UK Open - Second Day, Evening
VAN GERWEN WIRES NINE-DART FINISH IN THRILLING NIGHT AT CORAL UK OPEN
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN and Phil Taylor lit up the Coral UK Open with stunning performances on Saturday night as Devon Petersen and Andrew Gilding reached their first major quarter-finals at the Butlins Minehead Resort.
A night of fantastic drama in the tournament saw van Gerwen average a personal-best in a televised match as he achieved a 114.91 mean in a 9-2 victory over Kim Huybrechts. The average, though, only tells part of the story following an epic display which saw van Gerwen land nine 180s, hit a 170 finish and then miss double 12 for a nine-dart finish before taking the leg in ten darts to seal an amzing win.
The Dutch ace traded 180s with Huybrechts in their opening throws of the game in what was a taster of what would follow, with the Belgian breaking throw to lead only to see van Gerwen win the next four legs - including his 170 finish. Huybrechts finished 80 to reply as he pulled back to 5-2, but van Gerwen lifted his average above 112 in taking the next three before opening leg 11 with two 180s to set up a possible perfect leg. He then landed the treble 20 and treble 19 when aiming for a 141 finish before wiring the double 12 - but he returned to claim the leg in ten darts and complete a remarkable win.
"I felt great and I'm really happy because I played some fantastic darts," said van Gerwen. "When you're playing like this you really enjoy the game and I'm loving it at the moment. The nine-darter would have been nice and I'm so gutted that I missed the double 12 - I didn't think I could miss it but maybe it will come in the next game. I know I can do great things up there and I can do a lot more on Sunday, but for now I want to enjoy this win."
Van Gerwen now plays Devon Petersen in the quarter-finals, after the South African won through to the last eight for the first time in a major tournament by defeating Eddie Dootson 9-3.
The newcomer from St Helens who had reached the last 16 in his maiden TV event, but came undone as his opponent took out three key ton-plus finishes to progress. Although Petersen won the opening leg in 14 darts, Dootson levelled and then took out 103 to lead 2-1 - but the South African levelled and then broke with a 118 finish. He won the next three legs and then took out 117 to move 7-2 up, with Dootson finishing 160 to hit back only to see Petersen follow up a 14-darter with a 101 checkout as he moved into Sunday's quarter-finals.
Van Gerwen's performance was almost matched by Phil Taylor, who averaged 111.67, landed six 180s and finished nine doubles from 13 attempts in his 9-3 win over Vincent van der Voort.
Van der Voort took out a 140 finish as he shared the opening four legs, but Taylor landed four 180s in the next three legs as he moved 5-2 up with legs of 12, 12 and 11 darts. Van der Voort replied in the eighth with a 14-darter, but Taylor landed a 177 to leave 32 in the next to restore his three-leg lead with a 13-dart finish before taking out 76, a 14-darter and a 12-dart leg to continue his challenge to win a sixth UK Open title.
"Sometimes the scores don't reflect a game and that's one of them because Vincent played well and he's getting better and better," said Taylor. "He's exceptional under pressure and he's a cracking player. It's great to do big averages but you still have to win and I did that. I'm playing well enough to win it but tomorrow's another day and I've still got to perform."
Taylor later drew 2014 World Championship finalist Peter Wright in a tasty quarter-final, after the world number five defeated John Henderson 9-2 by winning nine successive legs.
The Scot started well by taking out 55 and 85 to win the opening two legs, but Wright levelled before taking a key fifth leg, following a 180 with a killer 144 checkout. He added another break of throw with an 11-darter to lead 5-2 before finishing 150 on his way to an 8-2 cushion before sealing victory in style with a 116 finish to complete a 12-darter.
Wright had averaged over 100 in his 9-1 fourth round win over Raymond van Barneveld and ended at almost 100 against Henderson, and said: "My darts are winning matches but there's more in the tank. I feel really good with these darts and it's been a long journey to find the right dart, and I'm happy with them. I'd love to go and win it but there are some fantastic players in this tournament so I've got to take one match at a time."
Mervyn King won a third successive match in a deciding leg as he followed up his narrow wins over Gary Anderson and Nathan Derry with a 9-8 triumph against Kyle Anderson, the Australian who was agonisingly denied a place in his first major quarter-final.
A see-saw contest began with King taking a two-leg lead only for Anderson, aided by a 104 finish, to hit back with three successive legs to edge ahead. King then won the next four to take a 6-3 cushion, taking out 140 in the process, before Anderson finished 104 and 121 to level and double eight to move 7-6 up. King levelled with a 13-darter, and added a 12-dart finish as the game went into a decider, and when Anderson was unable to find his heavy scoring the Norfolk ace finished double four to edge a third successive game 9-8.
"It's not a game plan to win 9-8 but it's working at the moment!" said King. "I'm starting games reasonably well, then falling asleep and letting my opponent back into the game and then having to wake up pretty quickly to edge them out. It's a funny game and hopefully I can keep going on Sunday."
King now meets Stephen Bunting in the opening quarter-final on Sunday afternoon, following the former Lakeside Champion's 9-6 triumph against Irishman William O'Connor.
O'Connor shared the game's opening eight legs, but Bunting took four of the next five to pull out to 8-5 before going on to seal his spot in Sunday's final stages.
Bunting has also defeated St Helens rivals Michael Smith and Dave Chisnall in this event, and admitted: "It's been a busy few days but I'm delighted to be in the quarter-finals. My darts are going in well and I'm happy to have beaten William tonight. I'm looking forward to the final day and I'll get myself ready because it will be tough, but it's there to be won now."
The other quarter-final sees Austrian ace Mensur Suljovic in the last eight for the second successive UK Open as he takes on Andrew Gilding, who reached this stage for the first time in a major championship by knocking out James Wade 9-6.
Suffolk's Gilding did the damage as he took the opening four legs without reply, finishing 120 in the process, before two-time UK Open champion Wade took the next two to hit back. The 44-year-old edged out to 6-2 before finishing 100 and 78 to move to the brink of victory - only for Wade to take the next four as his rival faltered at he winning post. Gilding, though, regained his composure in the 15th leg and landed double ten to seal his spot in Sunday's Finals Day in Minehead.
"The darts are going well at the moment and if you're playing well, you can beat anyone," he said. "I'm getting used to the stage now and I want to put on a show tomorrow for the fans."
Suljovic, meanwhile, won through to the quarter-finals for the second successive year as he defeated Holland's Jan Dekker 9-6. The first six legs were shared before the Austrian broke to lead 4-3, and he also took out a 116 finish to maintain his advantage at 6-5, while he edged into an 8-6 advantage before landing two 177s in his winning leg.