Van Duijvenbode with comeback from 0-3 down to beat Smith

Wim Blokpoel - With Van der Voort having tested positive on covid, we only had one Dutchman playing today in the 2022 PDC World Darts Championship: Dirk van Duijvenbode.

In the last 32 ‘Aubergenius’ took on Ross Smith. Van Duijvenbode started the game with a 100-finish, but Smith followed it by taking 107 out. Smith then broke throw as he aon the first set 3-1 in legs. In set 2 it was 2-2 in legs, when ‘Smudger’ took out 120 to hold throw, and go 2-0 up in sets: he was halfway there. One set later it was 2-2 in legs again. But now it was Van Duijvenbode who had the throw, however he got broken as Smith went 3-0 up in a first to 4 game. For the third set in a row it then became 2-2 in legs again. Smith was 66 points away from victory, as he hit a single 10, but then missed the 16 on 56 entirely, as he didn’t get a matchdart. Van Duijvenbode took out 57 to hang in there at 1-3. In set 5 Smith’s level clearly dropped, as DVD won 3-0 in legs and only saw himself 2-3 down. One set later Van Duijvenbode finally woke up, as he won legs in 13, 13 and 15 darts to level at 3-3! In the deciding leg, it was 1-1 as Van Duijvenbode went 2-1 up, and needed to win the next leg to prevent a tie break and win the game. DVD managed to win the leg, as he came all the way from 0-3 down to beat Ross Smith 4-3! Into the last 16 of the Worlds for the second consecutive year, Van Duijvenbode now plays Gerwyn Price in that round.

Dirk van Duijvenbode 4-3 Ross Smith (1-3, 2-3, 2-3, 3-2, 3-0, 3-1, 3-1)