UK Open - Second Evening

Reigning Speedy Services UK Open champion Robert Thornton, former champions Phil Taylor, Raymond van Barneveld and James Wade and in-form Michael van Gerwen all won through to the fourth round of 'The FA Cup of Darts' with victories at the Reebok Stadium on Friday night.

Thornton began the defence of his title in the £200,000 event with a hard-fought 9-7 win over Northamptonshire's emerging star Matthew Edgar.
Edgar, a former wrestler, held a 6-4 lead before Thornton - aided by a 124 finish - hit legs of 12, 11 and 13 to move ahead, and though the youngster levelled, it was the Scot who finished legs of 13 and 14 darts to progress with an average of 101.
"I knew Matt was a good player and he was with me all the way, but I managed to produce a couple of great legs at the end," said Thornton. "I love this tournament so I'm happy to still be in it, and it's there for anybody to win."

Thornton will now play 2008 World Championship finalist Kirk Shepherd, after the Kent ace won through with a 9-7 defeat of Swindon's Mark Cox.
Four-time UK Open champion Phil Taylor, meanwhile, was a 9-0 whitewash winner against Belgium's Ronny Huybrechts, hitting two 11-darters, a 115 finish and averaging 104 in a dominant display.
"Ronny's been having a great year so I had to come out to try and beat him 9-0 because he'd have done the same to me, given the chance," said Taylor. "I felt a bit for him but it's dog-eat-dog and I'm just pleased to be through. I love it here in Bolton. It's a great challenge for us all because there's plenty going on around you on the other stages, and I'm looking forward to Saturday now."
Taylor has now drawn Adrian Gray, the carpet fitter from Sussex who knocked him out of the 2007 World Grand Prix and saw off Speedy Qualifier Dean Stewart 9-5 on Friday night.

Two-time winner Raymond van Barneveld missed double 12 for a nine-dart finish as he edged past new World Youth Champion Michael Smith 9-8.
Smith took the game's first three legs without reply, but missed his chances to win the fourth as the Dutch ace hit back to lead 4-3, and though Smith edged back ahead at 6-5, van Barneveld took him to the deciding leg before taking out 88 in two darts for the win.
"I knew I had to take out the 88 finish in the last leg so I'm delighted to have done it to win," said van Barneveld. "Michael's in great form and winning the World Youth Championship has been a big boost for him, and you can see that in the way he's playing. If he'd hit the doubles to go 4-0 up then it might well have been a different story, but he let me in and it was pretty close from then and always exciting - I can't win 9-3 or 9-2, it always feels like it has to be close!"

Another two-time winner, James Wade, followed up Thursday night's three victories with a strong 9-7 defeat of Jamie Caven.
The world number four has drawn last year's semi-finalist Dave Chisnall, who defeated Ireland's William O'Connor 9-4 as he moved into the last 32.
Michael van Gerwen, the tournament favourite and new McCoy's Premier League Darts champion, took a 9-5 win over Mervyn King as he took victory over the Norfolk thrower for a second time in six days, following Sunday night's win in the Austrian Darts Open final.
King held his own for much of the game, but van Gerwen produced a key 88 finish on the bull to lead 7-4 before taking three of the next four legs to seal the win, which sets up a clash with Michael Mansell, who was a 9-8 winner against Speedy Qualifier Conan Whitehead.

Adrian Lewis and Wes Newton will meet on Saturday afternoon in another fourth round clash to feature two of the world's top ten players.
Lewis stormed past youngster Matthew Dennant 9-1, while Newton produced finishes of 140 and 112 as he hit back from 3-2 down to defeat world number five Simon Whitlock 9-4.
Gary Anderson landed three ton-plus finishes and four 180s in a 9-7 win over Andy Smith, and the 2010 finalist will now meet Kevin Painter, who picked up a 9-1 win over Scottish debutant Jason Hogg.
Liverpool-based brothers Lee and Joey Palfreyman also won through to the fourth round on Friday night. Joey, the elder of the pair, defeated Steve Beaton 9-5 and now plays van Barneveld, while former Las Vegas Desert Classic semi-finalist Lee was a 9-5 winner against Joe Cullen. Lee now plays Ronnie Baxter, who overcame a strong fightback from Ken MacNeil to take a 9-8 victory after the Canadian hit back from 6-1 down to force a deciding leg.
2004 UK Open finalist John Part came from 3-1 down against Ted Hankey to take a 9-4 win before being drawn against Andy Hamilton, the Stoke ace who came from 3-0 down to defeat Andy Boulton 9-6.
Kim Huybrecht's 9-5 win over Germany's Jyhan Artut earned the Belgian a clash with Terry Jenkins, who was a 9-7 winner over fire officer Jim Walker, while Brendan Dolan's narrow defeat of Colin Lloyd set up a clash with Derbyshire's Matt Padgett, who impressed with a 9-2 win over Richie Howson.

Kevin McDine came from 4-1 down to defeat teenager Adam Hunt 9-8, and the Newcastle-born ace now plays Scotland's John Henderson, who was a 9-7 winner against Coventry's Scott Rand.
Dutch star Jelle Klaasen's run of form continued with his 9-7 win over Bolton-based Ross Smith, who had hit back from 7-4 down to level before being edged out as the former Lakeside Champion progressed to a clash with Cheshire's Stuart Kellett, who defeated Swindon veteran Dennis Smith 9-3.

Speedy Qualifier Stephen Bunting, the reigning World Masters champion, continued his impressive tournament with a 9-3 victory over former semi-finalist Andy Jenkins, which included the St Helens ace winning the first six legs without reply. Bunting, the only remaining amateur qualifier left in the event, now plays colourful Peter Wright, who was a 9-4 winner against Gaz Cousins.
Richie Burnett won the battle of Welsh former World Champions with Mark Webster 9-2, and he now faces Steve West, the Waltham Abbey-based thrower who was a 9-3 winner against Ian White.
Widnes' John Bowles knocked out Paul Nicholson 9-5 and will now play Terry Temple, who won his all-Yorkshire clash with Mark Lawrence 9-4.

Saturday afternoon's fourth round will be followed in the evening session by the fifth round of the event, which will conclude on Sunday with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final split across two sessions in Bolton.







Contact © Global Darts. All Rights Reserved. Impressum