2012 World Matchplay Days: Day Four

The final group of first round games witnessed three débutantes grace the oche alongside three local lads and a game that went into extra time. The first of these débutantes was Joe Cullen who had a tough battle against the unrelenting Justin Pipe.

Pipe slowly took a 4-0 lead with a 112 checkout in leg four. That then became 6-1 before Cullen posted the highest, 170, checkout to temporarily stop the rot. Cullen then secured a 108 finish, making the score 8-3. The 23-year old would secure another leg before Pipe won the match 10-4, easing into the second round.

 The second débutante was 2012 Youth World Champion, James Hubbard. He had just a tough time against local lad, Fleetwood born, Wes Newton. Newton kicked the game off with a 105-checkout. Hubbard stayed in touch to make it 3-3 before Newton broke the throw to gain a two leg lead. The score then became 6-5 before Newton kicked up a gear to take four legs in a row to win the match 10-5 and set a second round date with Pipe.

The shock of the night saw Gary Anderson go 6-2 ahead to eventually lose in extra time to the third débutante, Dean Winstanley. A checkout of five doesn't sound great but doing it with two double ones makes it a bit more special, this was done by Anderson in leg three on his way to taking a 5-0 lead.

Winstanley finally got a leg on the board with a fantastic 127-checkout on the bull. With Anderson then cruising with a 6-2 victory, it was surprising to see his throw all of a sudden go to pot and Winstanley would reel six legs off to take an 8-6 lead.

Anderson then responded with a Shanghai finish following two legs of his own to retake the lead at 9-8. An 82-checkout on the bull from Winstanley forced extra time. It would be the debutante who crucially broke the throw on leg-25 before securing a 13-11 victory.

It was St.Helens against Blackpool in the final first round match as Dave Chisnall faced Ronnie Baxter. Baxter took a 3-0 lead with a 133 finish in leg three before a 170 from Chisnall in the fourth once again brought the house down. Chisnall followed that with a 136-checkout in leg nine to make it 5-4 in Baxter's favour. Baxter then broke the throw with a 108 finish to make it 8-5 before sharing the next four legs to ultimately win the match 10-7.