Betfred World Matchplay day one: Wins for Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton, Luke Humphries and Nathan Aspinall
Nathan Aspinall started his Betfred World Matchplay defence with a 10-8 win over Luke Woodhouse- while Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton and Luke Humphries were all victorious as well.
The reigning champion came through a tight test in the closing game of day one at the Winter Gardens as he looks to build on his Blackpool success in 2023.
Past runners up Price and Clayton overcame Daryl Gurney and Raymond van Barneveld respectively, with an impressive win from World Darts Championship winner Humphries coming against Ricardo Pietreczko following their matches.
Aspinall was trailing 3-2 after the opening session of his outing, but four consecutive legs after the first break edged him in front.
Momentum soon switched again, with Woodhouse producing a break and a hold to pull level at 6-6.
The following two legs swung back the way of the reigning champion, but his opponent quickly broke back again, before making it 8-8.
Woodhouse would’ve had an opportunity to throw for the match but for a missed double 12, instead it was Aspinall who claimed the decisive break to clinch the win.
In the opening game, Price raced to a 4-1 lead after claiming four legs on the bounce.
At the start of the second session, there were three consecutive breaks of throw between the two, before Gurney held to briefly close the gap.
The 38-year-old also missed an opportunity to level the scores, with a couple of chances to hit double eight going begging in the 10th leg.
Price broke his opponent again at the start of the third session, as he won four consecutive legs to round off a 10-4 victory.
“There’s a lot of ranking points to defend so I didn’t want to go out early, I always say the first round is tough for me and tough for everyone, but I got through that one,” he said.
“The first round is harder than the final for me, I don’t know why, but I think I’m a danger now.”
Through the opening night there were plenty of ‘Three Lions’ chants ahead of England’s Euro 2024 final against Spain.
“I was actually going to walk out to a Spanish song tonight, but I thought I better not,” added Price.
“I might actually walk out to an English song if they. I’m actually supporting them, I’m British so I like to see England win.”
Clayton made a strong start to his match with van Barneveld.
Last year’s finalist held a 7-3 lead after the second session, but three consecutive legs from the 2010 runner up helped to close the gap, before the 10-7 victory was sealed.
Reflecting on the game, Clayton said: “I love this stage, it’s my favourite tournament, I have to be honest. The fans are fanatics, they know the chants, they know the songs, they know everything about darts.
“It’s a good feeling when you’re up on that stage and it’s going well. It’s nice to be back.
“Last year was a difficult time, so it’s difficult to forget, but it was still a proud moment to get to that final. I need that cup, so I’ll try my best to get it this year.
“I’ll take it game by game and try to produce good averages because if you do that it means you’re playing well and finishing well.
“Game by game and hopefully I can get to that end.”
World number one Humphries made an emphatic start to his opener, claiming the first four legs against Pietreczko.
The 29-year-old didn’t really look back from there, as he produced a 10-4 victory to start his fourth World Matchplay at the Winter Gardens.
“It’s an iconic venue, every player loves it,” Humphries said after the match.
“It’s split 50/50. There’s a lot of older players that will say this is the better venue, while a lot of the younger generation will say the World Championships has the best venue, but the older generation are right - this is a very prestigious venue, we love playing here, they’re real darts fans and create a great atmosphere.
“Coming here is a special feeling, so to play here for a fourth time is fantastic.
“It had a massive influence (for me) last year, I made that semi-final and then made another one at the World Series. When I made the one at the Grand Prix, I thought ‘this is the biggest chance to change your life.’
“I just ran with the confidence. If I can win the Matchplay then go and win the World Championships in the same year then that’d be fantastic, but you can’t look too far ahead - I’ve got to play well in the next four games.”