Reigning Lakeside Champion Scott Mitchell overcame a stern test against New Zealander Craig Caldwell to earn a spot in round two.  Mitchell twice battled back from a set down before taking control early in the fifth.  Former Champ Scott Waites, meanwhile, produced the performance of the day with a superb 3-0 victory over Willem Mandigers.  Waites recorded checkouts of 142 and 136 on his way to a fine 32.02 average.

Canadian David Cameron was unable to repeat fellow countryman Jeff Smith’s first-round triumph, going down in straight sets to another former Lakeside Champion, Ted Hankey.  The 3-0 scoreline didn’t tell the full story, as it could have been very different had Cameron been hitting his doubles.  Three players who did hit sufficient doubles were Sweden’s Peter Sajwani, Kostas Pantelidis (Greece), and Seigo Asada.  Of the three, Asada posted the best figures (30.88 ave), and made the long trip from Japan worthwhile with a four-set win over Darius Labanauskas.

Major upset in the ladies’ event was the defeat of second seed Fallon Sherrock.  After losing the first set to Denmark’s Ann-Louise Peters, Sherrock responded in style with trio of 18-dart legs to cruise the second.  Missed doubles from Sherrock in the first leg of the decider gave Peters the advantage, and with all five legs going with the throw, it was the Dane who advanced.  Joining Peters in the next round was Trina Gulliver MBE.  Trina showed some of her old brilliance in winning the all-English clash against the experienced Dee Bateman.

Today’s line-up sees yet another former winner on this stage, John Walton, in action, and an intriguing contest between the Dutch pair of Jeffrey de Graaf and Richard Veenstra.  American eyes of course be on Larry Butler, who opens this evening’s session against Ryan de Vreede.  The young Dutchman is making his Lakeside debut, and while Butler has only appeared here just once before (back in 1992), the American’s long list of successes makes him the clear match favorite.

The prize for the winner is a Top 16 clash with #1 seed Glen Durrant.  It was Durrant, or course, who ended Butler’s quest to become 2015 World Master in a brilliant final, so perhaps there is even more incentive for the American to beat de Vreede tonight!

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