Gerwyn Price was dismissed as he cruised past Keane Barry 3-0 in the second round of the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace.
Barry was presented as a potential banana skin for the 2021 world champion but Price averaged 91.32 and produced nine 140s and 180s in the tournament, doing just what was needed to come back after Christmas.
The Welshman will now face Joe Cullen, Wessel Nijman or Cameron Carolissen in the third round.
Despite boos from the crowd, Price got off to an electric start and looked confident, belting out a 112 for the opening set and tearing up as the roofs went off. finish
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After struggling with his doubles, Barry finished 144 when he moved level against Price in the third set of their encounter
He then backed it up with a 106 finish in the second set and, despite a leg on the board for Barry, managed to move forward and move 2-0 up on D10.
With doubles costing 'Dynamite' – the Irishman lost 22 in total – he suddenly took out a decisive 144 places but Price stood firm and eventually completed a crucial victory on tops, admitted after the game that the hunger for victory was strong.
“I probably wanted to win that game more than any other game in my life,” Price said Sky Sports.
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Price was relieved to beat Barry 3-0 to book his place in the third round of the World Darts Championship
“I wanted to enjoy Christmas, I just wanted to win and get home. It doesn't matter how well or how badly I played. I won 3-0 and another tournament starts after Christmas.
“The way I've played, or the results I've had, they've all been at the wrong end of the stick and losing some close games, missing doubles.
“Keane missed a lot of doubles. I was nowhere near what I had been in the past few weeks.
“Like I said, he was just getting the hang of it, enjoying Christmas without being old grumpy like so-and-so. I will be much better next time.
“I'm just happy to get a win. I felt like I played well in parts of the match. I was trying a little too hard but that's a necessary part of the first round. I done that now I can enjoy Christmas I will be cooking Christmas dinner again and I will enjoy making it!
“A different animal will come back. For me, this was a preparation round to get into the World Championship. I split it in two. I'll come back after Boxing Day, I'd like to go. “
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Leonard Gates danced his way on stage for his first meeting with Cameron Menzies
Leonard Gates they produced a thrilling display in a comprehensive 3-1 win over Cameron Menzies, setting up a second-round clash with Nathan Aspinall.
The Ally Pally crowd was solidly behind the brutal Americans and their chants of “USA! USA!” he only got higher as he produced 138, 120, then 85 on the bull to wrap up the opening set.
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Gates produced 138 and 120 in the first two legs as he made a fast start against Menzies
However, Menzies clawed his way back into the game and got a couple of first legs on the board to take the second set to a decider, staying stock early under pressure to level the match 1-1.
As the highers continued to flow but doubles remained a problem for Menzies, the American took full advantage to go 2-1 up with three legs in quick succession and then broke Menzies' throw in the fourth set to go one leg away from the match. second round
With match darts in hand and the writing on the wall for the Scot, who became emotional on stage, Gates went down but then produced a classy 122 to end the match.
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Menzies was visibly emotional after falling to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Gates
“That was a good game. Cameron played very well. I played as well as I could against Cameron,” Gates said. Sky Sports.
“The rays here are great! We need to harness that energy and keep it going for the future.”
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Connor Scutt hit back-to-back ton-plus finishes as he continued to dominate Ben Robb in their World Darts Championship debut
Tour Challenge Champion Connor Scutt put on a blistering display in a 3-0 whitewash against Ben Robb.
Scutt was on fire from the start as he averaged close to 100 and hit trebles for fun, the New Zealand No. 1 was unable to get hold of the game.
There was no stopping Scutt in the second set either despite Robb getting a leg up on the table, 117 and 112 finishes giving the 'Sniper' a 2-0 advantage.
The third set continued in the same way as the others and as Scutt put the match on top, with four 180s and six 140s to boot, he sent a message to Damon Heta who is facing him in the second round.
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Robert Owen's crucial 121 payout saw him reach the second round of Ally Pally for the first time
Robert Owen picked up his first win in Ally football in a stunning 3-1 victory over Niels Zonneveld.
Zonneveld took the last three legs to race into a commanding lead but the Welshman put back a fight, a 101 check and a throw break to settle the match.
The two kept breaking each other's throws, Zonneveld finding big finishes including a sensational 155 and 125 on the bull, but Owen was in the field to go 2-1 up.
With just one leg then needed to win the match, Owen finished in the most impressive of fashions with a 121 finish on D14 for his soldier, setting up a match with semi-finalist Gabriel Clemens in the second round.
What next?
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Stephen Bunting joins Jamie Carragher on Monday Night Darts as they review Carragher's previous darts match against rival Gary Neville
We have another great day for you on Tuesday 17th December and you can watch it all live on Sky Sports Darts.
From 12.30pm, we have James Hurrell vs. Jim Long, Kevin Doets vs. Noa-Lynn van Leuven, Ryan Joyce vs. Darius Labanauskas, and World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker vs. Luke Woodhouse.
Then from 7pm, we will have Jeffrey de Graaf against Rashad Sweeting, Ricardo Pietreczko against Xiaochen Zong, Ryan Meikle playing Fallon Sherrock with a chance to face Luke Littler on the line, and Peter Wright against Wesley Plaisier.
Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch all the matches live exclusively from 15 December to 3 January on Sky Sports' exclusive darts channel. Stream darts and more sports favorites with NOW.
