Van Gerwen and Anderson Advance in World Darts Championship

Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson secured their spots in the third round of the World Darts Championship, while sixth seed Danny Noppert suffered a shocking defeat. Van Gerwen showed significant improvement from his first match, posting a 100.20 average in a 3-1 win over William O'Connor. He will face German debutant Arno Merk in the next round. Noppert, on the other hand, became the highest-ranked player to be knocked out of the tournament, losing to England's Justin Hood in a sudden-death leg. Anderson recovered from a set down to claim a 3-1 victory over Connor Scutt, while 11th seed Josh Rock breezed through his match against Joe Comito in straight sets. Van Gerwen, who finished runner-up last year, is looking to bounce back from a disappointing season and win the Sid Waddell Trophy for a fourth time. He survived set darts in a slow start before rallying to win the opening set and then took control of the match. O'Connor raised hopes of a comeback but was quickly denied by Van Gerwen's impressive finishes. "I think I played well," Van Gerwen said. "I was sharp, I was ready today, and I think that's what you want to show to yourself and to everyone else - that you're capable of doing more." The opening match of the evening saw Hood come through a tight opening set and fire seven perfect darts to double his lead over Noppert. The Englishman missed a match dart but saw Noppert fight back to win the next two sets, taking the match to a decider. Hood survived a match dart of his own and won the sudden-death leg to book a third-round meeting with Ryan Meikle. Anderson looked in danger of becoming another high-profile exit but showed vast improvement in his comeback win. The two-time world champion produced nine 180s and fired a 105.41 average during an impressive performance. "The doubles were a bit iffy at the start," said Anderson. "The scoring kept going, and doubles went in at the end. It's alright! We are getting there. It's not quite together yet." 17 of the 32 seeds have exited before Christmas, but Rock avoided joining that list by dropping just two legs and posting a 101.33 average in his win over Comito. The tournament will resume on Saturday with a double session, and the third-round schedule will be confirmed on Wednesday.