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ANDERSON EDGES OUT BARNEY IN EPIC SINGHA BEER GRAND SLAM CONTEST

GARY ANDERSON edged out Raymond van Barneveld 16-13 in a classic SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts quarter-final on Saturday night, as James Wade also secured a semi-final spot at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall.

World Champion Anderson showed his class in an epic battle with van Barneveld, the 2012 Grand Slam of Darts winner who continued his run of fine performances this week during a match where the lead changed hands six times.
Anderson had threatened to pull away in the early stages as he claimed four of the opening five legs, taking two breaks of throw in the process, only to see van Barneveld hit back to level with some fine darts. The Dutchman then moved ahead for the first time with a sensational 164 checkout in leg 11, with Anderson replying with a 121 finish before a 68 combination moved the 2012 winner 7-6 up. The World Champion then moved 8-7 ahead, only for van Barneveld to take the next two legs for a 9-8 cushion before Anderson landed double ten and then hit six perfect darts with two 180s in an 11-darter to move 10-9 up. A sublime 126 bull finish saw van Barneveld level again before he took out 78 to lead 11-10, with the next five legs going with throw to see the pair locked at 13-all.
Anderson then took out 96 for a 12-darter to break throw and claim a crucial 14-13 lead before then following his 11th 180 with a 100 finish for an 11-darter to move to the brink of victory. Van Barneveld's fight continued as he opened leg 29 with scores of 180 and 177, but after missing out on a possible nine-darter the Dutchman was unable to land the bull to finish 84, and Anderson followed two further maximums with tops for another 11-darter to seal an epic win. Anderson used just 47 darts in his late surge from 13-12 down to win 16-13, hitting legs of 13, 12, 11 and 11 darts in storming through to the last four.

"I enjoyed it and even if I'd been beaten I would have because Barney was great," said Anderson. "He hit some great finishes but I stuck in there and kept going. Raymond has played well all through the tournament and he's back playing well. He missed a few darts at double but so did I and I let him in a few times, so I'm happy I got over it. I'm happy with the way my darts are going and it's starting to come good. This is my favourite tournament and it would be nice to get back in the final, but there's a lot of darts to be thrown before then."

Wade, meanwhile, motored into the semi-finals for the first time since 2010 with a 16-5 win over Chris Dobey as he handed the youngster a tough lesson in his first TV quarter-final, pulling clear from one-all to lead 6-1 with five successive finishes of 40.
Dobey took two of the next three to pull back to 7-3, including a second 13-dart finish, but paid for a missed double 16 in leg 11 as Wade pounced to start a run of six straight legs as he moved 13-3 up, hitting successive clinical checkouts of 76, 112 and 68 along the way. A lapse in leg 17, when Wade missed five doubles across three visits, allowed Dobey to hit back on double four before a 152 checkout was acclaimed by the capacity crowd as the 26-year-old produced the game's biggest finish. However, Dobey's miss at double 16 in the next allowed Wade in on his trusted tops to move 14-5 up, and the left-hander posted double ten and tops - for a 14-darter - to secure his last four spot.

"I'm buzzing to be through but I don't think the scoreline reflected the game," said Wade. "Chris missed quite a few doubles and I'm always going to be there to make the most of the opportunities. I'm really happy with how I played. The scoring wasn't very good but my finishing was clinical and that hurts players. When I hit my doubles I'm dangerous. I relied on a few of Chris' missed shots and I proved that I'm more experienced in this game, but we've all got something to look out for. His scoring is phenomenal; his finishing is a little bit weak at the moment because he's inexperienced at this time. We've had a slight taste of what Chris can do this week, and I'm glad that he got a little bit nervous, in my opinion, and the occasion got to him. He's a special player and he's going to be around for years."

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