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Raymond van Barneveld put on a classy display to defeat Jelle Klaasen in round three of the Speedy Services UK Open on Friday, while Arron Monk continued his charge at the Reebok Stadium with a 9-8 triumph over 2011 Players Championship winner Kevin Painter.

There were also wins for Simon Whitlock, Paul Nicholson, Mervyn King, Michael van Gerwen, Vincent van der Voort and Robert Thornton in Bolton.

Photo: Lawrence Lustig/PDC

‘Barney’ swept past Klaasen with an impressive 8-3 victory, to set up a fourth round clash against Andy Hamilton.

“He (Klaasen) let me in early on and I never looked back really,” said van Barneveld, who topped the tournament’s qualifying rankings.

“I hit my doubles and I am pleased to be through. This is a special place for me and the crowd were fantastic.”

Monk showed plenty of bottle to win a last leg decider against Painter, who missed a dart at the bull before the former under-21 World Champion stepped in to hit double top.

“I’m playing well, I’m hitting 180′s for fun,” said Monk, who exacted revenge for his defeat against Painter at the World Championships.

“Kevin has beat me every time we’ve played before so it’s a massive win for me.

Photo: Lawrence Lustig/PDC

“I’m happy to go against any of the big boys. I want to keep playing well and go far in the competition.”

Monk will face Nicholson on Saturday afternoon, after ‘The Asset’ beat Michael Mansell 9-7, hitting a 170 checkout along the way.

“The aim was always to get to the weekend,” said Nicholson “I’ve made it so I’ll see what I can do from here.”

Whitlock ran out as a 9-6 winner over Terry Temple. ‘The Wizard’ now faces a tough test against Justin Pipe in round four.

“It doesn’t matter who I play,” said the Premier League finalist. “I’m playing really well at the moment and I hope to keep that going.”

King triumphed 9-3 over Gareth Cousins, while van Gerwen beat William O’Connor by the same margin. The pair now meet in the fourth round.

van der Voort fought back from 6-5 down to end the challenge of amateur qualifier Paul Amos.

“My form’s getting better and better,” said the 2007 runner-up. “It’s not easy because there are so many good players.”

“Paul played brilliant but I dug in and I can feel that my best darts are coming back.”

Thornton came out on top in a topsy-turvy battle with Mark Webster, a match that included eleven breaks of throw.

Defending champion James Wade suffered an early exit however, losing out to Colin Lloyd despite hitting mammoth finishes 160 and 170.

PDC Unicorn World Youth Champion James Hubbard also bowed out of the tournament at the hands of Terry Jenkins.

Saturday sees the last 32 players battle it out in the afternoon session before the final 16 play for quarter-final places in the evening.

All of Saturday’s matches are best of 17 legs.

By Chris Murphy

See four of the world’s top professional darts players go head to head in the Charlton Masters on Thursday 19 July.

Photo: Lawrence Lustig/PDC

James Wade, Mark Webster and Paul Nicholson all won last leg deciders to book their places in round three of the Speedy Services UK Open, while Arron Monk and Mervyn King produced impressive displays at Bolton’s Reebok Stadium on Thursday.

Wade had to fight off a strong challenge from the impressive Stephen Bunting. ‘The Machine’ won the last two legs to keep his title defence on course.

Webster needed to win the final three legs to overcome the challenge of Johnny Haines.

The Welshman trailed 3-1 after missing doubles earlier in the match but found his form in time to ensure he would be staying in Bolton for at least another day.

Nicholson beat Harry Miles 4-2 in round one, and then edged out Tony Cooper in the second round.

King produced one of the performances of the night with a 4-1 triumph over Ted Hankey, who had built up some momentum with two wins before closing the action on the main stage.

Former under-21 World Champion Arron Monk did brilliantly to win three matches, including an impressive 4-1 second round success over Adam Hunt.

Monk’s reward is a third round tie against Premier League star Kevin Painter.

Wade will face Colin Lloyd in round three on Friday evening, when Webster takes on Robert Thornton.

Nicholson takes on Michael Mansell, while King faces Gareth Cousins.

Adam Smith-Neale won two matches on Thursday before eventually losing out to Dan Stuart.

Andy Jenkins lost out to Hankey after beating Gus Santana in the preliminary round, while John Henderson won his first round tie but was denied a place in round three by Colin Osborne.

Premier League finalist Simon Whitlock, five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld and PDC Unicorn World Youth Champion James Hubbard enter the tournament on Friday.

‘The Wizard’ has drawn Terry Temple in round three, while ‘Barney’ and Hubbard face Jelle Klaasen and Terry Jenkins respectively.

Vincent van der Voort, also enters on Friday. He plays Paul Amos, while his compatriot Michael van Gerwen faces William O’Connor.

By Chris Murphy

See four of the world’s top professional darts players go head to head in the Charlton Masters on Thursday 19 July.

The Speedy Services UK Open gets underway on Thursday evening, with James Wade preparing to begin his defence of the £40,000 title.

Photo: Lawrence Lustig/PDC

‘The Machine’, who is bidding for his third UK Open triumph and eighth major title, will start his campaign in round two, where he will face one of four potential qualifiers, after the preliminary and first rounds have taken place.

“I know people say they only take one game at a time but that’s literally all you can do because you’ve no idea who you’ll play in the next round if you get through,” said the world number three.

“I’m fortunate enough to have won twice in Bolton and it would be fantastic to do it again, but I know I’ll have a tough weekend ahead of me.”

Paul Nicholson, who was one of the stars of the tournament last year, will need to win two matches on Thursday to be part of the third round draw at the end of the evening.

‘The Asset’, who beat Phil Taylor and Gary Anderson during a blistering run to last year’s quarter-finals, starts in round one against one of two amateur qualifiers.

“I’m going to try and keep a slightly lower profile and then, if the fight warrants it, I’ll try and lift the profile by making some fireworks go off,” said Nicholson, who is known by many for his ‘bad boy’ image.

“That will only happen if it suits me though, I’m not going to do it for SKY or the crowd this year. I’m going to do it for myself and try and gain some confidence by playing good darts instead of doing it in other ways.”

Last year’s semi-finalist Mark Webster is also in action on the opening night. He enter’s in the second round, where he faces Johnny Haines.

Mervyn King enters the tournament at the same stage as ‘Spider’, where he could face a high-profile clash with Ted Hankey.

“There’s no guarantee that Ted will make it,” said King. “Whether it is him or one of the other players, I’ll give it my best shot. I know I have the game to beat anybody on my day. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”

One of King’s potential opponents is Andy Jenkins, who would meet Hankey in round one if both players make it through their preliminary games.

“I’ve known Ted for over 20 years,” said Jenkins, who made the cut for the tournament after competing in just two qualifying events.

“We are good friends and I probably taught him most of the tricks he knows.”

Photo: Lawrence Lustig/PDC

“It would be great to play him on TV in his first major tournament since coming over from the BDO, but I’m not looking that far in front. We both have games to win before that can happen.”

Also in first night action are young guns Arron Monk and Adam Smith-Neale, as are Co Stompe and John Henderson, who faces amateur qualifier Lee Bryant in the preliminary round.

“It doesn’t really matter who I play, getting to the Friday would be an achievement for me,” added Henderson.

“I know I’m capable of beating anyone on my day, so hopefully I can win three tough games on Thursday and take it from there.

“I won’t be taking anything or anyone for granted because a lot of the qualifiers will be very good players. I’ll just go out there and do my best and hopefully it’s good enough.”

On completion of the prelims and first two rounds, the top 32 qualifiers join the second round winners in the open draw for round three.

Amongst the players entering in the third round are Raymond van Barneveld, Simon Whitlock, Michael van Gerwen, Vincent van der Voort, Robert Thornton and World Youth Champion James Hubbard.

By Chris Murphy

See four of the world’s top professional darts players go head to head in the Charlton Masters on Thursday 19 July.