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MIRACLE COMEBACK FROM WHITLOCK STUNS CAVEN

SIMON WHITLOCK produced the greatest comeback in the history of the partypoker.net European Championship as he came from 9-3 down to defeat Jamie Caven and remain on course to retain his title, as Michael van Gerwen, Adrian Lewis and Ronny Huybrechts joined him in the semi-finals in Muelheim.

Reigning champion Whitlock looked set to crash out in the quarter-finals as in-form Caven swept into leads of 5-1 and 9-3 in their clash.
The Derby ace took five successive legs after Whitlock kicked off the game with a 104 finish, and a 114 finish was followed by a second 11-darter of the game as Caven moved to the brink of victory. Whitlock, though, took the next three legs, including a 134 checkout, to pull back to 9-6 before Caven missed a match dart at tops to finish 110, allowing the Australian to continue his fightback.
The charge continued as he took a sixth successive leg to force the game into a decider, in which both showed nerves - Caven being first to a finish but unable to take out 114 as Whitlock stepped up needing 146, and he brilliantly hit two treble 19s and double 16 to joyously complete an amazing comeback win.

"I don't know how I did it!" said Whitlock. "I'm not going to give up this title easily and all I could think when I was 9-3 down was to never give up, keep trying and take each leg one by one. I thought immediately of when Andy Hamilton came back to beat me in the World Matchplay two years ago, and I wanted this to be the time that I did something like that. Jamie played superbly but he lost some momentum at the end when the game started to go my way, and I just kept plugging away. It means so much to me and I have to keep believing - I believe I can win this title again tonight."

Whitlock will now meet Belgium's Ronny Huybrechts in the opening semi-final on Sunday evening, before potentially taking on either Michael van Gerwen or Adrian Lewis - the world's number two and three - in the final to battle for the £50,000 first prize.

Huybrechts - who knocked out World Champion Phil Taylor on Saturday night in the second round - won through to his first major ranking semi-final in similarly dramatic circumstances as he edged out Robert Thornton 10-9.
The pair shared the first six legs before Huybrechts took a break to move 6-3 up, only for Thornton to hit back and level at seven-all. The Scot, though, could never forge ahead as the game progressed to a decider, and when Thornton missed the bull to take out 72, Huybrechts pounced to hit double five and move into the last four.

"I thought that I'd blown my chance in the last leg, so I'm very lucky to get through," he admitted. "I'm so glad that the double five finally went in - I think I just closed my eyes and threw the dart! After beating Phil Taylor I didn't sleep well but I had to focus on this game and it was difficult for me, but I did it. Nobody expected me to beat Phil, but if you can beat the world number one, then the rest are all the same. It's all new for me, but I hope I can continue this in the semi-finals and I'm looking to enjoy the experience.

The other semi-final sees van Gerwen and Lewis clash after they produced superb performances to win their respective last eight contests with Jelle Klaasen and Andy Hamilton.

Van Gerwen landed seven 180s, finishes of 136 and 124 and averaged 104.77 in a 10-7 victory over Klaasen in their all-Dutch encounter, with the resurgent former Lakeside Champion also hitting two ton-plus finishes and five maximums in reply.

"It was a big game for me and I'm very happy," said van Gerwen. "I played very well and it was a quality game - Jelle played very well too but I showed that I was the best player on the day. I had a great performance in the second round and I want to keep that going tonight. I'm full of confidence and it would be great to win this title."

Two-time World Champion Lewis, meanwhile, won his all-Stoke battle with Hamilton 10-3 to move into the semi-finals of the European Championship for a third time in six years.
Lewis took the game's first four legs to assume command and also hit a 135 finish in moving 7-1 up, before Hamilton - aided by a pair of 180s and a 106 checkout - hit back to trail 8-3. Lewis, though, hit his fourth 13-darter of the game to regain command before landing a fifth maximum and tops to seal the win, ending the game with a 102.57 average.

"I'm very pleased with that," said Lewis. "I was never comfortable and it was a tough game. I started really well and even though I was cruising at one point, you can never write off Andy Hamilton so I'm happy I got it wrapped up when I did. I'm playing well and it would top off the last couple of months of good form for me if I can go on and win this title now, but I'm focusing on the semi-final with Michael and I know that if I play my best game, I can beat him."

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