World Darts Championship: Upsets continue on Day Six in London

Seigo Asada celebrates his upset win.
Seigo Asada celebrates his upset win. Photo credit: Getty

The upsets have continued on Day Six at the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) world championship, with Japan's Seigo Asada rallying from two sets down to beat Poland's Krzysztof Ratajski, while Dutchman Vincent van der Voort demolished England's Darren Webster on Wednesday (NZ time).

In the biggest upset at the Alexandra Palace in London, Asada edged out Ratajski 3-2 in their first round clash and set up a date with England's James Wade.

Ratajski, who was heavily favoured to win the match after winning three tournaments in 2018, looked to be cruising into the next round, after winning the first two sets 3-2, before 'The Ninja' won the deciding leg in the third set.

From there, the Japanese ace went on to win the next two sets 3-1 to reach the second round for the first time.

Van der Voort also claimed a big scalp, when he crushed two-time quarter-finalist Webster in a straight-sets win.

Webster, the world's 13th-ranked player, struggled in the encounter, winning only one leg in the match, while Van der Voort's performance was highlighted by a 140-finish in the second set.

Van der Voort will face either Steven Beaton or Chris Dobey, both from England, in the round of 32.

Northern Ireland's Daryl Gurney is also through to the third round, after comfortable 3-0 win over England's Ross Smith.

Daryl Gurney was victorious on Day Six.
Daryl Gurney was victorious on Day Six. Photo credit: Getty

Gurney was rarely troubled in the encounter, but he did struggle in the opening set, which saw Smith battle back from 2-0 down to take it into a decider, before the world number five came out on top.

Gurney the won the next two sets 3-0 to earn a spot in the third round, where he will face Wales' Jamie Lewis, who beat Kiwi Cody Harris last Saturday.

Dutchman Ron Meulenkamp overcame a 2-0 deficit to beat Diogo Portela of Brazil in their first-round tie.

Portela, who is ranked 82 places below Meulenkamp, won six of the first seven legs, as he raced out to a 2-0 lead.

The Brazilian seemed destined to become the first man from the South American nation to reach the second round, until his opponent fought back to win the next two sets 3-1 and send the match to a decider.

After eight missed darts to win the match, Meulenkamp found double-three to reach the next round, where he'll face England's Michael Smith.

Youth champion Dimitri van den Bergh is safely through to the second round, after a scrappy 3-0 win over American qualifier Chuck Puleo. The 24-year-old faces a tough foe in his next match against world number 15 Jonny Clayton of Wales.

In other first-round matches, Swedish debutant Daniel Larsson stunned Robert Thornton of Scotland 3-1, while Austrian youngster Rowby-John Rodriguez beat England's Ricky Evans by the same score line. Ireland's Steve Lennon also beat Australian qualifier James Bailey 3-0.

Day Seven of the event will see the two remaining first-round ties taking place, before six round-two matches.  

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