Sydney Darts Masters
working hard on my game, but it was great to have some good support from the crowd and a few friends out there too - and I’m glad that I get another opportunity now to prove myself in the quarterfinals.”
Photo: Mike Glover/UK Darts Magazine
Quarter Finals
Australian favourite Simon Whitlock opened his quarter final clash with Andy Hamilton with a 180, bringing the capacity crowd at Luna Park to their feet in the process, and he never looked back as he went on to seal an 8-1 victory and secure his semi-final spot. It took a 12-darter, that included a 180 and an 84 checkout, from Hamilton to secure his only leg of the match as Whitlock averaged 100 and produced a superb 124 checkout of his own on the way to victory. “It’s fantastic to be in the semifinals and I can’t wait for Saturday night,” said Whitlock. “I played pretty well again, I’m scoring well and my finishing’s been good, and I played some great darts at times. I hit Andy hard early on and that was the big thing tonight.” Phil Taylor produced the highest average of the tournament so far (108.31) as he defeated Australian Paul Nicholson 8-2. The Stokebased thrower took the opening three legs of the match, before Nicholson fought back to close the gap to 3-2. From then on however it was one way traffic as Taylor reeled off five straight legs to seal the victory and set up a mouth-watering semifinal clash with another Australian in the form of Simon Whitlock. “My finishing was the secret in this game,” said Taylor, who took out 50 percent of his chances at a double. “In a short format it’s important to take out your doubles, and I did that well tonight.” “After Paul got back to 3-2 I kicked on and I needed to because you could see him closing in. He’s on his way back and the next few months can be big for him.” Clinton Bridge had defeated one Dutchman in the form of Raymond van Barneveld in the first round, but Michael van Gerwen proved to be a different prospect entirely. The Premier League Champion followed up his ten minute whitewash of Gordon Mathers with an 8-1 victory over Bridge, who needed a 13-dart leg just to get on the board. Van Gerwen landed three 180s and a 154 checkout on his way to an average of 93.87, which was all a bit too much for local favourite Bridge who could only average 81.97 in reply. “I’m very happy to have won,” said van Gerwen. “Clinton showed some great
“My finishing was the secret in this game”
Phil Taylor