Van Gerwen and Wright into World Matchplay quarter finals
Michael van Gerwen made the Betfred World Matchplay quarter finals for the first time since 2017.
The Green Machine defeated Ian White 11-8, and will face Nathan Aspinall in the last eight, after The Asp beat Gary Anderson in a great game.
Michael Smith also came through an utter classic to make the last eight, beating Jose De Sousa 13-11. He faces Peter Wright, who beat Joe Cullen 11-5.
Van Gerwen sees off White with professional performance
While Van Gerwen did not do anything spectacular, he still produced a solid 100.68 average to defeat Diamond, avenging a loss to him at the European Championship in October last year.
Both held in 15 to start, before an 88 outshot gave Van Gerwen an 11 dart break. However, he missed a dart at 16s for a 3-1 lead, and White cleaned up 35 to level. A 15 dart hold followed, meaning Diamond took a 3-2 lead at the first interval.
Three further holds followed, before The Green Machine broke again, hitting double 10 to take a 5-4 lead. Both then missed a dart at tops for a three figure outshot in the 10th leg, but it was White who found double 10 to level the game at 5-5 at the second interval.
Van Gerwen stepped it up after the interval, hitting a 14 darter to break the White throw and go in front. Three further holds followed, giving The Green Machine an 8-6 lead. White then missed four darts to cut the gap to one, and Van Gerwen hit a 92 shot to get the double break.
A 93 checkout put the two time World Matchplay champion one away, before he missed six match darts across two legs. A 108 checkout, followed by a double five shot, gave Diamond new hope at 10-8. However, he missed the bull for a 161 in the 19th leg, and MvG capitalised, hitting a 121 on the bull to make the last eight.
Aspinall sees off Anderson in thriller
Nathan Aspinall won a sensational game 11-9 against Gary Anderson to reach the quarter finals of the World Matchplay for the first time.
The Asp took a 3-0 lead in 47 darts, before Anderson hit a 67 to get on the board. He then followed it up with three 140s in the fifth leg, and hit an 81 checkout to trail 3-2 at the first interval.
The sixth leg saw both players miss multiple darts at a double before Anderson eventually squeaked over the line to leve. An 85 checkout followed to break throw and take the lead for the first time, but he then missed tops tops for a 100 checkout. The Asp took advantage, hitting a 79 checkout to level at 4-4. Back to back 14 darters followed, giving him a 6-4 lead at the second interval.
Both held twice after the interval, meaning Aspinall led 8-6. Anderson broke in the 15th leg, hitting double 10 to get the game broke on throw. However, Aspinall regained the break in the next leg, hitting double nine to go 8-7 in front.
The Asp missed a 111 outshot in the next leg, and Anderson punished, hitting an incredible 149 outshot to cut the game back to one again. However, tables turned, as The Flying Scotsman missed double eight for a 136 in the next leg. Aspinall then found a stunning 117 checkout to go within one.
Anderson found double 14 to regain the break, before setting himself on double 12 to send the game to extra time. However, Asp hit a 96 checkout to get over the line.
Smith sees off De Sousa in stunner
Michael Smith survived a match dart to beat Jose De Sousa 13-11 in a sensational contest which featured 15 maximums.
The Special One started brighter, breaking in 11, before holding to double his lead. However, in the fourth leg, he missed two darts to go 3-1 ahead. Smith, who’d held in the previous leg, then hit tops to level. A comfortable 64 checkout saw him 3-2 ahead at the first interval.
Bully Boy profited from more missed doubles in the sixth leg, winning with a double 10 outshot to go 4-2 in front. He then held, before missing the bull for a 170 checkout. De Sousa then found an 80 outshot to hold and trail 5-3. 23 darts later, he made the game all square at the second interval.
Both held, before The Special One broke in sensational fashion. Needing 80, he found a tops tops outshot to go 7-6 ahead. Six holds followed, meaning De Sousa led 10-9 and threw for the match. However, Smith found a fantastic 14 dart leg to break and send a match to extra time for the first time this tournament.
De Sousa fired in a 15 darter to go within one at the start of extra time, before missing In at double 12 in the next to reach his first ever Matchplay quarter final. Bully Boy capitalised, firing in a 108 checkout to keep his tournament alive under huge pressure.
Despite missing eight darts to win the 23rd, Bully Boy found double five to go 12-11 ahead. The Grand Slam champion then missed a dart at double 16 to extend the match, and Smith hit double 10 to win a Blackpool epic, making up for losses to De Sousa at the Grand Slam last year and UK Open earlier this year.
Wright comfortably defeats Cullen
Number two seed Peter Wright dominated his second round clash, defeating Joe Cullen 11-4 to claim the final quarter final spot.
After Cullen missed a dart for a 114 in the opener, Wright hit double 16 to hold. A 106 to break followed, before a 14 darter extended his advantage. However, he missed darts for a 4-0 lead, and when on a 110 outshot to make it 4-1, he strayed into the single one. This allowed The Rockstar to win two legs and trail 3-2 at the first interval.
Cullen levelled with a 52 checkout in the next leg, after Snakebite missed another dart at a double. However, from the seventh leg onwards, Wright looked in complete control. After a 13 dart hold, he hit a 103 outshot for a 12 dart break, followed by 13 and 15 darters, gave him a 7-3 lead at the second interval.
Wright held after the interval, before Cullen stopped the rot with a 17 darter. Both held once more, but it only delayed the inevitable. Snakebite hit a 13 dart hold, before finishing the game on 76 to take the win. He averaged 105.46, the highest average of the game so far.
Betfred World Matchplay Day Five Results
Michael Smith 13-11 Jose De Sousa
Nathan Aspinall 11-9 Gary Anderson
Michael van Gerwen 11-8 Ian White
Peter Wright 11-5 Joe Cullen
Betfred World Matchplay Day Six Schedule of Play
Thursday 22 July (19.00 BST)
Quarter finals x2
Krzysztof Ratajski v Callan Rydz
Gerwyn Price v Dimitri van den Bergh
How can I follow the Betfred World Matchplay?
The Betfred World Matchplay will be live on Sky Sports in the UK. You can also watch it outside the UK via the PDC’s broadcast partners, such as RTL or DAZN.
You can also live stream the event. Find out more here.
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