Jeffrey de Graaf produced a brilliant display of doubling to stun his darting idol Gary Anderson on a day of upsets at the Paddy Power World Darts Championship on Sunday.
Anderson was one of five seeds to exit during a dramatic double session at London’s Alexandra Palace, with German number one Martin Schindler and Ross Smith also amongst the casualties on Day Eight.
However, Anderson’s exit dominated the headlines, as Swedish number one De Graaf celebrated the biggest win of his career to inflict the Scottish icon’s earliest exit at Alexandra Palace since 2009/10.
“This is a dream come true for me. Gary has been my idol since I was 14 years old,” reflected De Graaf, who pinned 75% of his attempts at double to cap off a clinical display.
“We all know what he is capable of. Gary is an unbelievable player, but he didn’t really turn up today.
“I knew I had to hit my doubles, and I took my chances immediately, so I’m very happy!”
De Graaf will now take on Paolo Nebrida for a place in the last 16, after the Filipino trailblazer caused a seismic shock with a straight-sets victory over Ross Smith.
The 29-year-old converted a trio of ton-plus checkouts and pinned nine of his 11 darts at double to sink the former European Champion, who squandered opportunities to win all three sets.
“This means the world to me,” admitted Nebrida – the first player from the Philippines to progress to the last 32 of the World Championship.
“I feel great. This is for my family, for my fellow countrymen and Sandro Eric Sosing. Sandro – this is for you!
“It is tough to be here and play on this stage, but this was a big day for me, and I am going to stay focused and play my own darts.”
Earlier in the night, Schindler was sent packing by a resurgent Callan Rydz, despite missing double 12 for a nine-darter in the opening set.
The diminutive German endured a night to forget on the outer ring, and Rydz duly profited to set up a third round showdown against Belgian number one Dimitri Van den Bergh.
Van den Bergh – a UK Open champion in March – averaged 96 and fired in six 180s to defeat Ireland’s Dylan Slevin 3-0, with each set going the distance.
“I grew into the game, but fair play to Dylan, I have a lot of respect him,” claimed Van den Bergh, a semi-finalist two years ago.
“I’m already looking forward to the game against Callan, and I will be back on the board tomorrow, because the World Championship isn’t over!
“It might be Christmas, but I’ve still got a job to do, and I still have dreams to make true.”
Joe Cullen was in defiant mood after setting up a third round tie with 2020/21 World Champion Gerwyn Price, courtesy of his dominant straight-sets success against Wessel Nijman.
The former Premier League runner-up averaged 98, crashed in eight 180s and pinned 41% of his attempts at double to win through a high-quality affair against the emerging Dutchman.
Ryan Searle kicked off his campaign with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Matt Campbell, averaging 99 to dispatch the Canadian in just over sixteen minutes of play.
Latvia’s Madars Razma produced a resilient display to defeat Dirk van Duijvenbode 3-1, defying a blistering start from the Dutchman to move through to a tie with Masters champion Stephen Bunting.
However, European Champion Ritchie Edhouse fell at the first hurdle, as Ian White landed back-to-back ton-plus checkouts to defeat the Enfield-born star 3-1 and set up a meeting against Luke Littler.
The final day of pre-Christmas action at the Paddy Power World Darts Championship will take place on Monday, as 2017/2018 winner Rob Cross locks horns with last year’s semi-finalist Scott Williams.
Dave Chisnall, Jonny Clayton, Gian van Veen and Daryl Gurney will also be amongst the stars in action, as the second round draws to a close in the capital.
Click here for match stats & results.
2024/25 Paddy Power World Darts Championship
Sunday December 22
Afternoon Session
4x Second Round
Ryan Searle 3-0 Matt Campbell (3-1, 3-0, 3-0) (R2)
Madars Razma 3-1 Dirk van Duijvenbode (0-3, 3-2, 3-0, 3-2) (R2)
Joe Cullen 3-0 Wessel Nijman (3-1, 3-2, 3-1) (R2)
Ian White 3-1 Ritchie Edhouse (1-3, 3-1, 3-1, 3-1) (R2)
Evening Session
4x Second Round
Callan Rydz 3-0 Martin Schindler (3-2, 3-1, 3-0) (R2)
Paolo Nebrida 3-0 Ross Smith (3-2, 3-2, 3-2) (R2)
Jeffrey de Graaf 3-0 Gary Anderson (3-1, 3-0, 3-2) (R2)
Dimitri Van den Bergh 3-0 Dylan Slevin (3-2, 3-2, 3-2) (R2)
Monday December 23
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
4x Second Round
Krzysztof Ratajski v Alexis Toylo (R2)
Andrew Gilding v Martin Lukeman R2)
Josh Rock v Rhys Griffin (R2)
Jonny Clayton v Mickey Mansell (R2)
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
4x Second Round
Gian van Veen v Ricardo Pietreczko (R2)
Daryl Gurney v Florian Hempel (R2)
Dave Chisnall v Ricky Evans (R2)
Rob Cross v Scott Williams (R2)
