Robert Thornton and Paul Nicholson produced the most dramatic match of the 2013 Ladbrokes World Championship so far, with ‘The Thorn’ winning a sudden death decider on Friday evening.

The pair put on a sensational spectacle for in front of the fans at London’s Alexandra Palace, sharing twenty 180s in an incredible second round encounter.

Nicholson looked to have been closing in on victory after ‘The Thorn’ had missed six darts to win the match, when ‘The Asset’ broke the throw to take a 4-3 lead in the final set.

But, with the Australian waiting on 56 for the match, Thornton hammered home a stunning 130 checkout and went on to progress to the last 16 after triumphing in the sudden death shoot-out.

Robert Thornton 4-3 Paul Nicholson – match report

By Chris Murphy

Dutch duo Michael van Gerwen and Vincent van der Voort both claimed straight sets victories in round one of the Ladbrokes World Championship at London’s Alexandra Palace on Thursday.

van der Voort produced a solid performance to see off Stuart Kellet, while van Gerwen eased past Paul Lim, who produced a moment of magic with a 170 checkout.

Vincent van der Voort 3-0 Stuart Kellet – Match report

Michael van Gerwen 3-0 Paul Lim – Match report

Those triumphs saw the first round reach it’s conclusion, with James Wade, Simon Whitlock, Robert Thornton, Paul Nicholson, Mark Webster and Raymond van Barneveld all still in the hunt to be the first winner of the new Sid Waddell trophy.

Friday sees the second round commence, with Thornton and Nicholson doing battle for a place in the last 16.

By Chris Murphy

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