Sunday afternoons at Ally Pally are supposed to ease you gently into the tungsten mayhem. This one didn’t bother. It kicked the doors in, chucked the cushions off the sofa, and served up a shock that left Ritchie Edhouse and Richard Veenstra staring into the middle distance wondering if they could press the imaginary restart button.
Former PDC major winner, Edhouse, barely had time to settle his heartbeat before Jonny Tata — the quietly spoken Kiwi assassin — turned the stage into his personal demolition yard. A whitewash. A wipeout. A cleansing of the palace floor so ruthless that even the cleaners took notes.
Edhouse will want to file this one under please delete permanently, but truth be told, Tata was razor-sharp, fearless, and clinical in every moment that mattered. Next up for the New Zealander? The survivor of Ryan Meikle versus Argentina’s Jesus Salate. No matter who comes through, they’ve seen the warning: Tata bites.
From there, the smouldering coals were reheated for a proper Oche War of the Roses — Yorkshire versus Lancashire — Joe Cullen against Bradley Brooks. And the Rockstar didn’t just win it. He set fire to it. Tore through it. Slammed the door shut and then asked who dared make him the underdog in the first place.
Cullen averaged just a shade under a ton, split the doubles at 50%, and played like a man deeply offended by bookmakers who’d dared to fancy Bam Bam. The Bradford lad practically moonwalked into round two, where Mensur Suljović or Canadian scrapper David Cameron will await.
After the win, Cullen entertained the crowd with an attempted Welsh accent that detonated into a live-on-stage swear — earning himself a small fine and a huge cheer. With £25k safely banked for reaching round two, he won’t be losing sleep over the expletive.
Then came Nitin Kumar — the pride of India — who delivered one of the most efficient finishing displays you’ll see all tournament. Outscored heavily by Richard Veenstra? Yes. Outplayed? Absolutely not. Kumar turned 75% of his darts at double into cold, polished tungsten poetry.
Veenstra, meanwhile, discovered the hard way that dominance in the treble bed counts for nothing if you can’t seal the deal. Kumar marches on to face either Stephen Bunting or Poland’s rising star Sebastian Bialecki. If he brings that same level of precision, do not adjust your television — the upset potential is real.
A smoother ride followed for Dom Taylor, who barely had to break his Sunday stride to dismiss Oskar Lukasiak. The Swede simply never found a rhythm, leaving Taylor to stroll through 3–0 without having to tap into anything resembling top gear.
A comfy afternoon, a job done, and now a date with either Jonny Clayton or Adam Lipscombe.Four matches played. Four stories written. A good day so far for debutants. And fear not — the Sabbath schedule still has four more waiting in the wings.
SUNDAY 14th DECEMBER
Afternoon Session
Results
Ritchie Edhouse 0-3 Jonny Tata
Dom Taylor 3-0 Oskar Lukasiak
Richard Veenstra 2-3 Nitin Kumar
Joe Cullen 3-0 Bradley Brooks
—–Ends—–
Images: PDC / Darts World
