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Chizzy through as seeds crash
- Updated: December 27, 2016
Dave Chisnall booked his place in the last 16 of the World Championship with victory over Chris Dobey but Robert Thornton and Mensur Suljovic crashed out.
After a three-day break for the festive period, the tungsten returned on Tuesday afternoon ahead of a mammoth evening session which includes Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld – but the afternoon saw an early warning to the tournament’s biggest names as two of the top 10 seeds were dumped out.
Prior to the event’s resumption, 16th seed Stephen Bunting was the highest profile casualty but he was joined by ninth seed Thornton and eighth Suljovic in making an early exit from this year’s event.
Chisnall put things right in the final match of the evening, the seventh seed eventually seeing off the talented 26-year-old Dobey to set up a date with either Jelle Klaasen or Brendan Dolan in the third round.
Dobey, a quarter-finalist at the Grand Slam of Darts in November, pushed Chisnall all the way in a high-class affair before the latter finally won out, claiming his place in the last 16 thanks to a 4-2 victory.
Having seen Chisnall claim the opening set in ruthless fashion, Dobey was anything but intimidated, pushing his average above 100 he reeled off three straight legs to level the match.
The quality continued into the third set until, with the match level at two legs apiece, Dobey pulled his dart at double 16 to allow Chizzy to sneak in and snaffle the set courtesy of a tidy two-dart 70 finish.
Again Dobey was undaunted, a 112 finish levelled the fourth set and he went on to claim the set with cool, calculated finishing on double top.
However with Dobey, in his first ever World Championship, beginning to tire, Chisnall took out 110 to open up the fifth set in style and kept his nose in front before pinning double top at the sixth time of asking to claim the fifth set.
And Chisnall’s class prevailed as he ran away with the sixth set, a fantastic 12-dart leg sealing the win and setting up a Thursday afternoon date with Dolan or Klaasen who meet on Wednesday.
In the …
