Willem Mandigers crushes Nick Kenny to open World Championship campaign in style

The first leg laid down a strong marker for the contest; Kenny struck a 180, but Mandigers replied with a 177 and closed out a 14-dart leg. The Turkish Masters champion notched his first maximum on his way to claiming the first set with a 60 per cent doubles success rate. Willem kept up the pressure in set two, with two 180s and a first nine dart average of just under 104. But Kenny held off his seeded opponent as the pair held throw for the first four legs. Needing some magic to steal the fifth leg, Mandigers finished 90 on the bull to take a 2-0 lead in sets.
The Welshman was averaging a solid 87, but was struggling to deal with Mandigers. The first two legs were shared, before Mandigers sealed an important break. But Kenny would not give up easily, and claimed a break of his own on double five to force a decider. A 140 and a 137 in quick succession put Mandigers in a strong position. Though he accidentally struck double eight when aiming for double 16, missing out on a 143 checkout, he found the same double again in the next visit to win.
After averaging 89.58 in a comprehensive win, he will go into a second round tie with Wesley Harms or Wayne Warrens with increased confidence.