Australian Ace Simon Whitlock cruised into the last-16 of the BetVictor World Matchplay last night with a 10-2 win over Richard North.
The Wizard of Oz was in control throughout the match hitting 4 maximums and a high checkout of 126, as North never really got into his stride. The victory set-up a showdown with in-form James Wade in the next round, who had to endure an extremely tough challenge against Jermaine Wattimena.
The Machine found himself in a 8-5 lead before the Dutchman made a resurgence to level at 9-9. Wattimena then forced the match into tie-break situation at 10-10 before Wade rallied to break Wattimena’s throw in the 22nd leg a secure a 12-10 win.
Peter Snakebite Wright also progressed into the second round with a comfortable 10-5 win over former Premier League rival Jelle Klaasen. Wright started much the brighter, going into the break at 4-1 up and expanding his lead to 6-1. Snakebite was sporting another change of darts in the form of a bomber shaped barrel and they aided Wright hitting a 170 finish in the 13th leg.
Arguably the most enthralling match of the night was the opening clash between John Henderson and Kim Huybrechts. Huybrechts eventually closed out a 13-12 victory over Henderson, his first win in 7 attempts in Blackpool. The Belgian raced to a 5-1 lead in the early stages but Henderson fought back to bring the match into a tie-breaker, including missing a match-dart at tops. Huybrechts took his opportunity and won the final leg to book a place against Peter Wright.
2018 BetVictor World Matchplay
Monday July 23
Kim Huybrechts 13-12 John Henderson
Simon Whitlock 10-2 Richard North
James Wade 12-10 Jermaine Wattimena
Peter Wright 10-5 Jelle Klaasen
