PDC World Darts Championship day 4 report: Mervyn King scrapes through after Andy Hamilton crashes out

Russian Alexander Oreshkin was two sets up on the 2009 semi-finalist before solid comeback

Mervyn King (Getty Images)

Mervyn King fought back from two sets down against Alexander Oreshkin to avoid following Andy Hamilton out of the World Darts Championship in the first round at Alexandra Palace.

Oreshkin, from St Petersburg, looked set to pull off a stunning upset when he registered a 134 checkout to lead 2-0 against the world number 14.

But in the end King's weight of scoring was simply too much for the Russian, who had only just scraped through the preliminary round.

Earlier, Hamilton, the runner-up in 2012, suffered his first ever opening-round defeat.

Hamilton lost out in a tie-break to Joe Murnan, who celebrated prematurely after forgetting he needed to win by two clear legs, but did eventually secure the 3-2 victory.

Hamilton had led by two sets to one, but missed the bull for a 170 finish that would have given him victory in the fourth and paid a hefty price.

Raymond van Barneveld avoided similar drama in a 3-0 win over Dutch compatriot Dirk van Duijvenbode, although the first two sets were close.

Van Duijvenbode made a remarkable error in the deciding leg of the second set, busting his remaining score of 180, and there was no way back.

In the second round Van Barneveld will meet Stephen Bunting, who was a 3-0 winner over Jyhan Artut.

There were also first-round victories for Jamie Caven and Mensur Suljovic.

Results

Sunday 20 December
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm)
1x Preliminary Round, 3x First Round

Michael Rasztovits 0-2 Rob Szabo
Andy Hamilton 2-3 Joe Murnan
Mensur Suljovic 3-1 Jermaine Wattimena
Jamie Caven 3-0 Rob Szabo

Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
1x Preliminary Round, 3x First Round

Aleksandr Oreshkin 2-1 Paul Lim
Stephen Bunting 3-0 Jyhan Artut
Raymond van Barneveld 3-0 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Mervyn King 3-2 Aleksandr Oreshkin

PA