PDC World Championship - Report Fourteenth Day
Quarterfinals 2
VAN GERWEN AND LEWIS REACH LADBROKES WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINALS
Michael van Gerwen and Adrian Lewis will meet in the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship semi-finals on Monday night after they overcame Mark Webster and James Wade at Alexandra Palace on Sunday night.Van Gerwen and Lewis had met in a classic quarter-final in last year's event, when the Stoke ace missed two darts for victory before van Gerwen edged home - but will now face off for a place in Wednesday's World Championship final.
Van Gerwen, last year's runner-up at Alexandra Palace, produced a brilliant display of finishing as he hit eight ton-plus checkouts in seeing off Webster, who produced a stirring fightback from 3-0 down to trail only 4-3 before the Dutchman closed out the win.
The world number two made a blistering start by finishing 121, 124 and 139 to win the opening set in only 39 darts, before taking the second set 3-1 and the third in a deciding leg with a 128 finish. Despite van Gerwen hitting an 11-darter in the fourth, Webster took the set 3-1 with a 102 finish as he got his challenge up and running, only for the Dutch star to take out 108 and 144 in winning the fifth without reply to move 4-1 up. Van Gerwen also hit a 105 checkout, his seventh ton-plus finish of the game, in set six only to see Webster land his third 180 in a 14-darter to edge the deciding leg. Webster then won the seventh set without reply to continue his fightback, but van Gerwen steadied his nerves with a 114 checkout before finishing 90 in two darts to take the next set 3-1 and claim victory.
"At the beginning I was very confident and I was playing great," said van Gerwen. "I hit a few great finishes but then I lost my focus and fell asleep for two and a half sets. I lost concentration and I didn't hit my high scoring and let him into the game a bit, but I won and that's the most important thing. I can't afford to do that to my opponent in the semi-finals. I'm feeling good and I'm in the last four. I had a great game last year against Adrian and I hope it will be the same again."
Lewis enjoyed a more comfortable passage through his clash with James Wade, taking a 5-1 victory from their last eight contest.
Lewis took the game's first three sets - taking the second and third in a deciding leg - before the left-hander hit back to win the fourth without reply, hitting two 12-darters in the process. Lewis, though, took out 115 as he restored his cushion by winning the fifth set with three successive legs, before coming from a leg down in the next to secure his semi-final spot against van Gerwen - who had ended his title defence 12 months ago.
"I think it was a very professional job," said Lewis. "I started well and took the first set comfortably, the second and third sets weren't as comfortable because I gave James some chances but as soon as he missed I had to step in, and I got the job done. It wasn't too pretty and I've got a couple more gears left in me, but I hit the right shots at the right time and put him under pressure. My finishing was better against Mervyn King in the third round and my scoring was better tonight, but I've got to put them together against Michael. I think I'll be a lot more consistent against him than I was tonight. He's trying to win his first World Championship title but I've been there and done that, and I think it will be a cracker. He knows I'm going to come out firing, and for some reason when it comes to the big occasions I'm always there or thereabouts, which I'm very proud of."
Webster had slipped to 26th in the PDC Order of Merit ahead of the World Championship, but overcame Mensur Suljovic, John Henderson and Raymond van Barneveld to reach his first quarter-final since April.
Although his hopes of reaching a third Alexandra Palace semi-final were ended by van Gerwen, he admitted: "When he was three sets up, he was playing unreal darts and if he maintained that he'd have won 5-0. I knew that if he put in a big performance, my game at the minute isn't where it should be to compete with him but the plan was to try and put a bit of pressure on him and grind him down. I think it would have been interesting if I'd made it four-all, but he's world number two because he deals with those situations and he dealt with it very well, and good luck to him. I was in a tough section of the draw and came through it, I beat Raymond van Barneveld and gave Michael a game. It's been a great tournament for me so I can hopefully kick on now in the New Year."