Grand Slam of Darts - Report Day 7
HAMMER BLOW FOR ANDERSON AS KIST AND BARNEY SET UP ALL-DUTCH QUARTER-FINAL
Andy Hamilton edged into the quarter-finals of the William Hill Grand Slam of Darts with a thrilling 10-9 win over Gary Anderson on Friday night, as Christian Kist and Raymond van Barneveld set up an all-Dutch encounter at the Wolves Civic.
Hamilton, the 2007 Grand Slam runner-up, remains on course to reach another Wolverhampton decider following a gritty display in a heavy-scoring contest. Anderson hit eight 180s and ended the game with an average of almost 102, but could only watch on as Hamilton - who had earlier taken out four ton-plus checkouts - hit double 16 for a 15-dart finish in the deciding leg of a classic.
Hamilton now plays three-time World Champion John Part in Saturday's quarter-finals, and said: "It was a beautiful game to be involved in. "Gary's a superb player and a great scorer, but my finishing was exceptional tonight and it had to be. "I think the finish that hurt him the most was when he missed three darts at tops and I took out the 121 finish on the bullseye, and that gave me so much confidence and put me 8-6 up. "I was never behind and Gary was always chasing me, and having the throw in the final leg proved crucial. "Hopefully I can carry on doing what I'm doing now in the quarter-finals. John Part's a legend so I'm looking forward to a great game and I'll be pushing him all the way."
Part had earlier held off a fightback from Northern Ireland's Brendan Dolan to reach the last eight in Wolverhampton for the first time since 2007 with a 10-6 triumph. The Canadian led 6-0 as he punished Dolan for a string of missed doubles before the 2011 World Grand Prix finalist hit back to 8-6 at one stage, only for Part to pull away and seal victory.
"I felt pretty good and got into the lead but sometimes you can get too far ahead," said Part. "I was within grabbing distance of the match but it was in my mind that Brendan was coming back and I knew I had to assert myself. "I'm not used to being so far ahead but he's a fighter and you can't take anything for granted until the game's over. "I've had a lot of success in the Grand Slam and hopefully this year I can take it a little bit further. I'd like to be back for the next few years and I can guarantee that if I win my next game to reach the semi-finals."
Lakeside Champion Christian Kist edged out Wes Newton 10-9 in another thrilling contest as he reached the last eight on his Grand Slam debut. Kist took out finishes of 128 and 102 amongst five successive legs as he took a 6-2 advantage before Newton fought back, eventually forcing a deciding leg with a brilliant 164 checkout. Newton also left himself 28 in the final leg, only to see the Dutchman take out 62 for a 14-darter and set up a clash with Holland's most-decorated player, van Barneveld, in the last eight.
"It was an unbelievable game and it's a dream for me to be in the quarter-finals," said Kist. "I was a bit nervous at the end and hitting the winning double was a problem for me but I had a good last leg. "It will be a good game against Raymond on Saturday."
Van Barneveld enjoyed a 10-4 win in his all-Dutch clash with Lakeside Championship semi-finalist Wesley Harms, hitting a 104.56 average and a 156 checkout before revealing that he had switched to using a lighter set of darts ahead of the contest.
He led 7-2 following a dominant opening to the game, and although the younster took out finishes of 170 and 120, van Barneveld had enough cushion to go on and seal the win - setting up a repeat of the Group H game which Kist won 5-4 earlier in the week.
"My game had been a little bit up and down in the last few days and it was in my mind to change to using 23 gram darts instead of 25 gram darts because I was pulling my darts all the time," said van Barneveld. "As soon as I started practising they went in perfectly and I felt comfortable, and the 104 average is awesome. "Wesley's 170 checkout was brilliant but I'm really happy with tonight's performance and I hope the quarter-final's going to be a cracking game. "Losing to Christian in the group stage was a bad night for me - there was a lot of respect between us - and hopefully on Saturday it will be my game and I can turn that around. It's the first to 16, so it should be my game."