Quarter Finals
Michael van Gerwen became the first man into the semi-finals after
he defeated Wes Newton 6-3 in a thrilling encounter. The Dutchman
took the opening leg of the match, only to find himself pegged back
immediately to 1-1 after missed darts at double.
Two close legs were then edged by van Gerwen, before the Premier
League champion landed a 180 and a 101 checkout to move 4-1 up.
Newton fought back and had closed the gap to 5-3, but it was left to
van Gerwen to seal victory in the ninth leg, the Dutchman ending the
match with an average of 101.50.
The second quarter final was an absolute thriller between two in-form
men in the form of Kim Huybrechts and Peter Wright. Both men topped
the 100 average mark as Huybrechts edged the encounter in a deciding
leg.
The opening four legs of the encounter were shared, before Wright
moved 4-2 up despite a maximum in the sixth leg for Huybrechts.
The Belgian ace hit back to lead 5-4, before a maximum from Wright
helped him to level the match at 5-5 and force a deciding leg. It was
Huybrechts whose nerve held however, a 12-darter taking him to
ultimate victory.
Brendan Dolan sealed victory in the third quarter final with a 6-1 win
over Jarkko Komula. Dolan landed the opening leg, before a 180 helped
him to land a break of throw in the second leg. A 67 checkout then
moved him 3-0 up, before Komula got off the mark with a 78 checkout
in the fourth.
This was as good as it got for the Finn however as Dolan landed a 101
checkout on the way to reeling off the last three legs of the match to
secure victory and book his semi-final spot.
The fourth quarter final saw defending Champion Simon Whitlock claim
victory over Jamie Caven by six legs to three. Whitlock opened the
match with a 180, taking the opening leg, before another maximum
allowed him to move 2-0 up early on.
Caven hit back with a 14-darter and levelled the match at 2-2 before
the next two legs were shared. Whitlock’s big match experience began
to show through during the latter stages of the match and he took the
last three legs to claim a 6-3 victory and set up a semi-final clash with
Brendan Dolan.
Semi-Finals
Kim Huybrechts hit two 180s and a 171 as he took the opening three
legs of his semi-final with Michael van Gerwen.
The pair then shared the next four legs, putting Huybrechts on the
brink of a final appearance. Van Gerwen did fight back somewhat,
closing the gap to 5-3 before the Huybrechts was able to seal ultimate
victory in the ninth leg of the match.
Michael van Gerwen had averaged an impressive 102.57, but this was
topped by the even more impressive Huybrechts who ended the match
Photo: PDC/Lawrence Lustig