Joe Cullen booked his place in round three of the PDC World Championship at Alexandra Palace with a convincing 3-1 win against Ricky Evans, defying a late rally from the quick-fire Kettering ace to move through to a meeting against World Cup winner Damon Heta.
Cullen drew first blood with clinical 109 and 62 combination finishes in consecutive legs, before doubling his lead with a crucial 105 checkout in a second-set decider.
Evans raised his game in set three to reduce the deficit, and he threatened to restore parity at two apiece after crashing in four 180s in as many legs, only for Cullen to seal the deal in style.
The Masters winner landed back-to-back maximums in a bid to round off the pre-Christmas action with a spectacular nine-darter, but after falling short with the eighth dart, he had to settle for an 11-dart clincher.
“I think I played relatively well, but it was just about getting the win,” said Cullen, the Premier League runner-up in June.
“I’m all about winning and I’m here to win it. Damon will be a tough, tough game. He’s playing really well at the minute, but I’ll definitely be ready for it.”
UK Open champion Noppert produced a stunning late surge to record a 3-1 victory over David Cameron, who fell short in his bid to complete another famous comeback in the capital.
Noppert breezed to the opening set with a ton-plus average and continued the procession to double his lead, but Cameron – who recovered from 2-0 down to stun Ritchie Edhouse in round one – launched another valiant fightback.
The Canadian veteran followed up a 13-darter with a clinical 100 kill to halve the deficit, but Noppert avoided any further drama, averaging 109 in set four to seal his progression in style.
“I’m really happy with the win today,” said Noppert, who will play Scotland’s Alan Soutar for a place in the last 16.
“I am not one of the favourites and there are a lot of top players here, but I’ve had a good year and I’m really happy with my performances.
“When you win the UK Open, why can’t I win here? Everything is possible. I believe in myself and I know what I can do.”
The Cazoo World Darts Championship resumes on Tuesday December 27 as the third round gets underway, with reigning champion Peter Wright continuing his title defence against Kim Huybrechts.
Elsewhere, world number one Gerwyn Price faces five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld in a titanic tussle, with two-time semi-finalist Nathan Aspinall up against World Youth Champion Josh Rock in a tasty afternoon session.
The Cazoo World Darts Championship is being broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK & Ireland, through the PDC’s worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).
2022/23 Cazoo World Darts Championship
Friday December 23
Afternoon Session
4x Second Round
Brendan Dolan 3-1 Jimmy Hendriks (3-1, 3-0, 2-3, 3-0)
Chris Dobey 3-0 Martijn Kleermaker (3-2, 3-1, 3-2)
Ross Smith 3-1 Darius Labanauskas (3-2, 3-0, 2-3, 3-2)
Rob Cross 3-1 Scott Williams (2-3, 3-2, 3-2, 3-2)
Evening Session
4x Second Round
Martin Schindler 3-1 Martin Lukeman (3-2, 2-3, 3-1, 3-1)
Danny Noppert 3-1 David Cameron (3-1, 3-1, 2-3, 3-1)
Jonny Clayton 3-0 Danny van Trijp (3-1, 3-1, 3-1)
Joe Cullen 3-1 Ricky Evans (3-1, 3-2, 2-3, 3-1)
Tuesday December 27
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
3x Third Round
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Krzysztof Ratajski
Nathan Aspinall v Josh Rock
Jonny Clayton v Brendan Dolan
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
3x Third Round
Jim Williams v Gabriel Clemens
Gerwyn Price v Raymond van Barneveld
Peter Wright v Kim Huybrechts
——ENDS—–
Images: Kieran Kleeves / PDC
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