UK Open - Day Three
Fourth Round
NEWTON'S NINE-DARTER NOT ENOUGH AS LEWIS EDGES INTO SPEEDY SERVICES UK OPEN LAST 16
Wes Newton hit a superb nine-dart finish during the fourth round of the Speedy Services UK Open in Bolton but lost 9-8 to Adrian Lewis in a thriller, as the Stoke ace was joined in the last 16 by Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld, James Wade and Robert Thornton.
Newton, who was the victim of a nine-darter from Taylor in 2007, hit his perfect finish in the eighth leg of his clash with Adrian Lewis, an achievement which levelled the game at four-all.
Newton landed two 180s before finishing 141 on double 12, and will earn a £5,000 bonus should no other player achieve the feat this weekend. However, a high-quality game went all the way as Lewis, who had been 3-1 down, moved 7-5 and 8-7 up before pouncing in the deciding leg when Newton missed three match darts.
"It's brilliant to do the nine-darter, but at the end of the day it was the match I wanted to win," said Newton. "It was an awesome game and we both gave it our all, but if you don't hit your doubles you won't win. I'm proud to have been involved in a game like that and I wish Adrian the best of luck."
Both players ended the game with ton-plus averages, and Lewis, who had been a 9-1 winner against Matthew Dennant in Friday's third round, said: "Wes let me in at the end there and I took my chance. My form's brilliant and I think if I can keep playing like this then I've got to have a great chance this weekend."
Lewis has now drawn Kevin Painter for Saturday evening's fifth round games, after the former UK Open semi-finalist came from 7-3 down to claim a brilliant 9-7 win over Gary Anderson.
Reigning champion Robert Thornton enjoyed a fine 9-5 win over Kirk Shepherd as he moved into the last 16, and he now plays two-time UK Open champion Raymond van Barneveld. The Dutchman followed up Friday's dramatic 9-8 win over Michael Smith by defeating another Merseysider, Joey Palfreyman 9-3.
Palfreyman's younger brother Lee, a former Las Vegas Desert Classic semi-finalist, was also defeated in Saturday afternoon's fourth round as he lost 9-6 to Ronnie Baxter.
Blackpool's Baxter now meets Jelle Klaasen, who progressed to the last 16 with an impressive 9-3 win over Cheshire's Stuart Kellett.
Four-time UK Open champion Phil Taylor continued his fine start to the event with a 9-2 win over Adrian Gray, averaging 105 in a clinical performance. Taylor will now play Brendan Dolan, with the Northern Irish ace having defeated Matt Padgett 9-6 on Saturday afternoon.
Two-time UK Open champion James Wade swept aside 2012 semi-finalist Dave Chisnall with a fine display of finishing in a 9-2 victory, and he now plays Scotland's John Henderson, who was a 9-8 winner against Kevin McDine.
Andy Hamilton came from 3-0 down to defeat former finalist John Part 9-4, and he will face York's Terry Temple in the last 16, with the world number 83 overcoming John Bowles 9-7.
Colourful Peter Wright was a 9-2 winner against the remaining Speedy Qualifier, Stephen Bunting, and he will now face Steve West, whose run in Bolton continued with a high-quality 9-6 win over Richie Burnett.
Fifth Round
TAYLOR SNEAKS PAST DOLAN TO SET UP SPEEDY SERVICES UK OPEN QUARTER-FINAL WITH VAN GERWEN
Phil Taylor snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Brendan Dolan as he remained on course to win a fifth Speedy Services UK Open title with a 9-8 fifth round win on Saturday night, and he has drawn Dutch rival Michael van Gerwen in the quarter-finals of 'The FA Cup of Darts'.Taylor stared defeat in the face against Dolan as the Northern Irishman, who had earlier hit finishes of 102, 101 and 124 in leading 4-2, missed three darts for victory when he led 8-7. Taylor, who took out finishes of 132 and 103 himself, landed double eight to save the game and force a deciding leg, showing his World Champion class with a sublime 11-darter as he sealed a last eight spot.
"I struggled tonight and Brendan was the better player, so I'm glad to have hit the 11-darter in the last leg," said Taylor. "I was lucky to be honest and I made it hard work for myself.
"Brendan had me beaten but I just kept trying and trying and somehow got the job done."
Taylor will now play world number two Michael van Gerwen in Sunday afternoon's quarter-finals, giving him chance to avenge last month's defeat in the McCoy's Premier League Darts final four weeks ago.
Van Gerwen won through to his first UK Open quarter-finals courtesy of a 9-3 defeat of Terry Jenkins, although he did the damage early on by taking the game's first six legs without reply.
"It feels great to be in the quarter-finals for the first time," said van Gerwen. "I had a very strong start to this game but Terry played very well this afternoon against Kim Huybrechts so I knew I needed to be sharp. I lost my concentration a little bit in the middle of the game, but I managed to get the win and I can improve on this tomorrow. I'll have a good rest and then prepare myself for Sunday, because it would be fantastic to win this title."
Reigning champion Robert Thornton, though, was knocked out of the event as he went down 9-7 in a thriller against Raymond van Barneveld, the 2006 and 2007 UK Open winner. Thornton led 2-0 and 4-1 before the Dutchman produced some brilliant darts in winning four successive legs to move into the lead.
Thornton regained the edge at 6-5 before van Barneveld took command with three successive legs before going on to seal his quarter-final place.
"I'm very happy," said van Barneveld. "Robert was great in the first five legs and his finishing was fantastic, but I won four legs on the spin to get myself back into the game. "It was a tough match and I was very relieved to win when I did, because it would have been very hard in a deciding leg. I would mean a lot to me to win a third UK Open tomorrow but I can only concentrate on the quarter-finals first and I'll be preparing for that."
Van Barneveld now plays Blackpool's Ronnie Baxter, who edged out another Dutchman, Jelle Klaasen, 9-7 in a tight contest which saw both players hit 160 finishes.
Two-time UK Open champion James Wade continued his challenge to claim a Bolton hat-trick with a 9-4 win over John Henderson, taking command by winning four of the game's opening five legs before fending off the Scot's fightback.
Wade has now drawn Andy Hamilton in the last eight, with the former World Championship finalist having swept aside York's Terry Temple 9-1 in their fifth round game.
Two-time World Champion Adrian Lewis showed flashes of his best in a 9-6 win over Kevin Painter, who hit back from 5-0 down to trail just 6-4 at one stage, but the world number three hit two 11-darters as he sealed the win.
Lowestoft's Peter Wright now faces Lewis in the last eight, after he won through to his first Bolton quarter-final with another impressive performance as he defeated Steve West 9-4 with a 102 average.
The quarter-finals will be followed on Sunday evening by the £200,000 event's climax as the semi-finals and final are staged, with the eventual champion taking home £40,000 prize money.