense matches. First up was last year's semi-finalist, Andy Hamilton, up against World Matchplay debutant, Brendan Dolan. Despite taking the opening leg, Dolan found himself 3-1 down with Hamilton scoring a 118-checkout in leg four. Dolan did respond with a 117 finish to make it 4-3 to Hamilton.
The match could still have gone either way until leg-13 when Hamilton secured a second consecutive leg to make it 8-5. Dolan did manage to pull it back to 8-7 with a 111 finish in leg-15. But any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Hamilton took the following two legs to secure the 10-7 victory.
It was a better debut for Ian White who played superbly to dispatch Vincent Van Der Voort. Three consecutive legs including a 161-checkout on the bull in leg five gave White a 4-1 going into the first break. The Dutchman was unhappy with the lighting and complained to the referee but it didn't change Van Der Voort's fortunes. White took out 164 again on the bull to extend his lead to 7-3. The next five legs was split between the players, giving White the 10-5 victory, progressing into the Matchplay second round.
Phil Taylor's World Number One spot is under threat in Blackpool, and almost lost against an inspired Mervyn King. A 101 check-out from King gave him a 4-3 lead but throw still dictated play. Taylor would then break the throw on his way to sealing three consecutive legs, giving the Power a 7-5 lead. King broke back to make it eight apiece. But any thoughts of extra time were quashed when Taylor broke the King throw to squeeze into the next round with a 10-8 win.
The final match of the night saw Mark Webster win an intriguing battle against Colin Lloyd. Webster won the final two legs of the first session to take a 3-2 lead. He then returned to take a further two legs, including a 110-checkout in leg six to give the Welshman a 5-2 lead. It became 6-4 when Lloyd spectacularly finished 140 with two double tops. But a 116 finish from Webster in leg-14 ended any chances of a Lloyd comeback at 9-5. The final two legs were split to earn Webster a 10-6 win and safe passage into the second round.
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