London, Dec 25 (FN Agency) Former champion Rob Cross became the latest high-profile casualty as a record-breaking 14th seed exited the PDC World Darts Championship in the second round. The number five seed was beaten 3-1 by close friend Scott Williams, who will face Germany’s Ricardo Pietreczko in round three.Cross, who won the event on his debut in 2018, took the opening set but failed to reach anywhere near his best as he suffered his third second-round exit, according to a BBC report. He was joined by number six seed David Chisnall, who was beaten 3-2 in a sudden-death leg by Ricky Evans, who came into the tournament 46th in the PDC’s Order of Merit. The 2021 semi-finalist won the opening set, but then found himself 2-1 down to an inspired Evans, who was cheered on relentlessly by the Alexandra Palace crowd.
He forced the game into a deciding set and faced match dart but Evans missed bullseye by the width of the wire. Chisnall then missed his own match dart on double tops, before he made a miscalculation when attempting to checkout 139 at 5-4 down. No real harm was done with a sudden-death leg forced but he was unable to hold off Evans, who reaches the third round for the third time in the last five years. “It’s not even what it is, again I’ve played a world-class darts player. I’ve played quite well and won,” Evans told Sky Sports. “Look at this [the crowd], wow. I don’t understand it, why are they cheering me on? “I don’t get this reception in my household. Thank you very much. You’ve made a very fat guy very happy. “Evans will face unseeded Welshman Robert Owen when the third round starts after the three-day Christmas break. World youth champion Gian van Veen had become the 12th seed to be knocked out when he lost 3-1 to Pietreczko.