 Fordham's form has collapsed since he won his world title |
Andy Fordham's decline as a darts force continued when he made an early exit from the Winmau World Masters. The man known as "The Viking" came into the Bridlington event unseeded and won only one match before tumbling out.
A 3-0 victory over Ian McCallum flattered Fordham, who then lost 3-1 to the Republic of Ireland's Benny Grace after taking the first set.
Grace said: "I respect Andy as a world champion. He's a great player but the pressure was on him."
Bobby George went out even earlier, losing his opening match 3-0 to Jim Widmayer of the United States.
Two-time World Championship runner-up Mervyn King also went out, going down 3-2 to Albertino Essers of Holland.
An an all-Dutch clash, eighth seed Vincent van der Voort was beaten 3-2 by Rick Hofstra.
Other notable early casualties were 2003 champion Tony West and last year's runner-up, Goran Klemme of Sweden.
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