Colin Lloyd produced the comeback of the 2005 Ladbrokes.com PDC World Darts Championship so far, when he came back from 3-1 down in sets to defeat Chris Mason 4-3 and book his place in the quarter-finals.
Witham's Lloyd looked to be in control when he took the opening set.
But Bristol's Chris Mason, a former world semi-finalist like his opponent, commenced an onslaught and threaten to pull off a major upset.
Mason shocked the reigning World Grand Prix champion with some persistent high scoring, and outstanding accuracy on the doubles.
He managed to push his check-out percentage to an unprecedented 87 per cent figure, and in doing so won three consecutive sets to move within one set of victory.
It took all of Lloyd's resources and fighting mettle to recover in the fifth set.
Mason checked out 120 against the throw, and had darts to win the match including a heart-stopping near-miss with a "double double" on double 20, but Lloyd refused to lie down and found the double five bed to reduce his arrears to 3-2.
In a tense and tight ending to the sixth set, Lloyd managed to break Mason's throw to lead by two legs to one.
"Jaws" then missed five darts at a double to the heartbreak of his Essex supporters, but Mason could not take advantage and Lloyd crucially levelled the match at 3-3 in sets.
At last the Lloyd was able to regain control, and after the opening three legs of the deciding set were shared, Lloyd showed his class by overtaking his opponent and breaking throw at the last to complete an astonishing comeback.
More in today's Evening Gazette
Published Friday, December 31, 2004
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