BetVictor World Matchplay Night Four

PHIL TAYLOR’S bid to win a 14th BetVictor World Matchplay title continued with a dramatic 14-12 second round win over Terry Jenkins on Tuesday night, as he was joined in the quarter-finals by Justin Pipe, Simon Whitlock and James Wade.

Taylor has not tasted defeat on the Winter Gardens stage since losing to Jenkins in the 2007 semi-finals, and the pair again enjoyed a classic duo which the Ledbury ace – a two-time runner-up in Blackpool – threatened to win.

Taylor had led 9-5 at one stage, with his average peaking at 110 during a thrilling opening, only for Jenkins to win five successive legs to move 10-9 up.

He also led 11-10 and sent the game into a tie-break at 12-all, only to miss three darts to move a leg away from the win as Taylor pounced, breaking throw on tops to put himself 13-12 up before hitting two 174s in a 12-dart finish as he edged through.

“I’m absolutely delighted to have come through that,” admitted Taylor. “It was probably the best winning leg I’ve played, to hit two 174s in that situation.

“Terry came back superbly because I’d got him at 9-5; it was all over and anybody else would have buckled. He dug in and came back, and I let it get to me a little bit because it was a bit of a shock for me and I didn’t expect Terry to go in front.

“He made it a fantastic game and he’s showing that’s the way he can play after not being on top form for about a year. He’s on his way back again.

“We were nicking legs from each other and a ton was a bad score in the end. I was thinking I might be going home tomorrow but I had to dig deep and take advantage when he made a mistake.”

Taylor now plays Taunton’s Justin Pipe in Thursday’s opening quarter-final, after the number nine seed won through to the last eight for a second successive year with an equally dramatic 13-9 defeat of Raymond van Barneveld earlier on Tuesday.

Van Barneveld looked set to put himself into the last eight of the event when he hit back from 7-4 down to win five successive legs and take command of a classic match.

Pipe – who had earlier hit checkouts of 170 and 129 on the bullseye – clawed back level at nine-all by winning the next two legs, before hitting double one to regain the lead at 10-9.

The Taunton thrower then took his tally of 180s to seven for the match as in a run of legs of 14, 14 and 13 darts to claim a precious quarter-final berth.

“It’s probably the best win of my career,” said Pipe, who will also jump above van Barneveld to eighth in the PDC Order of Merit following the victory. “Raymond’s such a legend and a great ambassador so it’s brilliant to beat him.

“When he got in front of me I had to play one leg at a time and stay focused. To win six legs in a row against Raymond is amazing because he’s so tough to beat.

“I’m in my second consecutive quarter-finals in the World Matchplay and it’s an amazing achievement for me – but I want to go all the way.”

The other quarter-final will see James Wade – the 2007 champion – take on Simon Whitlock in a clash of the players seeded fourth and fifth for the £400,000 event.

Wade came from 6-3 and 8-5 down to claim a brilliant 13-8 win over Scottish ace Gary Anderson, whose record of not yet winning past the second round in Blackpool continued.

Anderson had hit finishes of 121 and 120 as he took command in the game, but Wade won seven successive legs as he turned a three-leg deficit into a 12-8 lead – with a superb 11-darter putting him into a lead which he would never lose as he went on to seal victory with a 69 checkout.

“I had to come back to beat John Part in the first round and this was always going to be another battle,” admitted Wade. “I did a good job tonight and I’m really happy to be through.

“I knew that if I held in there when Gary got ahead of me that I’d get my opportunities, and I took them well. My games keep getting harder and I’m looking forward to playing Simon on Thursday now; he’s a different player to Gary and I’ll have to improve.”

Whitlock, meanwhile, also had to come from behind before he claimed a 13-10 victory over Kevin Painter to reach the last eight for a third time in four years.

The Australian trailed 3-1 and 6-5 to Painter, who hit five 180s in the first half of the contest only to see Whitlock win four successive legs to swing the game in his favour at 9-6.

Painter threatened to hit back, taking out 122 at one stage, but Whitlock followed an earlier key 96 finish by taking out 91 to seal the victory.

“I’m over the moon,” said Whitlock. “That was such a tough game – Kevin’s a warrior who’s been around for so many years and he’s a legend.

“I’ve watched him play for the last 20 years and I’m very happy to win that match.  There was a big moment in the 14th leg where Kevin missed and I levelled to go to seven-all, and I knew that was my chance.”

The second round concludes on Wednesday evening, with world number two Michael van Gerwen facing Peter Wright, new European Champion Adrian Lewis meeting Brendan Dolan, Jamie Caven playing Dave Chisnall and Andy Hamilton meeting Ian White in an all-Stoke battle.

TV Coverage
The BetVictor World Matchplay will be screened live in the following areas:
Sky Sports HD across the UK & Ireland
RTL7 in the Netherlands
Sport1 in Germany
OSN across the Middle East
FOX SPORTS Australia
Sky New Zealand
LIVEPDC.TV – live for International Pass Subscribers, highlights for all subscribers

Live Scores
Follow Live Scores from the BetVictor World Matchplay through the PDC Live Scores website at http://live.dartsdata.com/

Get Involved
Join in the conversation during the BetVictor World Matchplay through the PDC’s Social Media channels:
www.twitter.com/OfficialPDC – use the hashtag #BetVictorMatchplay
www.facebook.com/OfficialPDC
www.youtube.com/OfficialPDC

BetVictor World Matchplay Day Two

PHIL TAYLOR made a winning start to his bid for a 14th BetVictor World Matchplay title by sweeping aside Stuart Kellett in Blackpool on Sunday evening.

Taylor returned to the Winter Gardens stage in typically imperious form, as he began his bid to claim a record sixth successive World Matchplay title, and continue his incredible run of success in the past two decades, with a dominant display.

The World Champion punished Blackpool debutant Kellett for a poor start as he took the game’s opening seven legs, hitting a 161 checkout, in ruthless fashion.

The 31-year-old landed a 180 and double nine as he finally got off the mark in leg eight, but Taylor finished 96 to restore his cushion, took out 134 to lead 9-1 and sealed victory with a superb 11-darter which featured two 180s.

“It’s a great first round for me and it was more comfortable than I thought it would be,” said Taylor, who now meets Terry Jenkins in round two on Tuesday.

“Stuart’s a lot better player than he showed tonight – he beat me in a Players Championship a few weeks ago and maybe he had some nerves.

“I’ve prepared well and I’m happy to be through. My average of 103 was average really, because a lot of players are hitting those types of scores, but I know Terry will test me in the second round.”

Number two seed Michael van Gerwen held off a brave fightback from 2005 champion Colin Lloyd before he progressed to a second round clash with Peter Wright courtesy of a 10-7 victory.

Van Gerwen raced into a five-leg lead before Lloyd, aided by a 120 finish, hit back to trail just 7-6 at one stage, but a key bullseye from the Dutchman denied him the chance to pull level
before the Premier League Darts champion edged into the last 16.

“Colin’s a brilliant player and he never gave up, so I’m happy to have won that match,” said van Gerwen. “I’m really pleased to play so well in the first round because you always want to play well on this stage and I’m proud to do it.

“Winning the game was most important and I hope I can do well in this tournament.

Former Premier League Darts champion Gary Anderson knocked out number 13 seed Mervyn King with a fine 10-5 victory, showing flashes of his brilliant best as he returned from the illness which recently saw him miss the European Championship.

The Scot showed no signs of ill-effects as he took the game’s first three legs without reply, and he also led 8-2 before King took the next three to threaten a fightback.

Anderson, though, steadied himself with a 177 and an 84 finish as he won a ninth leg, before taking out 76 to progress to a second round clash with 2007 champion James Wade.

“At times it felt pretty good and the trebles were going in and the finishing was fine, but at the back end of the game I started to struggle a bit,” said Anderson. “I was telling myself not to throw it away, and I got there in the end.

“My practise has been going brilliant, so if they can get a bit better on stage I’ll be a lot happier. James is very steady and you know what you’re going to get against him, so I’ll have to dig in.”

Dave Chisnall, meanwhile, twice hit back from behind before defeating Paul Nicholson 10-8, claiming his first victory at the Winter Gardens in his third World Matchplay appearance.

Nicholson led 3-1 early on before Chisnall took three of the next four to level, before taking out 121 in a three-leg burst as he moved 7-5 up.

Former Players Championship Finals winner Nicholson then took three legs of his own to lead 8-7, but the game had another twist as Chisnall landed the bull to level, double nine to move 9-8 and double eight to seal a narrow victory.

“Paul didn’t play his best game and I wasn’t at my best, and it was a game where I had to scrap,” said Chisnall.

“When I was 4-1 down I thought it was going to be like previous years here, but I dug in, pulled it out of the bag and I’m glad to get the victory.

“Now that I’ve won here, when I come back on Wednesday I hope I’ll be a bit more relaxed and able to play my best darts.”

In Sunday’s afternoon session, Kevin Painter held off debutant Jamie Lewis with a 10-7 first round win, as Justin Pipe, Peter Wright and Brendan Dolan joined him in picking up victories at the Winter Gardens.

Painter booked his place in the second round against Simon Whitlock on Tuesday with a strong display against the Welsh youngster, who competed well on his first appearance in Blackpool.

Lewis took the game’s opening leg, but Painter took five of the next six – hitting a 164 checkout in the process – as he took command of the contest.

The 21-year-old, who reached the final of the recent Gibraltar Darts Trophy to qualify for the World Matchplay, pulled back to trail just 6-5 at one stage, taking out a nerveless 104 for a 12-darter in one leg, but Painter landed a fifth 180 of the game as he sealed victory.

“I’m pleased to get through,” said Painter. “I expected Jamie to play well and he did, and a couple of times I felt like I had him and he crept back and won a couple of legs, and he made me work hard for it.

“It’s great experience for him and it shows the standard of the young lads coming through – I’m 46 now and he’s the standard we’ve got to put up with!

“It will be good to be back in the next round and I’d love to stay here all week. I’ve been playing okay this year and I’m looking forward to playing Simon Whitlock.”

World number nine Justin Pipe progressed to a second round clash with Raymond van Barneveld by defeating Mark Webster 10-4, as the Welshman limped throughout the game after tearing ankle ligaments recently playing five-a-side football.

Webster took out 101 as he led 2-0 and the left-hander was also 3-2 up before Pipe won eight of the next nine legs to sweep to victory with an impressive average of 99.24.

“Mark gave it his all and showed because he played really well and showed that for all the talk of his ankle injury, you throw with your hands not your feet!” said Pipe. “Rather than feel sorry for him, I had to go up there and do a job.

“There’s no friends up there and your fighting for your family, and I took advantage. I’m hitting a lovely bit of form again and I can move on prepare for playing Raymond van Barneveld.

“It would be great to beat him and reach another quarter-final in the World Matchplay, but it’s going to be tough.”

Kim Huybrechts became the first seeded player to be knocked out of this year’s World Matchplay as he went down 10-4 to Peter Wright, a UK Open semi-finalist last month who continues to impress on the big stage.

The pair shared the game’s first six legs before Wright took two crucial breaks of throw in a four-leg burst which put him 7-3 up.

Belgian ace Huybrechts hit back in leg 11, but Wright landed a 13-darter to regain his edge and took the next two legs to progress to play either Michael van Gerwen or Colin Lloyd.

“I’m very happy with that,” said Wright. “Kim’s been in great form and it was always going to be a tough game.

“Getting that first break was so important and I knew I had to break him when I did because the game could have gone all the way. I’ll have to improve in the second round because whoever I play out of Michael van Gerwen and Colin Lloyd will be tough.

“They’re both champions and I know what I’ll have to do because they’re great players.”

Northern Ireland’s Brendan Dolan picked up his first World Matchplay win with a narrow 10-8 defeat of former World Champion Steve Beaton in the afternoon session’s other game.

Beaton led 3-1 and 5-2 before Dolan won five successive legs to turn the game on its head and move 7-5 up.

The Warwickshire thrower hit back to level, but crucially missed a dart at tops on the 17th leg as Dolan broke to move 9-8 up before he landed a 180 and double eight to seal victory.

“It was a very tough game and it was nip-and-tuck all the way,” said Dolan. “Neither of us got into our flow or the way we wanted to play and it was a battle, so it’s nice to come through and win when you’re not at your best.

“To win like that against an experienced former World Champion like Steve Beaton can only do my confidence the world of good. There was nothing between us and I’m glad to get through it.

“Last year I came here and got beaten by Andy Hamilton in the first round, but every player comes here to win it. It’s the 32 players who are the best at the minute, but I’ve got a lot of confidence in myself and I know I’ve got a chance of winning this.”

Sunday night’s results have seen reigning champion Taylor’s odds of retaining the BetVictor World Matchplay crown cut to 9/4 with the sponsors, while van Gerwen is now 5/2 to lift the trophy next Sunday – and Anderson’s victory has led to his odds being cut from 40/1 to 22/1.

The first round concludes on Monday night with the remaining four matches, headlined by world number three and new European Champion Adrian Lewis taking on Belgian debutant Ronny Huybrechts.

UK Open runner-up Andy Hamilton is up against Blackpool’s Ronnie Baxter – the 1998 World Matchplay finalist, while Fleetwood’s Wes Newton takes on Jamie Caven and Scottish ace Robert Thornton meets Ian White.

TV Coverage
The BetVictor World Matchplay will be screened live in the following areas:
Sky Sports HD across the UK & Ireland
RTL7 in the Netherlands
Sport1 in Germany
OSN across the Middle East
FOX SPORTS Australia
Sky New Zealand
LIVEPDC.TV – live for International Pass Subscribers, highlights for all subscribers

Live Scores
Follow Live Scores from the BetVictor World Matchplay through the PDC Live Scores website at http://live.dartsdata.com/

Get Involved
Join in the conversation during the BetVictor World Matchplay through the PDC’s Social Media channels:
www.twitter.com/OfficialPDC – use the hashtag #BetVictorMatchplay
www.facebook.com/OfficialPDC
www.youtube.com/OfficialPDC

BetVictor World Matchplay
First Round
Sunday July 21
First Round
Afternoon Session
Justin Pipe (9) 10-4 Mark Webster – Justin Pipe Video
Kevin Painter (12) 10-7 Jamie Lewis – Kevin Painter Video
Kim Huybrechts (15) 4-10 Peter Wright – Peter Wright Video
Brendan Dolan (14) 10-8 Steve Beaton – Brendan Dolan Video

Evening Session
Mervyn King (13) 5-10 Gary Anderson – Gary Anderson Video
Dave Chisnall (10) 10-8 Paul Nicholson – Dave Chisnall Video
Phil Taylor (1) 10-1 Stuart Kellett – Phil Taylor Video
Michael van Gerwen (2) 10-7 Colin Lloyd – Michael van Gerwen Video