Super slow Hankey stops van de Wiel

Defending champ and fifth seed Ted Hankey eased into the last eight, inflicting an emphatic 4-1 defeat on the fast-throwing Dutchman Willy de Wiel after dictating the pace of the match.

It took “The Count” 47 minutes playing at snail’s pace to move a step nearer to a record-equalling third world crown.

Afterwards the Shropshire-based defending champion admitted: “I did not play well, I slowed him down and that meant I was not playing my game but I did enough to win.

“I do not enjoy the shorter format of the opening round and the longer the format becomes the more the oche becomes my territory,” declared confident Hankey.

“I know just what I have to do and I know my opponents and what they are capable of this week,” he added.

It took the double champ just eight minutes to open his account and take the opening set 3-0. Adopting a slow and deliberate style to combat the fast-throwing Dutchman, he hit a barrage of 100 plus scores and a maximum as he hit his favourite double 18.

Both players missed doubles as the opening legs of the next set were shared, Hankey firing in his second 180 of the match to take the third leg and then hit double tops at the second attempt to move 2-0 ahead.

Twice Hankey trailed in the next, double four taking the set into a deciding fifth leg. Again Hankey powered down to the finish but in missing double 16 he allowed De Wiel to nip in and snatch the set with double four with his second dart.

In the fourth Hankey notched two 180s en-route to taking the set 3-0 after the Dutchman missed 12 doubles in the third leg.

The fifth seed took a 2-0 lead in the fifth set, the Dutchman taking the third on double eight, two tons and his sixth 180 lining up Hankey for the match-winning double one after De Wiel missed double 13 for a 103 match-saving finish.