Overview
- Van Veen defeated debutant Charlie Manby in the last 16 at Alexandra Palace to halt the Huddersfield thrower’s impressive first World Championship campaign.
- The loss means Manby misses out on an automatic PDC Pro Tour card and the £100,000 quarter-final guarantee that a win would have secured, though he banks at least £60,000.
- Van Veen out-scored Manby with an average near 98 to roughly 95, producing a string of ton-plus checkouts and sealing the contest in a deciding leg of the fifth set.
- Manby reached round four by beating Ricky Evans 4-2, winning three straight sets from 2-1 down after returning from the Christmas break.
- The Evans match drew attention after a dart fell and he shouted “It’s in,” prompting a glare from referee Huw Ware, and Evans later said he received online death threats as pundits criticised his late-match demeanour.