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Simon Whitlock refused to let his broken ankle derail his chances of winning the Ladbrokes World Championship with the performance of the tournament so far.
The Wizard may have limped onto the stage but hit the ground running at the Alexandra Palace with a three nil demolition of Dennis Smith.
The wounded Wizard put on a real magic show as he hit a 105 average to book his place in round two, dropping just one leg en route.
Whitlock began with a break, this time in darting terms, when he won the opening leg against the throw. He opened the second leg with back to back 180s on his way to doubling his early lead. Smiffy pulled a leg back with a twelve darter before Whitlock hit double top to wrap up the set.
The Wizard opened the second set with a fabulous eleven dart leg before breaking the throw to take control. He hit another maximum and almost took out a spectacular 164 finish on his way to winning the leg that claimed a second set.
Whitlock hit his fourth maximum before producing a stunning 125 checkout to break Smith’s throw in the first leg of set three. Another two maximums helped leave the Australian a leg away from victory as he hit a brilliant eleven darter. The Wizard hit three treble 19’s to set up a finish before hitting double top to break again, winning the set and the match in sensational style.
Whitlock’s performance, which included seven 180s and an incredible sixty percent checkout success rate, is sure to have put paid to any suggestion that he wasn’t ready for the tournament. He will face Steve Beaton on Wednesday 28th December.

James Wade and Mervyn King powered through to the second round of the Ladbrokes World Championship on Monday evening, but Arron Monk was eliminated despite a fine performance.

MODUS put on a show at the Alexandra Palace as King lead the charge with a ruthless performance against Geoff Kime. The world number 16 got his campaign off to a perfect start, winning every single leg to claim victory over the Australian.

Wade brushed aside a gallant challenge from Petri Korte to keep alive his hopes of being crowned World Champion. The Machine produced a sequence of fine finishing to progress to round two in a confident and comfortable manner.

Monk showed why big things are expected of him in the future as he took a set off newly crowned Players Championship winner Kevin Painter. The 21 year old provided tough opposition for The Artist and produced moments of sheer class, including an audacious double-double finish. Monkey can consider himself unfortunate to have run into an in-form opponent, who is ninth in the rankings, but showed he is ready to mix it with the world’s best players.

King will return to the oche on December 28^th with Wade in action the following day.

By Chris Murphy

James Wade began his campaign to claim an eighth major, and first Ladbrokes World Championship title, with a convincing win over Petri Korte at the Ally Pally.

Wade produced a string of clinical finishes and looked comfortable throughout, despite his opponent’s valiant performance.

The Machine wasted no time in winning the first set. He hit double top with his first attempt in the opening leg, and quickly doubled his lead by hitting double ten to break the throw. He then produced a nice 88 finish to go a set in front in what seemed like the blink of an eye.

Korte got a leg on the board before Wade hit back with another successful shot at double top. He then hit the bull for a stunning 95 finish to break his opponent again. The Machine continued to finish brilliantly as he took out 70 in two darts to double his lead.

Korte, who had won a preliminary round match earlier in the evening, took out 71 to break Wade’s throw and take the lead in the third set. He then hit the bull to leave himself a leg away from taking a set off the UK Open winner. Wade was as deadly as ever on double ten, hitting that bed to take the next leg. He then hit his first 180 but his Finnish opponent did win the set by holding is throw with a 94 check out.

Wade went two legs behind in the fourth set thanks to a 112 and a 106 checkout from Korte. The Machine avoided a deciding set though, as he won the next three legs to book his place in round two. He hit double five to break the throw before hitting double top to level the set. Wade fittingly ended with another fabulous finish, this time 115, to break again and win the match.

Wade will be in second round action on December 29^th.

By Chris Murphy

Arron Monk pushed Kevin Painter all the way in a high quality first round tie at Alexandra Palace, but was unable to overcome the in-form world number nine.

Monk, 21, produced flashes of brilliance despite defeat and further enhanced his profile as a star of the future.

Monk almost made a show-stopping start, just missing the bull for a 161 finish before Painter hit double eight for an early break. The Artist hit double top to open up a two leg lead but Monk hit back with his first maximum, followed by a 58 checkout to reduce the deficit. Monkey was unlucky to miss double top when going for a 103 checkout to save the set, before his opponent found the same bed to claim it.

The under-21 World Champion found the bull to take out 86, as he grabbed a break of throw in the first leg of set two, but he was unfortunate to hit the 25 when needing bull again to hold. Painter hit double two to break him back and held his throw to go in front. Monk hit another 180 on his way to taking the next leg, setting up a decider for the set, but the Players Championship winner held to double his lead.

Monk opened the third set with a third maximum and took out 70 to win the first leg. Painter levelled the score before Monkey cheekily hit two doubles to take out 82, after missing his shot at the bullseye. The Artist checked out 64 to leave the 21 year old throwing to save the match. He did save it, putting together a great leg when he needed to, to deservedly take the set.

Painter held his throw in the first leg of set four before Monk hit double five to level. The 2004 runner up hit double 16 to edge ahead again. Monk produced a brilliant twelve dart leg to keep himself in the match, but Painter hit double 16 again to ensure it was him that would progress to round two.

By Chris Murphy

Mervyn King won all nine legs as he booked his place in round two of the Ladbrokes World Championship with a comfortable win over Geoff Kime.

The 2009 semi-finalist wasted no time in putting his below-par opponent to the sword, averaging nearly a hundred and hitting two thirds of his doubles in a resounding victory.

The King made a solid start, hitting his first 180 on his way to winning the first leg against the throw. He then hit double 14 to take the next leg before breaking Kime again to go a set up in next to no time.

The former World Masters champion continued to show his superiority, hitting another 180 in the first leg of set two as he took a fourth consecutive leg. That soon became three maximums and five straight legs as King took out 82 to break the Kime throw once more. He went on to hold his throw, hitting double top to move a step closer to a second round place.

The Australian looked set to avoid the whitewash when he had darts at a double in the first leg of the third set. King made him pay for missing when he hit double eight to break again. Kime missed three more darts at a double and King showed no mercy, as he hit double ten to win the match in straight sets, and legs.

King will face will face either Colin Osborne or Michael van Gerwen on December 28^th.

By Chris Murphy

World number three James Wade takes centre stage tonight at the Ladbrokes World Championship. The Machine forms the final part of a MODUS triple-bill at the Alexandra Palace, with Mervyn King and Arron Monk also in action.

Wade, who won the UK Open earlier this year, will face the winner of a preliminary round match, as he bids to add the World Championship to his impressive collection of major titles.

King, who beat Phil Taylor at the Players Championship, will be hoping to build on his recent good form with a win over Australian Geoff Kime.

Following The King is the player who was crowned PDC Under-21 World Champion in January, Arron Monk. He takes on Players Championship winner Kevin Painter in a highly anticipated clash. Mark Walsh lies in wait for Monkey, should he manage to topple the world number nine.

Wade will then begin his campaign against either Per Laursen or Petri Korte.

By Chris Murphy

MODUS celebrated a hat-trick of wins on Saturday as Paul Nicholson, Vincent van der Voort and Robert Thorton all earned places in round two of the Ladbrokes World Championship.

Nicholson came through a potentially tricky tie with Mensur Suljovic unscathed and Van der Voort hit many a maximum to beat Mark Hylton in the evening session. Thornton had earlier seen off the challenge of Ian White.

The Asset made sure he wasn’t going to be Suljovic’s latest scalp, and a characteristically ruthless performance ensured he never looked in danger of suffering a shock defeat. He beat the Austrian 3-1 to set up a post-Christmas clash with Alan Tabern.

Van der Voort lived up to his ‘Dutch Destroyer’ nickname in his 3-2 triumph over Hylton. He hit a sensational eleven 180s to ensure he will be at the Ally Pally after Christmas.

The Thorn showed flashes of his former self with some high scoring and neat finishing to set up a second round tie against defending World Champion Adrian Lewis.

By Chris Murphy

It’s the most wonderful time of year.

Whether you’re sat in front of the open fire munching a mince pie and sipping sherry, or down at the Alexandra Palace raising a glass of the more masculine variety, nothing gets you into the Christmas spirit quite like the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship does.

MODUS are helping serve up a real festive treat with a whole host of PDC stars aiming to be top of the tree. James Wade, Simon Whitlock, Mark Webster, Raymond van Barneveld and Paul Nicholson have all been mentioned by punters and pundits alike as major title contenders.

Webster is in opening night action against fellow Welshman Richie Burnett in a clash of former World Champions. Spider hopes to build on the good form he takes into the tournament after reaching his first major PDC singles final at the Players Championship Finals last weekend. He bids to go one better than last year when he made the semi-final, but lost to eventual winner Adrian Lewis, who is also in first night action.

On Friday evening Dutchman Co Stompe will be delivering the Christmas cheer as the two-time quarter finalist takes on youngster Michael Smith.

Saturday sees the first double session of the tournament and former World Masters winner Robert Thornton faces Ian White in the afternoon. The Scotsman is currently in the top 32 in the order of merit in a year that included a good run to the quarter-finals of the UK Open.

On Saturday evening The Asset is in action against last years surprise package, Austrian Mensur Suljovic. Nicholson though, won’t be gifting anything to his opponent having being in Scrooge-like form in an excellent 2011 as he made the latter stages of most of the major tournaments with some electrifying performances along the way.

Preceding Nicholson is The Fastest Player in the World as Vincent van der Voort begins his campaign against Mark Hylton. The Dutchman will be hoping to repeat or better his performance last year when he made the quarter-finals.

On Sunday evening the most famous Dutch darter takes to the stage as Barney begins his shot at a sixth World Championship success. Van Barneveld has made the semi-finals of the Premier League and European Championship in 2011 as a return to the darts that made him champion of the world in 2007 have coincided with a return to form. He faces James Richardson who made his first Pro-Tour final earlier this year.

Monday December 19th provides a trio of Christmas crackers as The Machine, The King and The Monkey are all in first round action. Wade, the second most successful player in the history of the PDC, will be hoping to add the World Championship to his growing list of majors. His opponent is yet to be confirmed as he faces the winner of a preliminary round match.

Mervyn King, who prepared for the tournament by beating Phil Taylor last week, takes on Geoff Kime while Arron Monk, who won the under-21’s World Championship last year, faces Players Championship winner Kevin Painter.

On the final day of round one (Wednesday 21st) John Henderson makes his PDC World Championship debut against 2003 & 2008 winner John Part. Simon Whitlock completes the line up when he faces Dennis Smith. The Wizard is aiming to go one better than his run to the final two years ago.

So the stage is set for everyone to get merry and enjoy a feast of tungsten tossing from the world’s finest in the greatest show on earth. One of them will be seeing in the New Year as World Champion, but the aim for now is to progress through round one as we sit back and enjoy what is undoubtedly the most wonderful time of the year.

By Chris Murphy

Leyland Paints will be throwing its name into the eyes of millions of sports fans across the UK, after unveiling a high profile darts sponsorship with two of the world’s best players.

Leyland has stepped up to the oche by agreeing to sponsor 2008 BDO world champion Mark Webster and 2010 PDC world championship runner-up Simon Whitlock for the whole of the 2012 season, as the pair bid to cement their statuses as household names in the sport.
With more than 200,000 sports fans inside the arenas along with a television audience of 12.5 million viewers in 2010 alone, the brand believes that the time has never been better to target the tungsten for a sustained period.

Marketing manager Sharon Hendry said: “The potential of our darts sponsorship is absolutely huge and we are thrilled to be involved with the sport.

“Aside from Premier League football, the darts world championship drew the biggest audience on Sky Sports last year, which underlines how powerful the sport is.

“Simon and Mark are firm crowd favourites already and we are thrilled to be working with from now on.”

Before turning professional, Simon was a builder by trade, while Mark Webster is a professional plumber and still likes to keep busy working in between tournaments.

Simon, known as The Wizard, said: “I am delighted to receive the support from Leyland. I have come across their product from my time as a builder, so it is great to be working even closer with brand from now on.

“I’ll be doing all I can to gain maximum exposure by winning as many tournaments as possible!”

Mark Webster, from Denbigh, Wales, said: “I have been in the Professional Darts Corporation for over two years now, and even in that time I have seen the sport grow so much.”

The current world number six added: “For me to be able to receive the backing of Leyland is the best news I could wish for. They are a huge paint brand and one I will be wearing on my shirt with pride.”