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Kirk Shepherd’s bid for glory at the 2009 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was ended in a final-set thriller against Jan van der Rassel.

Shepherd became the youngest finalist in the event’s history last year when he battled through the field at Alexandra Palace.

But the former sheet metal worker from Ramsgate fell at the first hurdle this time as the Dutchman sneaked a five-set win.

“I feel sick,” said Shepherd. “I was confident that I was going to win but with an average of 83 you are not going to win many matches, and I am gutted to lose.”

Australian number one Paul Nicholson joined van der Rassel in the last 32 following a brilliant World Championship debut to whitewash Adrian Gray.

Hartlepool’s Tony Eccles held off the fightback of Remco van Eijden to progress to round two, with the Dutchman coming from two sets down to level before succumbing in the deciding set.

Qualifier Tony Ayres was Tuesday afternoon’s other winner, edging out Andy Smith 3-2 to set up a second round clash with Andy Hamilton.

The first round concludes on Tuesday evening, with the four games including world number three James Wade’s clash with Brendan Dolan.

Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship
First Round

Afternoon Session
Tony Ayres (ENG) 3-2 Andy Smith (ENG)
Paul Nicholson (AUS) 3-0 Adrian Gray (ENG)
Jan van der Rassel (NED) 3-2 Kirk Shepherd (ENG)
Tony Eccles (ENG) 3-2 Remco van Eijden (NED)

Evening Session
Ronnie Baxter v Marko Kantele
Colin Osborne v Charles Losper
James Wade v Brendan Dolan
Vincent van der Voort v Nandor Bezzeg

TONY AYRES 3-2 ANDY SMITH
(3-2, 2-3, 3-2, 2-3, 3-1)
TONY AYRES condemned Andy Smith to a second successive first round exit at the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship with a final-leg victory.

Smith, who lost to Mensur Suljovic in last year’s event, hit six maximums during the contest but saw the qualifier from Sussex take his chances to advance to the last 32.

Ayres, making his debut in the World Championship after coming through the PDPA Qualifiers in Telford, made a confident start to build up a 2-1 lead in the first set.

But he missed three darts for the set in the fourth leg, and Smith snatched it on double top.

In the deciding leg, though, Ayres made no mistake, managing to hold throw and take a 1-0 lead.

Smith leveled the match in the quick time, taking the second set without reply, which included a 13-darter and two maximums.

Ayres hit back at the start of the third, landing a maximum in the first leg and a 116 checkout in the second leg, before Smith took the next two to level the set.

The 26th seed landed his third 180 of the game in the deciding leg, but it was Ayres who regained the lead thanks to a timely 101 finish.

Smith hit a fantastic 155 checkout to lead 2-1 in the fourth set, but missed two darts for the set in the next and his opponent landed double ten to go a leg away from victory.

Smith missed a dart at double top in the fifth leg, but Ayres was unable to capitalize, missing double top by the finest of margins to win the match and allowed his opponent to hit the same double for the set.

Ayres held throw in the opening leg of the final set, after both players struggled to hit the winning double.

The qualifier then broke in next with the aid of his third maximum of the game, but Smith hit a showpiece 100 finish, which included two double tops, to keep the game alive.

Smith also needed 100 to win the fourth leg, but a missed double top allowed Ayres to step up and land double four to record a debut victory.

PAUL NICHOLSON 3-0 ADRIAN GRAY
(3-0, 3-0, 3-0)
PAUL NICHOLSON produced a fantastic performance to secure a whitewash victory over Adrian Gray in the first round of the 2009 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship.

The Australian – born in Newcastle but now based in Melbourne, hit 14 scores of 140 or more in nine legs of darts in an impressive Alexandra Palace debut and has now set up an eye-catching last 32 clash against Adrian Lewis next Tuesday.

Nicholson, who competed in last month’s Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton, broke his opponent’s throw in the second leg on double top and he repeated the double in the next to wrap up the set.

The DPA number one was relentless, and hit a two-dart finish of 100 for an 11-darter in opening the second set.

That was bettered by a superb 142 checkout – hitting two treble 17s and double top – to double the lead and then double eight in the third leg to move 2-0 up in the game without Gray throwing at a double.

Nicholson hit two-dart finishes of 64 and 60 in the third set to go one leg away from the match before Gray missed his only double opportunity of the match in the next, which was duly punished by the Australian on double 16.

“I’m delighted with that and proud to have made a good start in the World Championship,” said Nicholson.

“I’ve worked so hard to get here and am proud to be representing DartPlayers Australia, who have harnessed my talent and encouraged me over the past year.

“They are spreading darts across Australia, and although we’re mainly in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland at the moment we are breaking into South Australia and the standard is increasing all the time.

“There’s a lot of travelling and time away from home and my wife involved but it’s all worth it to be here.

“Adrian Lewis hit a lot of 180s in defeating Russell Stewart – another Australian – but I’ll see what I can do against him next week.”

TONY ECCLES 3-2 REMCO VAN EIJDEN
(3-0, 3-2, 2-3, 2-3, 3-1)
TONY ECCLES survived a spirited comeback from Remco van Eijden to advance to the last 32 of the 2009 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship.

Eccles, who has risen into the top 32 within two years of joining the PDC, was in complete control of the match after initially taking a two-set lead, only to have to win through a decider.

Eccles started the match with a fabulous 164 checkout in the opening leg, and went on take the first set without reply.

The Hartlepool man then hit a maximum at the start of the second set to win his fourth successive leg before van Eijden got off the mark with two of his own to lead.

But Eccles, who reached the last 16 in his debut at World Championship last year, won the next two legs to take the set and double his advantage.

The opening four legs of set three where shared before van Eijden won the decider thanks to an excellent 116 checkout.

Eccles lost his throw in the first leg of the fourth set, but won the next two to go to the brink of victory.

But van Eijden, who defeated Women’s World Champion Anastasia Dobromyslova in the preliminary round on Sunday night, hit his third maximum of the match in the fourth leg and landed double six to keep his hopes alive.

In the deciding leg, Eccles missed five darts at doubles to take the match and the Dutchman hit double ten to complete the comeback and send the match into a fifth set.

Van Eijden hit a 91 finish to take the opening leg of the decider, but Eccles won the next two to go ahead, which included a 14-dart finish.

This time he made no mistake and closed out the match by converting a 51 checkout and will now play James Wade or Brendan Dolan in the next round.

“The 164 was a great start for me but I wish it had been that easy all the way through!” said Eccles. “I got nervous half-way through the game and Remco started to put me under pressure.

“He relaxed and started to play some good darts, and I’m relieved I got myself back together and won through.

“I saw the winning post too early but I won’t play like that again.”

JAN VAN DER RASSEL 3-2 KIRK SHEPHERD
(3-2, 1-3, 3-2, 0-3, 4-2)
KIRK SHEPHERD’S bid for glory at the 2009 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was ended in a final-set thriller against Jan van der Rassel.

Shepherd became the youngest finalist in the event’s history last year when he battled through the field at Alexandra Palace.

But the former sheet metal worker from Ramsgate fell at the first hurdle this time as the Dutchman sneaked a five-set win.

Shepherd missed two darts at doubles to break throw at the start of the match, but led 2-1 with a confidence-boosting 106 checkout.

The Dutchman won the next two legs with finishes of 98 and 97 to take an early advantage with the first set.

Shepherd, who has struggled during 2008 to replicate the form that took him to last year’s final, took a 1-0 lead in the second set with a 13-dart finish, and took the set 3-1 to level the game.

The Kent youngster hit his first maximum of the contest at the start of set three to go 1-0 up, but van der Rassel hit-back in 13 darts to level.

Shepherd went 2-1 up, but van der Rassel leveled once again, and held throw in the decider, hitting double ten to regain the lead.

Shepherd fought hard in the fourth set, and took three legs in a row to send the game into a decider, including a bullseye finish for a 126 checkout to take the set.

The opening three legs of the final set went with throw to leave the Dutchman a leg away from the match.

Shepherd missed double 14 for a 105 finish in the fourth, but van der Rassel was unable to convert any of the three darts he had for the match to let the youngster back in on double 14 to keep the match alive.

In the fifth leg, Shepherd missed double 18 for 106 finish and the Dutchman held throw to regain the lead before taking out 106 for the match.

After the match a disappointed Shepherd said. “I feel sick. I was confident that I was going to win today, as I have beaten Jan the two times we have met before.

“But with an average of 83 you are not going to win many matches, and I am gutted to lose. I will have to put in a lot more practice, watch the game again and see where I went wrong.”

The Dutchman, who defeated Colin Lloyd and Denis Ovens on his way to the last 16 last year, will now play fellow Dutchman Jelle Klaasen in the last 32.

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