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