Two-Time Champion Anderson Exits PDC World Championship

Two-time PDC World Champion Gary Anderson was eliminated from the tournament by Jeffrey de Graaf on his 54th birthday. The Scottish player, who claimed titles in 2015 and 2016, experienced a 3-0 loss to the Swede in a surprising second-round encounter at Alexandra Palace in London. Anderson became the fifth seeded player to be defeated on Sunday. De Graaf, 34, commented on his victory, stating, “Gary didn’t really show up as he usually does. I’m very happy with the win.” He achieved a 75% checkout success rate and commenced the match with an 11-dart finish. He further added, “It’s a dream come true for me. He’s been my idol since I was 14 years old.” Anderson, holding a 14th ranking, became the 11th seeded player to be eliminated among the 24 who have competed thus far, and the fifth to exit the competition on Sunday. Despite entering the competition with the year’s leading overall three-dart average of 99.66, he converted only three of his 20 checkout opportunities, resulting in his first-ever loss in an opening match of the tournament. De Graaf is scheduled to face Filipino qualifier Paolo Nebrida, who previously surprised England’s Ross Smith, the 19th seed, by defeating him in straight sets. Ritchie Edhouse, Dirk van Duijvenbode, and Martin Schindler were the additional seeded players who suffered defeats on day eight. England’s Callan Rydz, who achieved a record first-round average of 107.06 on Thursday, subsequently secured a 3-0 victory against 23rd seed Schindler on Sunday. The German player failed to hit double 12 for a nine-darter in the initial set – becoming the third player in 24 hours to miss this feat, following Luke Littler and Damon Heta – ultimately losing that leg. Rydz’s next opponent will be Belgian Dimitri van den Bergh, who recorded six 180s and maintained an average of 96 during his 3-0 triumph over Irishman Dylan Slevin. Following his 3-0 victory against Dutchman Wessel Nijman, England’s Joe Cullen abruptly departed his post-match news conference, alleging that the media had not shown him respect. Nijman, who had previously completed a ban for violating betting and anti-corruption regulations, was initially considered the favorite to defeat 23rd seed Cullen. Cullen stated, “Honestly, the media attention that Wessel’s got, again this is not a reflection on him. He seems like a fantastic kid, he’s been caught up in a few things beforehand, but he’s served his time and he’s held his hands up, like a lot haven’t. I think the way I’ve been treated probably with the media and things like that – I know you guys have no control over the bookies – I’ve been shown no respect, so I won’t be showing any respect to any of you guys tonight. I’m going to go home. Cheers.” Ian ‘Diamond’ White defeated European champion and 29th seed Edhouse with a score of 3-1, and is set to compete against teenage star Littler in the subsequent round. White, who shares a birthplace in Cheshire with the 17-year-old, recognized the necessity of elevating his performance in round three. When questioned about his upcoming opponent, White humorously remarked, “Yeah, Runcorn’s number two. I’m from Runcorn and I’m number one.” Ryan Searle commenced Sunday afternoon’s matches with a 10-dart leg, proceeding to defeat Matt Campbell 3-0, concurrently, Latvian Madars Razma overcame 25th seed Van Duijvenbode 3-1. Seventh seed Jonny Clayton and 2018 champion Rob Cross are scheduled to compete on Monday as the second round reaches its conclusion. The third round is set to commence on Friday, following a three-day hiatus for Christmas. Eliminated seeded players include: Michael Smith (2), Danny Noppert (13), Gary Anderson (14), James Wade (16), Ross Smith (19), Martin Schindler (23), Mike De Decker (24), Dirk van Duijvenbode (25), Gabriel Clemens (27), Ritchie Edhouse (29), and Raymond van Barneveld (32). The results are as follows: Ryan Searle 3-0 Matt Campbell, Dirk van Duijvenbode 1-3 Madars Razma, Joe Cullen 3-0 Wessel Nijman, Ritchie Edhouse 1-3 Ian White, Martin Schindler 0-3 Callan Rydz, Ross Smith 0-3 Paolo Nebrida, Gary Anderson 0-3 Jeffrey de Graaf, Dimitri van den Bergh 3-0 Dylan Slevin. The schedule for upcoming matches (all times GMT) is: Afternoon Session (12:30): Krzysztof Ratajski v Alexis Toylo, Andrew Gilding v Martin Lukeman, Josh Rock v Rhys Griffin, Jonny Clayton v Mickey Mansell. Evening Session (19:00): Gian van Veen v Ricardo Pietreczko, Daryl Gurney v Florian Hempel, Dave Chisnall v Ricky Evans, Rob Cross v Scott Williams.