SUPERB JENKINS DENIES NINE-DART VAN GERWEN FOR GROUP FOUR TRIUMPH
TERRY JENKINS won a dramatic Group Four of Championship League Darts on Tuesday as Michael van Gerwen and Mervyn King hit nine-darters, but Dave Chisnall and Kevin Painter were eliminated from the internet-streamed event.
Jenkins was one of the three players who came in to join the five survivors from last month's Group Three of the tournament, which is streamed worldwide through www.LIVEPDC.TV and a series of bookmakers' websites.
The Ledbury ace, who turned 50 in September, showed his class by winning six of his seven league games to top the table, before defeating Gary Anderson with a fabulous 107 average to reach the final.
He then saved arguably his best performance for the decider, taking leads of 4-0 and 5-2 against van Gerwen, who then hit a stunning nine-darter as he hit back to level with four ton-plus checkouts, only for Jenkins to finish 96 in the 11th leg to claim victory.
Jenkins punished a missed bull from van Gerwen to win the final's opening leg with a 64 finish, before breaking with a 180 and double four and finishing 80 to win the third leg.
Van Gerwen missed six darts to win the fourth, across three visits, as Jenkins took out 66 to move 4-0 up, only to be punished himself for a miss at double 18 in the next, as the Dutch star took out 128 on the bull to hit back.
He then finished 112 to win a second leg, with Jenkins moving 5-2 up in the seventh by hitting a 180 and an 87 finish for a 12-darter.
Van Gerwen took the next in brilliant fashion, with a 160 score followed by a 145 checkout as he finished 305 in six darts - before then pulling back to 5-4 with a sensational nine-darter, hitting two 180s and a 141 finish.
When Jenkins then missed the bull for a 161 finish and two further match darts at double four in the tenth leg, van Gerwen's fightback continued as he finished double 16 to force a decider.
Jenkins, with the advantage throw, was first to a finish and took out 96 on double 18 to progress to next Thursday's Winners Group, alongside Phil Taylor, Andy Hamilton and Wes Newton.
"I felt I deserved to go through," said Jenkins. "I've played absolutely brilliantly and I wanted to go home and have a few days off, so I was determined to hit that winning double! The final was a really good game to be in. I had him on the ropes when I had two darts at double 18 to go 5-1 up and really bury him, and then when when I hit three 140s [in the ninth leg] he did the nine-darter! It was a brilliant game to play in and Michael showed what he's capable of. It was a really tough game and I had to keep my cool and not panic too much at the end."
Jenkins added: "After the week Dave Chisnall had in Dublin, who would have predicted that he would go out today, but that's what darts is like now.b It's getting hard work for me now, but I suppose as you get older you tend to relax a little bit more and that's what's helping me win games. Phil Taylor [who's now 53] somebody that inspires you to keep going, but it is getting hard work for me."
Jenkins had been knocked out by Connie Finnan in the first round of the partypoker.com World Grand Prix last week, and he admitted that the defeat had inspired his run in Championship League Darts. "That was a bit of a kick up the backside for me," he said. "I suppose I took it as though it was going to be an easy game in the first round, and I learned my lesson."
Van Gerwen will now return to Crondon Park GC in Essex on Wednesday to compete in Group Five, continuing his ever-present record so far this year as the only player remaining in the event from Group One, which featured the world's top eight stars.
The Dutch star won five of his six league games during the day, including a 6-0 whitewash of World Grand Prix runner-up Chisnall in their opener, and also overcame Peter Wright 6-4 in the semi-finals before missing out on progression.
Wright and Ander both reached the semi-finals in their first day of the tournament this year, with Wright winning four of his seven games with some brilliant darts.
Anderson, meanwhile, edged out Kim Huybrechts to finish fourth in the league table before running out of steam against in-form Jenkins.
Huybrechts and Mervyn King also won three games on the day, with two wins apiece for Chisnall and Kevin Painter not enough as they were eliminated from the tournament.
King had earlier hit his nine-darter against Anderson during their league game, with the achievement putting him 4-3 up only for the Bradwell ace to lose out 6-4 - the third time in his career in which he has hit a perfect leg only to be defeated in the match.
Tuesday's five survivors in the event are joined for Group Five by Paul Nicholson, Ronnie Baxter and Mark Webster, who will contest Wednesday's action.