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MARTIN ATKINS 2 v ANDY BOULTON 3
Karaoke fan Andy Boulton hit the right
note to gun down 10th seed Martin
The Assassin” Atkins 3-2.
The 42-year-old from
Leeds became the sixth
seed to crash in the unpredictable first round of the championship, buckling
under the pressure of the latest star to emerge from the tungsten-hard darts
mecca of the Potteries.
The match became the first to go to a tiebreak and it
was the man who sings at county matches who found the winning melody.
Atkins had high hopes
of a good run and improve on second round appearances during the past two years
but Boulton refused to be overawed.
He
battled back from 1-0 down to take the opening set 3-2 hitting a maximum in the
deciding leg. Atkins blazed back to take the second, hitting an 11-darter to
clinch the fifth leg, with Boulton requiring 44 and then took the third 3-0
including two 16 dart finishes.
The
Leeds man fired out
his second 180 of the match in the fourth set but on-form Boulton hit a 14-dart
finish, exiting on double 16, to take the game into a deciding fifth set.
Atkins moved
ominously 2-1 ahead, Boulton overcoming double trouble to level and take the
game into a tense tiebreak.
An 18-darter clinched
with a 127 checkout
eased him into the lead with both players struggling to
hit the big scores in the sixth leg, Atkins left himself double tops but saw his
title aspirations thwarted once again – this time by Boulton, who was calling
the tune with a 74 victory flourish.
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