Adrian Lewis thwarted a superb fightback from Wayne Jones to win an exhilarating second round match at the Ladbrokes.com World Championship in Purfleet today.
The 21-year-old from Stoke produced a performance of which his mentor Phil Taylor would surely have been proud as he triumphed 4-3 with the help of 13 maximum scores of 180.
It was also a terrific display by Jones, who showed the quality that took him to the semi-finals of this tournament last year.
Lewis typically began like a whirlwind, kicking off with a 180 and an 11-dart leg, and incredibly took the first set in less than five minutes with an average of just under 122.
He made it 2-0 but Jones hung in there and levelled the match before Lewis edged ahead again, and looked to be on the brink of victory in the sixth set.
But the man nicknamed 'Jackpot' missed bullseye for the match and then failed to hit two singles to set up a finish, allowing Jones to steal in and take it to a deciding set.
Any thoughts that it could go all the way to a sudden-death leg were quickly dispelled, however, as Lewis found top gear again and won the first three legs, wrapping it up with 85 on the bull.
Rico Vonck, a 19-year-old from Holland, set up a possible third round clash with compatriot Raymond van Barneveld courtesy of a 4-2 victory against Canadian champion Brian Cyr.
