HUDDERSFIELD’S Scott Waites was last night locked in a battle to protect his status as favourite to land the BDO World Professional Darts Championship title.
The 35-year-old who has been installed as the new favourite at Lakeside (he’s the No3 seed) was up against the Belgian No14 seed Geert de Vos and won 4-1.
Waites (left) reached this stage of the competition with a whitewash of Dutch as Willy van de Wiel.
The man who plays at the Foresters, Crosland Moor, rattled up a quickfire 3-0 win to earn his place against de Vos, who had previously beaten England’s Tony Eccles 3-2 in his first round tie.
Huddersfield’s other representative at the Championships, James Wilson from Linthwaite, who throws for the Royal at Milnsbridge, put up a good fight on his Lakeside debut before losing 3-2 to No1 seed Stephen Bunting.
Last night’s early matches included a 4-3 win for Netherlands’ Jan Dekker over England’s Garry Thompson.
England’s Paul Jennings had an easier time of it against the Irishman Jason Cullen, winning in straight sets 4-0.
Meanwhile, Snooker’s World Championship is set to stay at the Crucible until at least 2017 after the BBC extended its contract to broadcast it.
The World Championship has been played at the Sheffield theatre since 1977, but growing interest in the sport from China has led to speculation that it could be moved overseas.
A large part of the snooker season is played in the Far East, however the World Championship, UK Championship and Masters are historically the most important events on the calendar.
