World Grand Prix - Report 3 Day
THORNTON STUNS TAYLOR WITH PARTYPOKER.COM WORLD GRAND PRIX WIN AS DOLAN ROLLS ON IN DUBLIN
Robert Thornton knocked reigning champion Phil Taylor out of the PartyPoker.com World Grand Prix with a stunning deciding leg victory at the Citywest Hotel on Wednesday night, and was joined in the quarter-finals by Brendan Dolan, Justin Pipe and Mervyn King.
Scottish star Thornton repeated June's victory over the Stoke legend in the Speedy Services UK Open final with a sensational performance in Dublin, hitting eight 180s and matching the number one seed blow for blow in a thrilling game.
After seeing Taylor win the first set 3-1, Thornton took the next two to move ahead - winning one with a 101 finish before following a 104 checkout with a 13-darter in the third set's decider. The defending champion replied strongly to win the fourth set without reply and also led 2-1 in the fifth, only to miss a dart at the bull for the match as Thornton levelled to force a deciding leg, before prevailing in dramatic fashion. Taylor hit a 177 to be first to a finish, but uncharacteristically missed five darts for the match to allow Thornton in to take out double top to reach the quarter-finals on Friday night.
"It's an outstanding result for me," said Thornton, the reigning UK Open champion and a former World Masters winner. "The win ranks up there with the best of my career because it's a harder format. I'm not scared of Phil any more and to beat Phil you've got to take the game to him, you can't sit back and let him dictate it. When I went 2-1 up in sets I thought I was in a great position but then I lost my throw in the fourth and it went two-each. I never give in until the last dart goes in, but when he hit the 177 in the last leg I just wanted to hit a big score and leave something. It's not like Phil to miss like he did - he usually hits double 16 for fun - but luck was on my side and one dart at tops was all I needed. I've been playing well so the result's not a surprise. My finishing is there, my starting doubles are there and my scoring's there, and I'm really happy with my game."
The result ensures that there will be a new name on the trophy on Sunday night, with two former champions, James Wade and Colin Lloyd, having already been eliminated, and Thornton now meets Mervyn King in Friday's quarter-finals.
King defeated Dave Chisnall 3-1 with a fine performance to book his place in the last eight of a major for the first time in almost 12 months.
King won six of the game's first seven legs to establish a two-set lead, firing in four 180s and finishes of 104 and 110 in the process.
Chisnall replied with checkouts of 130 and 116 as he edged the third set and led 2-1 in the next as he took his tally of 180s to seven in the match - but King won the next two legs to secure the win.
"My starting was good, even better than in the first round on Monday," said King. "I did exactly what I set out to do in the first two sets by breaking his throw and then holding my own, but I had a little wobble in the third set which allowed him back in. He carried on playing some great darts in the fourth set, but I managed to hold my nerve on a couple of doubles and I'm through. It's nice to be playing well again and I'm getting closer to my best game. I've been hitting my best in practice in the last few days, along with a couple of nine-darters. Robert has got back to his best during this year and maybe I'll get there this week because it's been a long while since I've been in a major quarter-final."
Northern Ireland's Brendan Dolan, last year's runner-up, continued his love affair with the double-start tournament by knocking out Holland's Vincent van der Voort 3-1 to set up a quarter-final with Justin Pipe.
Dolan won six of the game's first seven legs to win the first two sets before van der Voort won the third 3-2 to keep the match alive. Dolan, though, finished 82 and 67 to lead 2-0 in the fourth before landing double eight to secure his place in Friday's quarter-finals against either Justin Pipe or Kevin Painter.
"The scoreline may look comfortable, but there's nothing comfortable when you're having to start with a double!" said Dolan, who finished an impressive 69 percent of his finishing doubles in the match. "The crowds are unreal for me, they're like an extra dart for me and they get my adrenaline flowing when I get up on stage. My finishing's superb at the moment and I'm feeling brilliant. There's nothing perfect about my game, but my finishing is the best part of the game at the moment, when it might have been the worst in the past."
Dolan was a semi-finalist last month in the European Championship, and he admitted: "I'm not sure what it is, but I seem to come good at this time of year. I feel that I belong in the major events now and I feel comfortable playing against everybody, and playing on TV doesn't daunt me any more."
Pipe, meanwhile, defeated Kevin Painter 3-2 in a tight contest to book his place in only a second major quarter-final, with the win also set to move him into the world's top ten for the first time.
The Taunton ace edged a tight first set 3-2 before Painter took out 88 on the bull to level by winning the second 3-1, only for Pipe to sweep through the third without reply.
Painter took set four 3-1 to level and also led in the decider, but Pipe won the next three legs to secure his spot in the last eight.
"I'm very happy," said Pipe. "It feels better to win that game against Kevin than to win my group the Championship League Darts recently. "You could see by my celebration at the end how much it meant to me. I'm absolutely over the moon to come out of that the winner and be in my second TV quarter-final - it's going to take me into the world's top ten, which is amazing. Brendan's brilliant and he's having an amazing run in the World Grand Prix both last year and this year. He knocked me out of the European Championship last month so I want to get my own back - but it will be very hard on Friday."
Pictures with courtesy of Lawrence Lustig, PDC.