JUSTIN PIPE 3-1 SEAN REED

JUSTIN PIPE secured a hard-fought first round victory over Australian qualifier Sean Reed by coming from a set down to secure a place in the second round of the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship.

The game was finely poised at one set all with Reed 2-1 up in the third set before the man from Taunton put together a run of five winning legs to win the match.

The Australian made a superb start to the match by taking the set first without reply from his opponent, as Reed hit finishes of 86, 112 and 83 to take an early advantage on his televised debut.

Pipe made a good start to the second set by holding throw with the aid of a maximum before Reed drew level by hitting double 16.

Pipe hit a 174 to leave 16 in the third leg, which he duly took out to edge ahead, and in the fourth he hit a second 180, followed by a successful attempt at double six, to square the match.

Reed reproduced the form of the first set at the beginning of the third with an excellent 121 checkout before Pipe took the next by landing double 16 at the first time of asking.

A tense third leg saw Pipe miss two chances to break throw and Reed hit double ten with his third dart to claim a 2-1 lead.

Pipe won the fourth with an accurate attempt at double 18 and then hit a brace of 140s at the start of the deciding leg, which was won on double eight to take the set and lead the match for the first time.

The fourth set started with Pipe hitting double eight to hold throw, and he broke in the second by converting a 62 finish on double 16 to win a fourth successive leg before he hit the same bed in the next to seal victory.

"It's job done and I ground out the win," said Pipe. "That's the nervy one out of the way because it means so much to better myself from the first round loss a year ago.

"I'm happy enough with my finishing but I need to up my average in the second round."