Tabern started the 1st leg where Perez has a chance to win against the throw. With 140, Perez threw T20-T20 and a heart breaking miss on the D10. In the 2nd leg, Ian threw a 13-darter to even the legs. Tabern won the next two legs and wrapped up the 1st set.

The 2nd set started with Ian winning the 1st leg. Tabern threw 4 consecutive wins to wrap up the set and the 1st leg of the 3rd set. Not to be outdone Ian Perez countered with 4 consecutive wins to win the 3rd set and the 1st leg of the 4th set. By this time, Tabern was already showing signs of frustration and pressure.

Alternative wins followed and reached 2 legs apiece. In the deciding leg of the 4th set, with 56 left Ian threw S16 and missed D20 and D10. This could have been for the winning set and to play for the deciding set. Tabern with 122 remaining threw T18-S18-Dbull for the match victory – a heart-breaking loss for Ian.

Statistics
Match statistics were close as shown by the dart averages and the number of high scores. Tabern outclassed Perez in the High Outs of the match with 149-122-121 outs.

Alan Tabern___________ 3-1 _____________ Christian Perez
10 __________________legs won _______________ 7
28 ___________________100+_________________ 24
12 ___________________ 140+_________________14
2 ____________________ 180s_________________ 2

Summation
Despite the loss, Ian gave a good impression to the announcer and annotator of the TV coverage with remarks such as “Ian is one of the best qualifiers for this year”. And, had he reached the deciding set, he could have been the talk of the darting community. Eventually, as the announcers noted, experience prevailed.