UK Open - Second Day
PRICE BATTLES BACK FROM THE BRINK TO REACH UK OPEN LAST EIGHT
Gerwyn Price produced one of the most astonishing comebacks in Ladbrokes UK Open history to stun Keane Barry and preserve his title hopes on a dramatic day of action in Minehead.
Price, who celebrated his 41st birthday on Saturday, fought back from 9-4 down to seal his spot in the quarter-finals, rattling off six consecutive legs in a remarkable conclusion to the contest.
The Welshman converted 121, 84, 81, 90 and 79 checkouts in consecutive legs to set up a thrilling finale, before firing in a 14-dart hold to complete the fightback.
"I missed some chances early on. I was missing doubles left right and centre," reflected Price, who averaged 101 in his 10-5 victory over Wessel Nijman earlier in the day. "I think I lost five legs on the bounce, it was a frustrating game at times. I was scoring really well and missing doubles. "I'm just thankful to come through that game, and I'm on a free roll now, so I don't care. "I get support everywhere now, but this was like playing in Wales! There was support for Keane and me, but maybe a bit more for me at the end I think!"
Day Two of the 750,000 pound event saw rounds five and six take place at Butlin's Minehead Resort, as reigning champion Luke Littler maintained his bid for back-to-back titles.
The world number one survived a scare in defeating Kevin Doets 10-8 on Saturday afternoon, before delivering a statement display to account for 2018 champion Gary Anderson 10-5. Anderson produced 107.42 and 105.8 averages in wins over Dirk van Duijvenbode and Martin Schindler respectively to reach round six, although he was unable to replicate those heroics against Littler.
The World Champion will now lock horns with Danny Noppert in another intriguing tussle, after the 2022 champion dumped out Peter Wright and world number two Luke Humphries on Saturday.
After landing a nine-darter to complete victory over 2024 UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh on Friday, Noppert dispatched 2017 winner Wright 10-2 on Stage Two.
The 35-year-old claimed another major scalp in the last 16, punishing a profligate display from Humphries to register his first big stage victory over the two-time UK Open runner-up.
"What can I say? I won against Luke Humphries finally on the big stage," quipped Noppert, one of three former champions remaining in the field. "I'm very happy with my performance. I think Luke didn't play his best game; he missed a lot of doubles so I had more opportunities. "I took my chances and that's the most important thing. Four years ago now, I lifted the title here. I lifted it once, why not twice!"
Michael van Gerwen was another high-profile casualty in Minehead, succumbing to a virtuoso performance from an inspired James Wade.
Wade - a three-time UK Open champion in three different decades - followed up a 10-2 drubbing of Gabriel Clemens with a 105.83 average and a 10-3 demolition of Van Gerwen.
The left-hander will now face Rob Cross, who dumped out former World Grand Prix champions Mike De Decker and Daryl Gurney in advancing to his first TV ranking quarter-final since November 2024. Cross recovered from 9-7 down to edge past De Decker in a dramatic round five encounter, before converting 130 and 152 checkouts en route to a resounding 10-6 victory over Gurney.
Josh Rock and Krzysztof Ratajski completed the quarter-final line-up, and the pair will go head-to-head in Sunday afternoon's opening tie on the Main Stage.
Ratajski swept aside Sweden's Oskar Lukasiak and World Championship semi-finalist Ryan Searle to reach his second UK Open quarter-final, and his first since 2021.
Rock, meanwhile, recorded back-to-back 10-7 wins over Germany's Dominik Gruellich and his Premier League rival Stephen Bunting to continue his bid for a maiden televised ranking title.
Following the culmination of tomorrow afternoon's quarter-finals, the draw for the semi-finals will be made live on the Main Stage, before the semi-finals and final take place in the evening session.
Sunday's action will be broadcast live on ITV4 for UK viewers, through the PDC's international broadcast partners, including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV for Rest of the World Subscribers.