“ Raymond missed his chance and I took mine , so I ’ m very happy to be through ”
“ I ’ m happy to make the final and I ’ ve done really well ”
Gary Anderson demolished Brendan Dolan 6-1 and Andy Hamilton continued his progress thanks to a 6-1 win over Colin Osborne . There were however a few shocks , with Robert Thornton losing out to Peter Wright and Adrian Lewis losing out to Justin Pipe in a last leg decider .
Perhaps the best performance of the round however was Kim Huybrechts who produced a fine display to stun Raymond van Barneveld .
“ It was a very close game and I did get a bit nervous at the end when I had a couple of match darts ,” admitted Huybrechts . “ Raymond missed his chance and I took mine , so I ’ m very happy to be through .”
In the only all Premier League clash of the round Simon Whitlock claimed a 6-3 victory over James Wade , meanwhile Mervyn King was unable to take advantage of his second round victory over Phil Taylor , the Norfolk based thrower losing out 6-5 to Jamie Caven .
In the quarter finals Michael van Gerwen secured victory over Gary Anderson with another typically impressive display that saw him secure a 6-3 victory and Peter Wright produced another fine display to defeat a second Premier League player as he claimed a 6-3 victory over Andy Hamilton .
Simon Whitlock became the second player from the World ’ s top eight into the semi-finals thanks to a 6-2 victory over Justin Pipe , and the lineup was completed by Jamie Caven who ended the challenge of Kim Huybrechts .
The semi-finals followed on immediately as the action came thick and fast in Germany and it was experience that came to the forefront as both of remaining two top eight players emerged with victories .
Michael van Gerwen continued his unbeaten run as he overcame Peter Wright 6-3 and whilst Simon Whitlock had a slightly closer encounter with Jamie Caven it was the two seasoned players who completed the lineup for the final .
In the final Michael van Gerwen produced a vintage display of darts , he averaged over 106 , landing legs of 11 , 12 , 13 and 14 darts on his way to a 6-2 victory . Of course Whitlock played his part , indeed he landed a checkout of 70 and a couple of maximums during the two legs that he was able to secure , on the day however van Gerwen was simply irresistable .
“ It ’ s been a brilliant few days ,” said van Gerwen .
“ I ’ m a bit tired at the moment but winning is the most important thing , and I ’ m very glad I saved my best game for the final .
“ Simon beat me the last time we played in a final and I knew I needed to play a proper game to beat him , and I think I showed my class with a very good performance tonight .”
He added : “ The crowd was amazing and even though they were cheering for Simon in the final , they were very nice .
“ Darts is growing in Germany and the crowds are very good here . Every ticket is sold out and you want to see that .”
“ I ’ m happy to make the final and I ’ ve done really well ,” said Whitlock .
“ Raymond missed his chance and I took mine , so I ’ m very happy to be through ”
Kim Huybrechts
“ I ’ m happy to make the final and I ’ ve done really well ”
Simon Whitlock
Picture courtesy of PDC / Lawrence Lustig .