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PAOLO NEBRIDA may have celebrated his significant upset over Jim Williams a bit prematurely.
The Filipino was close to clinching the win when he gestured to the crowd, but unfortunately missed his shot off target.
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Fortunately for him, the earlier miss was inconsequential as he hit the double to achieve a checkout of 96, ultimately securing the win.
Williams’ successes on one, 19, and 16 provided Nebrida the opening he needed for the victory.
Nebrida moves on to the second round where he will face Ross Smith, while Williams is eliminated from the tournament in the first round for the first time.
Also progressing through to the second round is Ryan Meikle, who narrowly defeated Fallon Sherrock to set up a match against rising star Luke Littler.
Two-time champion Peter Wright secured a victory in his opener against Wesley Plaisier and has set his sights on young talents Littler and Luke Humphries.
Wright commented: “People often think: ‘Oh, he should be retiring, he should be going to the seniors’ events.’ No, I’m not ready for that yet.”
“I’m prepared to challenge Luke Littler. I’m here to take on Luke Humphries. I believe I can win this.”
“I clinched one of the European Tours, defeating Luke Littler in the final and winning six legs in a row. Feel free to overlook me, I don’t mind.”
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“What drives me? Luke Humphries and Luke Littler. I know I can still compete with them.”
“In practice, I can hold my own against these guys and even exceed them.”
Former world darts champion, 38, triples yearly earnings with first nine-darter of PDC World Championships
“I’ll be turning 55 in March next year, and Gary (Anderson) also motivates me. These veteran players can still perform.”
“I genuinely believe I have the skills. My practice has improved more than when I first earned the title and confidently declared that I would win. That’s the mindset I maintain.”
Wright, who sported a purple Santa costume for his 3-1 second-round matchup against Wesley Plaisier, shared: “I’ve distributed all my gifts this year.”
“It’s incredible. Everyone who has beaten me can thank my lackluster performances. But their holiday cheer ends here.”
“No more presents. You’ve had your share. There will be no gift this Christmas.”
Darts World Championship full draw
Second round draw (seeded vs first-round winner)
- Luke Humphries vs Thibault Tricole or Joe Comito
- Raymond van Barneveld vs Nick Kenny or Stowe Buntz
- James Wade vs Jermaine Wattimena or Stefan Bellmont
- Peter Wright vs Wesley Plaisier or Ryusei Azemoto
- Stephen Bunting vs Alan Soutar or Kai Gotthardt
- Dirk van Duijvenbode vs Madars Ramza or Christian Kist
- Damon Heta vs Connor Scutt or Ben Robb
- Mike De Decker vs Luke Woodhouse or Lourence Ilagan
- Luke Littler vs Ryan Meikle or Fallon Sherrock
- Ritchie Edhouse vs Ian White or Sandro Eric Sosing
- Danny Noppert vs Ryan Joyce or Darius Labanauskas
- Ryan Searle vs Mensur Suljovic or Matt Campbell
- Rob Cross vs Scott Williams or Niko Springer
- Gian van Veen vs Ricardo Pietreczko or Xiaochen Zong
- Nathan Aspinall vs Cameron Menzies or Leonard Gates
- Andrew Gilding vs Martin Lukeman or Nitin Kumar
- Michael Smith vs Kevin Doets or Noa-Lynn van Leuven
- Krzysztof Ratajski vs Richard Veenstra or Alexis Toylo
- Chris Dobey vs Stephen Burton or Alexander Merkx
- Josh Rock vs Karel Sedlacek or Rhys Griffin
- Jonny Clayton vs Mickey Mansell or Tomoya Goto
- Daryl Gurney vs Florian Hempel or Jeffrey de Zwaan
- Gerwyn Price vs Kim Huybrechts or Keane Barry
- Joe Cullen vs Wessel Nijman or Cameron Carolissen
- Michael van Gerwen vs James Hurrell or Jim Long
- Brendan Dolan vs Chris Landman or Lok Yin Lee
- Gary Anderson vs Jeffrey de Graaf or Rashad Sweeting
- Ross Smith vs Jim Williams or Paolo Nebrida
- Dave Chisnall vs Ricky Evans or Gordon Mathers
- Gabriel Clemens vs Niels Zonneveld or Robert Owen
- Dimitri Van den Bergh vs William O’Connor or Dylan Slevin
- Martin Schindler vs Callan Rydz or Romeo Grbavac
