World Matchplay 2024 - The Quarterfinals
The quarterfinals took place over two days as well. On the first day again the players from the upper half played, on the second day the players from the lower half stood on stage and on both days one not seeded player was involved who had just so qualified for the event by the Pro Tour Order of Merit.
On the first quarterfinal day it was James Wade who played against the number 13 of the Order of Merit, Ross Smith. Statistically Smith went with some advantage into the match - he so far had played the higher averages, had thrown cleary more 180s (27 to Wades 3) and had a quite similar hitting rate on the doubles. But Wade had already shown his typically good checkout timing which had played a big part at least in his win over reigning champion Nathan Aspinall. Nevertheless it was no surprise Ross Smith was in the lead before the first break. Wade on the other side surprised from the start with strong scoring and by hitting a lot of 180s. Before the second break Wade was 6:4 and two breaks ahead and he never looked back but extended the lead to a 16:10 win. One could see Smith got more an more exasperated with this tenacious and completely unimpressed opponent who prevented all attempts to get closer and always found an answer.
In the second quarterfinal of the night Luke Humphries and Dimitri van den Bergh stood on stage. Due to his previous performances in the tournament Humphries was the favouriet to win the match though the Belgian won the bull. Humphries stormed to a 3:0 lead, but van den Bergh settled into the match too and it was 3:2 Humphries before the first break. Humphries again struggled and he had to work hard, nothing was easy for him. But of course it was as well van den Bergh's playing style with his slow throwing rhythm which hindered the flow of the match. Before the second break Humphries was 6:5 in the lead. Van den Bergh managed to draw 7:7 but after that Humphries got more consistent and stable, was less impressed by van den Berghs playing style and finally moved away. Humphries as well won 16:10 but it was a hard worked win. Once again one got the impression he had more to fight against himself then against his opponent, somehow it didn't look he really trusted in his skills 100 percent.
On the second quarterfinals day Andrew Gilding was the not seeded player and he played in the first match of the night against Michael van Gerwen whom he had defeated last year in the final of the UK Open. Gilding hadn't performed great recently but he had improved a lot in his second round match in the World Matchplay against Krzysztof Ratajski. Van Gerwen played a great match against Littler and won over Joe Cullen but that second match had been far from outstanding. One couldn't really predict how the van Gerwen v Gilding match would develop. It was an interesting match but a match of two halfs as well. The first half was really close, a head to head race and Gilding even had a slight advantage. But after the Dutchman had drawn 8:8 Gilding was not in the races anymore. He only managed to win two more legs and van Gerwen had an easy match. Again we had a 16:10 winner -this time in van Gerwen though the Dutchman was far from convincing on his doubles. Might be Gilding failed because of the quite long and for him unfamiliar format.
The fourth and last quarterfinal was a highly anticipated match. Michael Smith had been under the radar so far - well, he had defeated Gary Anderson, but that had been not an upset more the normal. And his match against Chris Dobey had been a quite average match. He now met in the last quarterfinal Rob Cross who had been outstanding first in his match against Gian van Veen which he only just won and than in the second round against Ryan Searle whom he steamrolled. But it turned out to be the weakest and most one-sided of the quarterfinal matches and was dominated by double-trouble. Cross couldn't find a double from the start, really none. When Smith was 5:1 in the lead Cross hitting rate on the doubles was seven per cent. Cross only highlight of the match was his 144 finish to the 7:14 but that was much to late to stop Michael Smith. Cross couldn't even get close as Smith got the following two legs and won 16:7. It was a really stange quarterfinal in which Smith was the clear winner but nevertheless far from his best.
On the first quarterfinal day it was James Wade who played against the number 13 of the Order of Merit, Ross Smith. Statistically Smith went with some advantage into the match - he so far had played the higher averages, had thrown cleary more 180s (27 to Wades 3) and had a quite similar hitting rate on the doubles. But Wade had already shown his typically good checkout timing which had played a big part at least in his win over reigning champion Nathan Aspinall. Nevertheless it was no surprise Ross Smith was in the lead before the first break. Wade on the other side surprised from the start with strong scoring and by hitting a lot of 180s. Before the second break Wade was 6:4 and two breaks ahead and he never looked back but extended the lead to a 16:10 win. One could see Smith got more an more exasperated with this tenacious and completely unimpressed opponent who prevented all attempts to get closer and always found an answer.
In the second quarterfinal of the night Luke Humphries and Dimitri van den Bergh stood on stage. Due to his previous performances in the tournament Humphries was the favouriet to win the match though the Belgian won the bull. Humphries stormed to a 3:0 lead, but van den Bergh settled into the match too and it was 3:2 Humphries before the first break. Humphries again struggled and he had to work hard, nothing was easy for him. But of course it was as well van den Bergh's playing style with his slow throwing rhythm which hindered the flow of the match. Before the second break Humphries was 6:5 in the lead. Van den Bergh managed to draw 7:7 but after that Humphries got more consistent and stable, was less impressed by van den Berghs playing style and finally moved away. Humphries as well won 16:10 but it was a hard worked win. Once again one got the impression he had more to fight against himself then against his opponent, somehow it didn't look he really trusted in his skills 100 percent.
On the second quarterfinals day Andrew Gilding was the not seeded player and he played in the first match of the night against Michael van Gerwen whom he had defeated last year in the final of the UK Open. Gilding hadn't performed great recently but he had improved a lot in his second round match in the World Matchplay against Krzysztof Ratajski. Van Gerwen played a great match against Littler and won over Joe Cullen but that second match had been far from outstanding. One couldn't really predict how the van Gerwen v Gilding match would develop. It was an interesting match but a match of two halfs as well. The first half was really close, a head to head race and Gilding even had a slight advantage. But after the Dutchman had drawn 8:8 Gilding was not in the races anymore. He only managed to win two more legs and van Gerwen had an easy match. Again we had a 16:10 winner -this time in van Gerwen though the Dutchman was far from convincing on his doubles. Might be Gilding failed because of the quite long and for him unfamiliar format.
The fourth and last quarterfinal was a highly anticipated match. Michael Smith had been under the radar so far - well, he had defeated Gary Anderson, but that had been not an upset more the normal. And his match against Chris Dobey had been a quite average match. He now met in the last quarterfinal Rob Cross who had been outstanding first in his match against Gian van Veen which he only just won and than in the second round against Ryan Searle whom he steamrolled. But it turned out to be the weakest and most one-sided of the quarterfinal matches and was dominated by double-trouble. Cross couldn't find a double from the start, really none. When Smith was 5:1 in the lead Cross hitting rate on the doubles was seven per cent. Cross only highlight of the match was his 144 finish to the 7:14 but that was much to late to stop Michael Smith. Cross couldn't even get close as Smith got the following two legs and won 16:7. It was a really stange quarterfinal in which Smith was the clear winner but nevertheless far from his best.