The Masters 2014 - Report First Round

Afternoon
DOUBLE TROUBLE FOR SCOTTISH PAIR IN UNIBET MASTERS OPENEr
SCOTTISH duo Robert Thornton and Peter Wright were knocked out of The Unibet Masters on Saturday afternoon, as Dave Chisnall, Justin Pipe, Mervyn King and Adrian Lewis enjoyed first round wins at the Royal Highland Centre.

Ayrshire's former UK Open champion Thornton suffered a 10-8 defeat to Dave Chisnall as he saw his hopes of glory on home soil in Scotland dashed.
Thornton held early leads of 4-2 and 5-4, but Chisnall followed an earlier 121 checkout by finishing 140 to level and took out 114 to move into a lead he would never relinquish. The St Helens thrower ended the game with a high-quality average of just under 100 after hitting 26 scores of 140 or more in the contest as he moved through to the quarter-finals.

"I'm delighted with the win," said Chisnall. "The big checkouts were great and it was good to see them go in today because sometimes my doubles can let me down. I've had games before where I've hit loads of 180s and lost, but if you can keep hitting 140s and take out your finishes it makes the difference and I took my chances when Robert gave me them."

Lothian-born world number four Wright, meanwhile, went down 10-7 to Justin Pipe as the Taunton thrower dominated their clash.
An 86 finish on the bull from Pipe set the tone as he won the first five legs without reply, with Wright hitting back to 6-4 and 7-5 at one stage. However, the World Championship finalist was punished for missed doubles in two of the next three legs as Pipe pulled clear at 9-5 before holding off a brief rally to seal the win with a 100.40 average.

"I'm really happy with that," said Pipe. "It's fantastic to beat Peter - he's the number four in the world and tough to beat at the best of times but even more so in Scotland. I should have wrapped it up before I did, but he kept coming back at me and did well to come back from 5-0 down. It was a great game to start off with and to average 100 is really good - hopefully I can keep it up on Sunday. We're all looking to hit 100 averages and to maintain it on the big stage, so I'm quite pleased with that. People write me off a little bit on the big stage but you can't play as well as I do in the floor tournaments without it coming through on stage eventually, and when it does I'll be up there."

Wright had also suffered a first round defeat in The Masters last year, and admitted: "Being 5-0 down didn't help and I was chasing Justin all the time. "I couldn't find the pitch for the first ten legs or so, and I changed my darts halfway through the game to try and fix it, but Justin deserved to win - he was hitting everything and I wasn't. The crowd made an amazing atmosphere and the hairs were standing up on the back of my neck and my arms were tingling. I thank them for their support because they were great and they nearly got me there, but not quite. I'll put this behind me and it's done and dusted, and I'll have to focus now on the Grand Slam of Darts next weekend."

Two-time World Champion Adrian Lewis kicked off his match with Kim Huybrechts with a ten-dart leg which featured seven perfect darts and two 180s before he booked his quarter-final place with a 10-4 victory, Huybrechts hit back strongly from a 2-0 deficit to lead 3-2, but Lewis won the next three legs to hit the front and then took six legs in a row as he powered through.

"I started the game brilliantly but Kim punished me and moved himself ahead," said Lewis. "I got on a roll in the second half of the game but it was hard today. He's a very difficult player to beat, a very good scorer and finisher and he has a good pace but it wasn't his day. My practice is going well and I think I've got the form to do well this weekend. The crowd were supporting me today and it was a great atmosphere - they were cheering me!"

Huybrechts later revealed that he had pledged to compete in the event despite his mother undergoing cancer surgery in Belgium on Friday, and said: "I gave it my all but it was hard because my mum is in intensive care and I was thinking of her. The doctors said it was a good operation but her blood pressure was low so they had to keep her in intensive care for two nights. Everyone wants to win, but this means nothing right now. I don't want to use it as an excuse and I practiced well, but my mind wasn't here."

Mervyn King was the afternoon session's other winner, as he saw off Simon Whitlock 10-7.
Whitlock came from 2-1 down early on to lead 4-2, only to see King take the next five legs to swing the game back in his favour. The Australian cut the game to 8-6 and 9-7, but was unable to continue his fightback as King posted double top to move through to the last eight.

"I'm really pleased with that win," said King. "Once I got my nose in front, there was no turning back. It's always hard against Simon. He's a great player who isn't number five in the world for no reason, but he had a bad day and I got away with it. I'm not at the top of my form, but I'm managing to get the results."


Evening
VAN GERWEN EDGES ALL-DUTCH THRILLER IN UNIBET MASTERS
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN showed his World Champion qualities to win a final-leg thriller against Raymond van Barneveld in The Unibet Masters on Saturday night, as Gary Anderson, Phil Taylor and James Wade delighted the Scottish crowd at the Royal Highland Centre.

Van Gerwen travelled to Edinburgh having won the World Grand Prix and European Championship titles in the past month, but looked set to crash out in the first round against his Dutch rival when van Barneveld took leads of 5-2 and 9-7.
The world number one took out a 13-darter and double top to level the game at nine-all, and then scored an outstanding 134, 180 and 171 in the decider to leave 16 after nine darts. Van Barneveld had replied to his opponent's 180 with a maximum of his own and left 42 after nine darts, but could only watch on as van Gerwen finished double eight with his third dart as he edged to victory.

Both players ended the contest with averages above 100, with van Barneveld hitting eight 180s in defeat to his rival, with van Gerwen admitting: "It was a great game and it's a big relief to win. Raymond put me under pressure throughout the game and I never felt comfortable. I was a bit nervous today and I missed too many doubles, and I made it hard work today. I wasn't great today but I'm through to tomorrow and it's another day."

Reigning champion Taylor, meanwhile, posted the highest average of the first round of 110.05 as he defeated Wes Newton 10-4 with an ominous display.
The 54-year-old had, though, travelled to Edinburgh without packing his shoes, but after borrowing a pair from a PDC official went on to produce a heavy-scoring performance. Taylor landed three early 13-darters as he took a 3-1 advantage, and also finished 127 and a two-dart 81 checkout on his way to a 6-3 lead. Newton hit back with his fifth 180 of the game and double four, but Taylor took the next four legs without reply to seal victory in emphatic style.

"I've not had the best preparation recently so I'm just happy to get the win," said Taylor. "My mum's been in hospital and darts has come second, but she's back home now and it's a huge relief. It's been an eye-opener for me and my family comes first, but I've been able to concentrate on my darts today and to play so well was great for me. Maybe the borrowed shoes were a lucky omen - I'll have to keep them on Sunday!"

Scottish ace Gary Anderson progressed to face Taylor in a tasty quarter-final match-up on Sunday afternoon as he averaged 104.49 in his 10-7 defeat of Andy Hamilton.
Anderson hit five 180s and a 114 finish as he moved into an 8-5 lead over Hamilton, who replied with two 11-darters only to see the former Premier League champion secure victory in style with a ten-dart finish. With Robert Thornton and Peter Wright being knocked out earlier on Saturday, Anderson is the sole Scot left flying the flag at the Edinburgh event in the last eight.

"After Robert and Peter went out the pressure was on me, so I'm relieved and happy to get through!" admitted Anderson. Andy was scoring well but there was one leg where he missed five darts at a double to level at five-all and that gave me some breathing space and I managed to get the job done. I'm enjoying my darts again and looking forward to Sunday. It will be nice to play Phil Taylor up in Scotland for the first time."

James Wade was the evening session's other winner with a 10-5 defeat of Brendan Dolan, for whom a 141 finish was not enough as the left-hander took five of the game's final six legs to seal victory, taking out 107 and 101 in the process of a clinical display.

"It's a good win for me and I'm very happy," said Wade. "Brendan's a tough player to face and I didn't think that I played as well as I did, so it's very positive. Finishing has always been a strong point in my game and I was happy with how I finished in this game. I'm happy at the moment and that's showing in my game."







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