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TAYLOR And THORNTON EDGE THROUGH IN CORAL MASTERS OPENERS

PHIL TAYLOR and Robert Thornton both overcame scares before winning through to the quarter-finals of The Coral Masters in Edinburgh, as Michael van Gerwen ended the hopes of home ace Peter Wright on the event's opening night.

World Champion Taylor booked his spot in Saturday's last eight with a hard-fought 6-3 defeat of Terry Jenkins as the 160,000 pound event began at the Royal Highland Centre.
Taylor opened their contest as he hit a 143 finish to complete a 12-dart leg before doubling his lead, only to see Jenkins - a seven-time major finalist - take out 120 in winning the next three legs to move 3-2 up. Taylor, though, steadied the ship by winning the sixth leg with an 85 checkout, before taking the next three without reply to move into a quarter-final clash with Wes Newton.

"I'm really happy to have won that because it was as tough as I'd expected," said Taylor. "We've had a few games like that in the last few months where it's been nip and tuck, and Terry's a great competitor. If you're not at your best he can bite you and I was probably aware of that at times, so it's a relief to get through. That's the nervy game out of the way, because it's a bit of a sprint in the first round, and I can relax a bit on Saturday night now."

Thornton, meanwhile, overcame some dodgy doubling to win delight the Scottish crowd and see off Andy Hamilton 6-4 in their first round contest.
The Ayrshire ace had had seemed set to crash out of the 160,000 pound event at the Royal Highland Centre as a string of missed doubles allowed Hamilton to move into a 4-3 lead. Thornton, though edged a nervy eighth leg before moving ahead 5-4 when Hamilton lost his range on double top and ten, and when the Stoke ace missed his chance to stay in the contest in the next leg, the home favourite hit tops to secure victory.

"I wasn't at my best there but I got the result," admitted Thornton, who was backed by a partisan Scottish crowd. "I was quite relaxed coming into the tournament, even being on home soil, but it didn't quite happen and I'm just relieved to win. The crowd helped me a lot and gave me great support, and hopefully I can give them a bit more to cheer during the rest of the week."

World number two Michael van Gerwen denied West Lothian-born thrower Peter Wright a dream Edinburgh debut as he picked up a 6-2 victory from their clash.
Wright shared the game's opening two legs, before van Gerwen pulled clear by taking the next four without reply, taking out a superb 136 finish in the process. The Scot hit back by finishing 125 with a showpiece Bullseye, outer bull, bullseye combination, but van Gerwen finished 87 on the middle double in the next to complete a high-quality win with a 103.47 average.

"I'm very happy with that," said van Gerwen. "Peter has been playing some unbelievable darts in the last couple of months and you always need to prepare well against him - and I didn't think I played as well as I did. The 136 came at the right moment and the 87 for the match was superb, and I hit my shots at the right moments - but I think I can do even more in the next game."

Van Gerwen now plays Dutch rival Raymond van Barneveld in the last eight, after the five-time World Champion enjoyed a 6-3 win over last month's World Grand Prix finalist Dave Chisnall. Van Barneveld took three of the game's first four legs, and though Chisnall hit an 11-dart as he came back to level, the Dutch star produced legs of 14, 14 and 13 darts to pull through.

"I was really happy with the last three legs and it's a good win because Dave's been in great form, especially in the World Grand Prix," said van Barneveld. "I'm relaxed and looking forward to playing Michael on Saturday. We've had so many great matches in the past and this will be good too. I've put myself under too much pressure in the past, but I just want to go out and enjoy my game, which I'm doing."

World number four Simon Whitlock set up a quarter-final date with seven-time major winner James Wade as the pair saw off Mervyn King and Kevin Painter respectively to progress.
Whitlock came from 4-3 down to defeat Mervyn King 6-4, capping a strong display with a 112 finish to take the victory, while Wade showed his class with a gutsy 6-5 win over Kevin Painter, who led 4-2 at one stage but never had a dart for the match.

Fleetwood's Wes Newton was another 6-5 winner as he overcame Justin Pipe in a see-saw game, which saw the Taunton ace hit back from 3-1 down to lead 4-3 at one stage. Newton hit an 11-darter as he levelled and then moved 5-3 up, with Pipe forcing a decider by completing a 13-dart finish only to see his opponent hit a 180 and double top to claim the win.

European Champion Adrian Lewis was another player to come through an 11-leg thriller in a brilliant contest against in-form Kim Huybrechts, whose hopes of claiming a tournament victory for a third successive weekend were ended with a 6-5 loss. The game proved a rarity with neither player able to break throw throughout 11 pulsating legs, with Huybrechts missing two darts at tops to win the deciding leg before falling to defeat despite an average of 106.43 as Lewis defied a bout of 'flu to progress.

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