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Wins for Simon Whitlock, Peter Wright, Michael van Gerwen and Adrian Lewis got day one underway of the PDC World Matchplay tournament at the Winter Gardens.
Simon Whitlock 10-4 Jelle Klaasen
The Wizard was a comfortable winner over an in-form Jelle Klaasen, with the Aussie racing into a 5-0 lead which was enough to set Whitlock on his way to the win. Klaasen briefly threatened a fight back but the man from down under once again accelerated to pull away and seal victory with a 120 checkout for a 10-4 victory.
Peter Wright 10-5 Kim Huybrechts
In what was billed as one of the ties of the round, Snakebite proved too strong for the Belgian, showing why the eccentric Wright is considered a contender. The Scotsman raced into a 6-0 lead but was pegged back by Huybrechts to within three before Wright closed the tie out with a sensational 161 checkout on the bull for a 10-5 victory.
Michael van Gerwen 10-4 Benito van de Pas
MVG was in imperious form as he blew away his fellow Dutchman in the early stages to race into a 9-1 lead before van de Pas regained some respectability to pick three legs up towards the end of the clash. However MVG was in no mood to allow van de Pas a way back in as the tournament favourite sealed victory with a 100 checkout to move into the next round
Adrian Lewis 10-7 Joe Murnan
Adrian Lewis was made to work for his victory over debutant Joe Murnan who gave a good account on his first appearance in Blackpool. Lewis raced into a 7-2 lead but was made to work hard as the Bolton born Murnan, who has no tour card, pegged back Jackpot before the former world champion sealed a nervy victory with a a double top to make it through to the second round.
