PDC World Championship - Report Tenth Day, Evening
VAN GERWEN SEES OFF McDINE CHALLENGE AS WEBSTER AND NEWTON ENJOY WINS
Michael van Gerwen hit 11 maximums as he overcame the challenge of Kevin McDine at the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship on Sunday night, as Mark Webster stared defeat in the face before seeing off John Henderson and Wes Newton defeated John Part.Dutch superstar van Gerwen, last year's beaten finalist at Alexandra Palace, continued his bid to win the £250,000 first prize this time around with a 4-1 win over McDine. The Geordie had defeated Wayne Jones in the first round and shared the opening two sets with van Gerwen - but a fist-pump to mock his opponent's celebration after levelling the game by hitting two 11-darters and a 14-dart finish in the second set only served to fire up the number two seed. Van Gerwen took the third and fourth sets without reply, including back-to-back 180s in the last of six successive legs he won, before coming from 2-0 down in the next to book his last 16 spot.
"I played really well in patches, but there is still a lot of improvement required," said van Gerwen, the 6/4 tournament favourite with sponsors Ladbrokes. "I need to play better in my next game against Gary and be more consistent, but it's going to be a cracker. We're both quite fast players, we like to play each other and it's important for both of us. It's a good feeling to still be involved going into Christmas and I'll enjoy the break and come back better on Sunday."
Welsh star Webster, the 2008 Lakeside Champion, continued his renaissance with a gutsy performance as he fought back from the brink of defeat to edge past John Henderson in a seventh set tie-break.
Number 26 seed Webster, a two-time Alexandra Palace semi-finalist, won two of the first three sets before Henderson took both the fourth and fifth sets 3-1 to move into the ascendancy. Henderson - who knocked out world number seven Dave Chisnall in the first round - also led 2-1 in the sixth set, but crucially missed three match darts at double top as Webster levelled and then took the set's decider to take the game into a final set. Henderson again moved to the brink of victory at 2-1 and 3-2 up in the deciding set, hitting a 120 finish in moving to the brink of victory, but Webster levelled, broke throw and then took out 108 for a fifth ton-plus finish as he completed the fightback.
"It's a massive win for me and I'm so pleased," said Webster. "I need to climb up the rankings and I need wins like that - I'm still in the tournament and hopefully I can push on in the next round. I thought I was dead and buried and John will probably wonder how that got away from him. I felt he was going to hit the winning double, but thankfully he missed. Match darts are the hardest things in the world, I know that, but thankfully he missed them and I took them out. Thankfully I took a few ton-plus finishes out but I was relaxed and just wanted to give myself a chance. To be still in the tournament at Christmas is a bonus, and I'll be confident and raring to go on the 27th. It's a massive test and Raymond's a great player, and I'm going to make sure he's in a game."
Wes Newton secured easier passage to the last 16, seeing off three-time World Champion John Part in straight sets to set up a clash with Robert Thornton after Christmas.
The number eight seed made a fine start to win the first set without reply and took the second 3-1 before Part hit back to lead 2-1 in the third, only for Newton to level with a 111 checkout and punish two missed doubles for the set from the Canadian to move 3-0 up. Part also led in the fourth, but Newton levelled with a 119 finish and took out 94 to lead 2-1 before punishing more misses from the 2008 champion to seal victory.
"I've got a lot of respect for John but he wasn't on his game today and I took advantage and got the job done. I took out some really good finishes when John was waiting on a double and I think that demoralised him ," said Newton, who now meets Robert Thornton. "It wasn't awesome but it was a good game and there's hopefully a lot more to come from me. A 92 average is okay, it's not setting the world on fire but I can't ask for any more than a 4-0 win. I finished well and I've got to be happy and take the positives out of that. I've put in two solid performances, I'm getting better with each round and I've got a good chance - as much chance as anyone else. "Not many of the pundits have mentioned me as a contender for this title but I've reached a few major finals and have vast experience on the big stage, so I feel I've got a real chance." .