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Dave Chisnall was dumped out of the PDC world championship by Ricardo Pietreczko despite hitting 11 180s in an Alexandra Palace thriller. Chisnall, the No 21 seed, paid the price for double trouble and missed a match dart in the final set when it seemed the Englishman would complete a remarkable recovery.
Pietreckzko capitalised on Chisnall’s poor finishing to win the first two sets, but the 2021 semi-finalist stormed back to level with some extraordinary scoring. Chisnall took a 2-1 lead in the final set with a 113 finish but then missed double 16 for a match-sealing 143 checkout.
Pietreckzko did not hit a single 180, but the consistent German had kept plugging away – averaging 88.58 to Chisnall’s 88.15 – and rattled off three straight legs to get across the line.
Motomu Sakai bowed out of the tournament with his conqueror, Andreas Harrysson, admitting he had been worried by the Japanese’s exuberant walk-on. Sakai has become a cult hero this week with fans warming to his energetic dance moves and signing autographs en route to the stage.
The 28-year-old qualifier won his opening match against Thibault Tricole 3-0, but went down by the same scoreline to Sweden’s Harrysson. “I was a bit worried seeing his walk-on,” said, Harrysson said who beat the 12th seed, Ross Smith, in the first round. “I think I managed it quite OK. He wasn’t as he was in the first game on the stage.”
Ryan Searle averaged more than 98 in an impressive straight-sets win over Brendan Dolan. “Before the match started I was just thinking finish well and put him under pressure,” said Searle, who has fallen at the third-round stage in the past three years. “He missed a few doubles here and there and I was pretty ruthless. I’m going home now and looking forward to Christmas.”
James Hurrell claimed one of the biggest wins of his career by upsetting the No 29 seed, Dirk van Duijvenbode, 3-2. Hurrell missed two match darts for a final-set whitewash, but he held his nerve to win the next leg and could now meet the fourth-seed Stephen Bunting.
This story will update with the evening session
