World Matchplay - Matchreports 5th Day
Barney storms through to set up All-Dutch clash
Raymond van Barneveld after his brilliant first round match showed another great performance and demolished Alan Tabern 13:5. He will
now meet his countryman Co Stompe in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Stompe had won through a match against an uninspired Mark Webster.
The third Dutch player of the evening - Vincent van der Voort - had despite a comeback no chance against a sure playing James Wade. And local favourite Ronnie Baxter was defeated by Wayne Jones who was very accurate on his doubles and domionated the match.
Wayne Jones 13-9 Ronnie Baxter
Wayne Jones won through to the StanJames.com World Matchplay quarter-finals for the first time by knocking out Blackpool favourite Ronnie Baxter 13-9 on Wednesday night.The Wolverhampton man produced one of his finest displays on the televised stage to progress to the last eight of the £400,000 event, battering Baxter into submission with his heavy scoring. Jones held leads of 3-0 and 7-4 before Baxter hit back to level, but the 1998 runner-up was unable to edge ahead as he fell to defeat.
Baxter landed a maximum in the game's opening leg, but Jones got off the mark on double 16 and hit a 180 of his own in doubling the lead, before punishing four misses from the local star to move 3-0 up. A brace of double top finishes from Baxter saw him cut the gap to one leg, but after landing a third maximum of the game in leg six he missed three darts to level as double four edged Jones 4-2 up.
Baxter also landed a 180 but missed double eight in the next as Jones posted double top for a 5-2 cushion, and the pair shared the next four legs as the Wolverhampton man - the 2006 World Championship semi-finalist - retained his advantage. Baxter took the next leg on double ten, and punished three misses from Jones to take out double 18 for a sixth leg and double 16 to square the game at seven-all.
Jones, though, replied with three successive legs of his own to move clear once more at 10-7, with a pair of double eight checkouts followed by double ten as he edged towards victory. Baxter won the next two, but a key 81 finish saw Jones halt the fightback and move 11-9 up, before hitting a 180 and double ten to edge a leg away from victory. The Wolverhampton ace then powered in another maximum to pull clear of Baxter in the next, with double eight booking his quarter-final place on Friday.
"I'm absolutely delighted with that," said Jones. "I scored well and if I'd hit more doubles I'd have had an amazing average but I'm not disappointed. It's nice to hit a few 180s and I was hitting the tons for fun, which I do in the non-TV tournaments, so I can't complain too much because it's one of the best performances I've had for a while." I missed too many doubles and thought at one stage that I was going to throw it away because I had so many shots to go far enough in front to win it that they would come back to haunt me. My last two legs to win the match were beautiful. I really enjoyed the match and am very pleased with that result."
Co Stompe 13-9 Mark Webster
Co Stompe's fine form in the StanJames.com World Matchplay continued with a 13-9 win over battling Mark Webster as the Dutch star progressed to the quarter-finals in Blackpool. Stompe followed up his gritty opening win over Andy Hamilton with a free-flowing display to see off the Welshman, leading 7-2 and 10-3 before Webster hit back to ensure a nervy ending.Webster paid for four missed doubles in the first leg as Stompe took out 96 for an early blow, only for the left-hander to finish double 12 in the next and take out 91 to lead 2-1. That was bettered by a 127 bullseye finish from Stompe as he levelled, before hitting a 180 in regaining the advantage. A pair of double top finishes put Stompe 5-2 up, before double 12 and double ten moved him five legs clear before a clutch of misses in the tenth allowed Webster in on tops to pull back to 7-3.
However, Stompe continued to make the Welshman pay for a below-par display as he won the next three without reply in taking a 10-3 cushion. A double top finish saw Webster win a fourth leg before he took out 90 and 122 on the bullseye in the next two legs to speak a comeback. Stompe moved 11-6 up on double 16, but Webster then won the next two, after misses from his opponent, in pulling back to three legs behind.
He also landed a maximum in the next, but a missed double top proved costly as Stompe landed double six to go a leg away from the win. Webster hit the same bed to keep the match alive in the next leg, but he could do nothing as Stompe finished 87 on the bull to win a quarter-final spot.
"Mark didn't turn up until halfway through the match and I started messing things up too," admitted Stompe afterwards. "When I went 8-3 up I started thinking about the win and I knew that I only needed to win three of the next ten legs, and I can't believe I did that. I started to struggle and Mark found some good finishes but I won and I'm happy with that."
Stompe faces fellow Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld in the quarter-finals, and he added: "Before the tournament I looked at the draw and wanted to get through to play Raymond in the quarter-finals. We've only played once on TV before, when he hammered me in Las Vegas, but Friday will be different. Against Andy Hamilton and Mark Webster I never knew what I was up against because you don't know which player is going to turn up, but against Raymond you know you have to play, and if you don't he will thrash you."
James Wade 13-10 Vincent van der Voort
James Wade powered into the quarter-finals of the StanJames.com World Matchplay with a 13-10 win over Vincent van der Voort in Blackpool. Wade, the Winter Gardens champion in 2007, continued his challenge for a second World Matchplay title with an assured display to end the Dutchman's hopes.He came from 3-2 down to lead 6-3 and 11-6 before holding off a fightback from van der Voort to set up a quarter-final with Wolverhampton's Wayne Jones.
However, the world number three said afterwards: "I've got to improve if I want to win this title. I got my game quite a bit there and started relaxing and playing to the crowd instead of getting on with it and you're not going to win tournaments like that. There were glimmers of my best darts but Vincent missed a lot of doubles and I finished pretty well. I've won my first two games and this was an okay day's work - but I want to bury players and not let them back in."
Wade hit a maximum in the game's opening leg but van der Voort edged ahead on the bullseye before landing double top for a 2-0 advantage. The left-hander hit the same bed to get off the mark, but a 180 was not enough in the fourth leg as van der Voort posted double nine to move 3-1 up. Wade finished 62 to take the fifth leg, and an assured two-dart 96 checkout saw him level matters.
The Dutchman missed the bull for a 124 finish in the seventh, with Wade following up an earlier maximum with double ten to lead for the first time, and a 96 finish followed by double ten took his run to five successive legs as he took a 6-3 lead. Van der Voort stopped that with double 16, but Wade won the next three - twice punishing misses from last year's quarter-finalist - to take a 9-4 advantage.
Van der Voort took out 106 to win a fifth leg, while the pair traded maximums in sharing the next two to leave Wade 10-6 up, with double ten giving him a five-leg cushion. However, the Dutch star threatened a comeback by cutting the lead to 11-8 by winning the next two legs, forcing Wade to take out 121 in moving a leg away from the win.
Van der Voort posted two double eight finishes to pull back to within two legs and keep the game alive, but Wade sealed victory on double five to set up a quarter-final with Wayne Jones.
"Friday is my biggest game of the tournament," said Wade. "Wayne's got a pretty good record against me recently but this is on the TV stage and we'll see what happens on Friday."
Raymond van Barneveld 13-5 Alan Tabern
Raymond van Barneveld's brilliant start to the StanJames.com World Matchplay continued with a 13-5 demolition of Alan Tabern at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. The Dutch star hit a nine-darter in Saturday's first round win over Denis Ovens, and produced a clinical performance to see off left-hander Tabern with an average of almost 104.He now faces fellow countryman Co Stompe in the quarter-finals on Friday, as he bids to claim his first major title for three years.
"I'm enjoying myself and it's great to be on stage again after two months off," said van Barneveld. "If I keep playing like this I don't fear anyone."
The Dutchman showed why he holds no fear by kicking off the game with a 13-dart finish and then responding in style to a double salvo from Tabern, who won the next two legs with thrilling checkouts of 121 and 156. Van Barneveld replied with an 11-darter, following by a 14-dart finish and a 90 checkout to lead 4-2, although a missed double top allowed the left-hander in to win the seventh leg.
World number two van Barneveld, though, took the next five without reply to put himself well in command of the game, hitting a second 11-dart leg and twice punishing Tabern's missed doubles. The St Helens man landed a third 180 of the game in a 13-darter to take a fourth leg, but missed double top to threaten a fightback as van Barneveld finished double eight for a 10-4 lead.
A 94 finish was followed by a 14-darter as he moved to within a leg of victory, and while Tabern matched that to take a fifth leg the Dutch star powered in a 180 before coolly posting double 16 to complete the win.
"I'm very pleased," said van Barneveld. "I didn't miss many doubles tonight and I'm happy with that. In the two months I took off after the Premier League I wasn't doing nothing at home, I practised a lot on my doubles and finishes because I know I'm a high scorer but I'd been giving many legs away because I missed doubles. Alan hit some big finishes in the first few legs, 121 and 156, but I was telling myself to relax - in the last few months I'd been panicking but at the moment I'm very laid back."
Van Barneveld meets Stompe in an all-Dutch quarter-final on Friday night, and he added: "I'm looking forward to playing Co. We've known each other for a long time and I've got a lot of respect for what he's done in the last two years in the PDC. He stayed in the BDO for a lot of years but I was telling him to join the PDC and he did that, which took a lot of courage. He won a big event in Germany, beating Phil Taylor in the final, and has had two good World Championships by reaching the last eight, and now he's in the quarter-finals here. He's playing well, nice and relaxed and deserves to be in the last eight, but I'll play my game and if I play like I did tonight against him I don't have to fear anyone."