Dave Chisnall crashes out of World Championships in first round

Morecambe’s Premier League star was one of a number of seeds to bite the dust at the Alexandra Palace.

Chisnall lost 3-0 to Vincent van der Voort while Keegan Brown shocked James Wade and Jamie Lewis ousted Jonny Clayton live on Sky Sports.

The resort’s eighth seed went down in straight sets as the speedy Dutchman hit six 180s and seven 140s to outdo the usually heavy-scoring Chisnall, with Van der Voort also finishing sharply as he took nine of 16 double chances.

Van der Voort, who turns 43 on Monday, admitted that he had been talked out of quitting the sport by his family after losing in the first round a year ago.

“At one point I thought I better just give up,” he said.

“I was ready to give up but my wife said give it one more go because in two or three years you’ll regret it.

“I said I’d give it two years, try my hardest and if it’s not there pack in, but right now I think I’ll stay a little bit longer.”

Van der Voort has struggled with his well-publicised back problems, but he has rarely played any better on the Alexandra Palace stage and he came within a couple of darts of posting his first winning 100 average at the tournament.

It was the usual Van der Voort rapid-fire from the start, but Chisnall is no slouch himself and he pushed his rival all the way in the first two sets only to come unstuck in the fifth leg of both.

Chisnall only got six shots at a double in the 13 legs played in the match, and Van der Voort capitalised in the third set by claiming all three legs - including a crowd-pleasing 130 outshot - on the way to a commanding win which sets up a tie with Steve Beaton.

Darts’ most iconic event runs until New Year’s Day, the sport’s greatest ever player Phil Taylor hoping to end on a high before retirement.

All the action is live on the Sky Sports Darts channel.