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MVG, RVB and Taylor progress
- Updated: December 28, 2016
World No 1 Michael van Gerwen, five-time winner Raymond van Barneveld and 16-time champion Phil Taylor all made it through to the third round of the World Darts Championship after a blockbuster evening of action at Alexandra Palace.
Cristo Reyes set a new record for the highest average ever from a losing player at the World Championship with 106.07 as world No 1 Van Gerwen won a high-quality encounter 4-2.
The odds-on favourite for the title came out meaning business and left Reyes’ head in a spin with a first set of blistering arrows. But Spain’s rising star wasn’t overawed and struck back to level with a mind-boggling second-set average of 115.62.
‘The Green Machine’ knew he was in a sticky situation, but Van Gerwen stepped on the gas to power through the next couple sets thanks to some heavy scoring and stunning finishing before ‘The Spartan’ struck back in the next.
He had a dart to send the match to a deciding set, but the top seed and 2014 champion won through with an 105.24 three-dart average, 11 maximums and finishes of 161 and 164 to set up a meeting with Darren Webster in the last 16.
“He played phenomenal, I’ve never seen him play that well,” Van Gerwen said of his opponent, Reyes. “He gave me more of a game than Phil Taylor and Gary Anderson.
“This is going to give me a good feeling for the rest of the tournament …
