Ryan Joyce beats Darius Labanauskas and meets Danny Noppert in second round at PDC World Darts Championship

Ryan Joyce defeated Darius Labanauskas in the first round at the World Darts Championship. It was evenly matched for a long time, but in the end it was 'Relentless' who managed to hit the doubles just a little more often at the right moments.

The match got off to a great start as Joyce hit a 126 finish through bullseye in the first leg to take the lead. The Brit, who reached the semifinals of the World Grand Prix earlier this year, then hit double 16 to double his lead.

Labanauskas was also playing well but missed two small chances at the double to take his first leg. Joyce eventually closed out the first set with a 16-darter via double 16 to go into the first break with a lead.

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Both men recorded an average of over 100+ in the first set, although this dropped somewhat during set two. In that second set it was the man from Lithuania who took the lead via double 16. The second and third leg both went easily to Labanauskas in 16 darts.

In the third set it was Joyce who took the lead with a 14-darter, but 'Lucky D' reacted immediately and levelled the score with tops. The match remained even but Labanauskas missed 4 darts to keep his own leg. Relentless' took advantage by hitting double 4 to take a 2-1 lead.

Joyce missed the bullseye to start the fourth set spectacularly with a 170 finish after which Labanauskas threw out 80 to take the lead. The current number 33 of the world, however, immediately hit double 10 to equalize.

In the third and fourth leg, 'Lucky D' had two more chances to take a leg, but the Lithuanian left these chances unused. Joyce punished this and thus won the match: 3-1.

Ryan Joyce now has three days off before he gets to take on Dutchman Danny Noppert in the second round on Saturday night, Dec. 21.