PDC Darts Championship: Peter Wright beats Noel Malicdem in sudden death
- Published
Wright claimed victory in the deciding 11th leg of the fifth set
Seventh seed Peter 'Snakebite' Wright survived a major scare to beat Noel Malicdem 3-2 in a sudden-death shootout at the PDC World Championship.
The Scottish 2014 runner-up and 2017 semi-finalist won 6-5 in the fifth set of a dramatic second-round match.
Englishman Nathan Aspinall and Germans Max Hopp and Nico Kurz also made it through to the third round.
On Saturday night, Fallon Sherrock - the first woman to beat a man at the tournament - faces Mensur Suljovic.
Wright, wearing a green elf-style shirt, looked set to deliver a straightforward victory as he cruised to the first set.
But his opponent, from the Philippines, rallied and at one stage had a dart at bullseye to triumph.
He missed to leave an opening for Wright, who hit 162 followed by a 140 checkout to save the match, before edging to victory in a tense sudden-death leg,
Wright plays Keegan Brown or Seigo Asada next.
Friday's second-round results
Peter Wright (Sco) 3-2 Noel Malicdem (Phi)
Max Hopp (Ger) 3-2 Benito van de Pas (Ned)
Nico Kurz (Ger) 3-1 Joe Cullen (Eng)
Darren Webster (Eng) 3-0 Yuki Yamada (Jpz) 3-0
Mervyn King (Eng) 3-2 Ciaran Teehan (Ire)
Jonny Clayton (Wal) 3-0 Jan Dekker (Ned)
Ricky Evans (Eng) 3-1 Mark McGeeney (Eng) 3-1