PDC world darts: Peter Wright beaten by Jim Williams, Luke Littler lights up oche
Peter Wright has crashed out of the PDC world darts championship in the second round after a 3-0 defeat to Jim Williams at Alexandra Palace.
The two-times former champion arrived on stage dressed as the Grinch complete with lime-green hair, but guaranteed himself a miserable Christmas after posting a dismal three-dart average of less than 84 to join James Wade in making a shock early exit.
Williams was also far from his best in a poor-quality clash, but won the deciding leg of the first set with a 124 checkout. The Welshman then punished Wright’s missed doubles to take a two-set lead and pulled away in the third set. “I was fighting myself all the way and it’s a little bit frustrating, but hopefully we’ll get there,” Williams said afterwards.
Earlier, a star was born on the Ally Pally stage as 16-year-old Luke Littler marked his worlds debut with a blistering 3-0 first-round win over Dutchman Christian Kist. Littler showed no nerves as he hit seven 180s and finished with an extraordinary average of 106.12 to mark himself out as a potential contender for the crown.
“I can’t believe how quickly I settled in. I was a bit nervous going to the stage but as soon as I found my rhythm I was in,” said Littler, who lived up to his reputation as one of the sport’s rising stars. The youngster, who faced “school in the morning” chants during his win, will face Andrew Gilding in the second round.
Earlier, Ross Smith eased to a 3-1 victory over Niels Zonneveld – before being stung by a bothersome wasp during his post-match interview. “There’s the wasp,” Smith told Sky Sports on stage, before recoiling in pain. “He’s just stung me like a good one. Little bugger.”
Smith, the No 16 seed, landed seven 180s and the second 170 checkout of the tournament in his victory. The 34year-old is not the first player to experience issues with wasps at the tournament. Flying oche invaders are a regular problem and have spawned “Ally Pally Wasp” social media accounts in tribute.
Smith, the 2022 European Championship winner, will next face either Chris Dobey or William O’Connor, who eased past India’s Bhav Patel 3-0. The Irishman hit 64% of his doubles and averaged 98.74 in cruising to victory without losing a leg.
It was a much tougher afternoon for O’Connor’s compatriot, Steve Lennon, who fought back from two sets down to beat the Devonian debutant Owen Bates. Lennon reeled off nine of the last 11 legs against Bates to win 3-2 and will play the No 9 seed, Jonny Clayton, next.
In Wednesday’s other games, Richard Veenstra eased past Ben Robb 3-0 while Ryan Joyce beat Alex Spellman 3-1 in a high-quality encounter. Joyce faces Stephen Bunting next, while Cork-based Polish player Radek Szaganski will play Raymond van Barneveld after a 3-2 win over Finland’s Marko Kantele.