Grand Slam of Darts 2015 - Sixth Day, Report and Statistics

MASTER-CLASS FROM VAN GERWEN AS WOLFIE'S DREAMS ARE ENDED
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN produced a master-class against Steve Beaton to storm into the SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts quarter-finals on Thursday night, as Martin Adams' Wolverhampton dreams were ended by Kim Huybrechts.

Dutchman van Gerwen remained on course for his first Wolves Civic title by averaging 109.18 in a relentless 10-2 defeat of Beaton, limiting his opponent to only five darts at a double in the game.
Van Gerwen hit three 180s in the opening three legs and also took out 124 for a 12-dart finish as he moved 3-0 up, and hit double eight before back-to-back 13-darters put him six legs clear. Beaton took out 116 as he finally got off the mark, and replied to another 13-dart finish from the Dutchman with tops to pull back to 7-2, but any hope of a fightback was swiftly ended by van Gerwen with legs of 14, 13 and 12 darts.

"I'm really happy because I played well," said van Gerwen. "I'm playing fantastic darts and today was perfect, I hit my finishes at the right moments. I hope I can keep this performance going but this is a tournament I've never won before so I've got a huge couple of games ahead. I know I can keep this going and I only have one goal in this tournament - to win."

Van Gerwen will aim for revenge against Kim Huybrechts for last year's quarter-final defeat when they meet on Saturday night, after the Belgian edged out Martin Adams 10-9 in a thriller.
The three-time Lakeside Champion had won through his group unbeaten with a trio of wins, and led 2-0 against Huybrechts after hitting a 12-darter which included two maximums before defying a pair of 180s in leg four to lead 3-1. Huybrechts, though, took the next five legs without reply as he moved into a 6-3 lead, finishing 64, 76 and a 13-darter as he turned the game on its head, only for Adams to hit back and level. After Adams finished 92 to square the contest at seven-all, Huybrechts finishes 79 and 70 to move 9-7 up only for the BDO stalwart to take out double 19 and tops to send the game into a decider. Huybrechts, who had wired double ten to finish 128 in the game's penultimate leg, held his nerve as he finished tops for a 13-darter to finally claim the win and end Adams' challenge.

"It was a difficult game and the final leg was nerve-wracking but I'm happy with the win," said Huybrechts. "I'm not happy with the way I played but I'm happy with the last leg and hitting double top with one dart. At the beginning of the tournament my scoring power was there and my finishing wasn't, and now my scoring power isn't really there and my finishing is there, so I'll try to make a combination in the next game."
Huybrechts hit a nine-darter in last year's quarter-final win over van Gerwen and added: "It was the best performance of my life. I felt so good on that stage and it would be awesome to repeat that. I'm looking forward to playing Michael and feeling confident. I will have to play a game like last year against Michael to beat him, otherwise I've got no chance, so I know what I'm up against and it's up to me to do it."
Adams said: "Hats off to Kim, he played a great game there and it was a pleasure to play the young man. I've had an immense time and the crowd have been brilliant."

Michael Smith also won through to the quarter-finals for a second successive year as he hit a stunning nine 180s in his 10-7 defeat of Dave Chisnall in a clash of the St Helens rivals.
Chisnall, who landed a nine-dart finish on Sunday, took out finishes of 170 and 106 as he shared the opening eight legs, but Smith crucially won four of the next five to pull clear to 8-5. Chisnall finished 61 and 63 to pull back to 9-7, but tops for Smith sealed an impressive win with a 104.59 average as he bids to claim a first major ranking title.

"I want to show what I can do on TV and I think I showed it in a way then," said Smith. "In my first three games my scoring wasn't there but I finished well, and today I scored well but didn't quite finish like I wanted to. If I can put that all into one then I can win this tournament. The belief is coming back now that I'm scoring well. Chizzy is one of the best players in the world and I'm glad to beat someone like him, who's not only a good friend who helped me along with darts as a kid but he's also an idol of mine as well and a really good darts player. I didn't feel under pressure and I kept my focus."

Smith now takes on Adrian Lewis, who was in superb finishing form as he took out ten doubles from 16 attempts to defeat Peter Wright 10-7 in an entertaining contest.
Wright twice took out 76 as he established an early 2-0 lead before Lewis, aided by a 121 checkout, hit back to move 4-3 up. Wright levelled with an 11-darter, but back-to-back 14-dart legs saw Lewis edge into a lead he would never lose as he maintained his advantage before sealing the win with a 130 checkout for a 12-darter.

"I thought it was a great game," said Lewis. "Peter said after his previous match that I was going to crumble against him but a two-time World Champion doesn't do that and he did. I think my finishing was fantastic. My scoring wasn't fantastic but it was when it needed to be. Peter should have been 3-0 up and he missed a couple of doubles and let me in a couple of times and I took my chance. I've always found the group stage difficult, it's more of a sprint, but coming into a longer distance is more of my format and I'm looking forward to the quarter-finals. I'm in for a really tough game and I'm up for it."


Statistics
Ave180sDoublesPlayervPlayer Ave180sDoubles
104.59910/33Smith 10:7Chisnall99.8247/11
109.18510/19v.Gerwen 10:2Beaton99.5642/5
101:3697/23Wright 7:10Lewis104.71510/15
98.4739/22Adams 9/10Huybrechts100.87610/18








Contact © Global Darts. All Rights Reserved. Impressum