A stunning night of darts completely overshadowed by disgraceful actions from the crowd, which ultimately back-fired as Anderson slumps to two defeats in two.
The Bull 6 - 8 The Machine
With the opening contest of the night being an all English affair it took some appropriate headwear from The Bull to get the Scottish crows on his side and that’s all it took for him to get the cheers and The Machine to be on the wrong end of the boos.
It looked like the stick from the crowd might get to Wade as he threw poorly in the first leg and was quickly 1 – 0 down. This didn’t last long though as he held his own throw comfortably in the second and then hammered home a 127 finish to break Jenkins early on. The next two went with throw, but Jenkins missed a dart at tops to break back in the sixth which cost him dearly as Wade stepped up to take out the same double and go in at the break 4 -2 up.
Things got even better for The Machine as he mechanically hit two double tops after a single twenty to finish off 100 and break The Bull again to open up a three leg lead. A second successive 100 finish saw Wade hold his next throw and move into a commanding 6 -2 position.
Jenkins then showed he could do exactly what Wade could as he finished off 100 in the same exhibition style as The Machine did earlier on two double tops and notch up his third led. This seemed to be a lack of concentration from Wade who seemed happy to lose on his opponents throw, but this lethargy continued into the next leg as Jenkins comfortably broke throw and took the score to 6-4.
Jenkins was suddenly on fire as he smashed home a 12-darter to take his deficit to just one leg, but Wade finally snapped back into life as he held his own throw to secure himself at least a point. The Bull put some serious pressure on Wade by making it 7-6 in the thirteenth leg and then missed double ten as he looked to take out 140 for the draw. This one miss was all Wade needed to capitalise on and he stepped up for tops to pick up his second win of the campaign.
Both men have been struggling in the tournament so far and it was always going to be a close contest which it proved to be. Incredibly Wade has managed to win it with just an 85.8 average which will not happen often, but his finishing of 62% was the reason he picked up the two points.
It was a mixed bag from both players and if neither improve on this form then I can’t see either making the semis.
Barney 8 - 4 Webby
The huge support that Barney receives in Scotland did not take long at all to have some effect as the Dutchman conjured up two 180s in the very first leg of the night, and then a third in the second although Webster took out 100 to keep the score level after two legs.
The next three legs went with throw including a 120 finish from Webby and a 121 from Barney, but the 5-time World Champ emphatically had the last word before the interval as he took out 161 in stunning style to lead 4-2 at the break.
The huge finishes just kept coming when the two returned as Barney took leg seven with a 116 finish. Webster showed he was still there though with a 180 and then a double 9 finish to keep the deficit at just two.
Barney didn’t look like losing anything on his own throw though as he hit his fourth 180 and moved closer to the finishing line. Both men opened up the tenth leg with maximums but it was Webster who claimed it with a cracking 11-darter.
The eleventh leg was the first time Webster had a dart at a double on a Barney throw and it was only one at the Bullseye which he narrowly missed. This let the Dutchman back in and he didn’t disappoint his adoring fans, securing himself the draw, and he only needed one more leg to make it two points and wrap up an impressive victory.
Raymond really looks to be in hot form this tournament and is looking like a real certainty for the semis if he can keep this up. A near enough 101 average, three ton-plus finishes and 47% finishing is top stuff and will win a lot of games.
Webster didn’t play badly at all and shouldn’t be too disheartened by the result, if he keeps plugging away he could still be the one to pinch fourth place.
The Wizard 5 – 8 The Power
The world number one continued his sparkling form with yet another excellent win against Simon Whitlock who was not throwing badly himself, but with The Power on or near enough on his A game then he was just too much for the Aussie.
The match started strangely with the first two legs going against the throw, including a 12-darter in the first leg from Taylor. It seemed to have stabilised as both men held their own darts to take the contest to two a piece, but a missed dart at double 18 was a mistake Whitlock couldn’t afford to make in the fifth leg as Taylor capitalised to break him again. The Power proved that one dart was enough to take out a double as he nailed double top to go in at the break 4-2 up.
The break didn’t seem like it was going to improve things for the Australian as Taylor stepped up straight away to break him again and open up a three leg lead. However, Whitlock showed he was going to do anything but crumble as he notched up his third 180 and took out 77 to break straight back and keep within reach.
The bizarre amount of legs against the throw continued though as again Whitlock spurned one chance at a double which you can’t afford to do against The Power who duly took the chance that he was given to take it to 6 – 3, despite a fourth 180 from The Wizard. But yet again Taylor couldn’t win a leg despite throwing first as he missed darts at double 8 and Whitlock moved in to show him how to take out the same finish.
Whitlock finally held his own throw in the eleventh led though and got back within one at 6 – 5 and it looked like the match was going to go the distance. Taylor had other ideas though as he wrapped up the match in the next two legs as yet again The Wizard couldn’t hit his double first dart which is what cost him the game really.
The Power seems to be back to not his very best, but near enough to it for him to win pretty much every game he’ll play in this tournament. His finishing wasn’t quite right, but with an average of over 103 then he can afford the odd missed double. Once he’s in form, it’s hard to see him dipping out of it, so you’d have to predict top spot for Taylor at this juncture.
The Wizard should not be too downhearted at all after that performance. To take three legs off Taylor against the throw is quite some achievement and if his doubles had been slightly more accurate he could have pinched a point or even two. He faces Webster next week, and that will be crucial in deciding where he will finish in the league.
Jackpot 8 – 3 The Flying Scotsman
Well this was the match that everyone was waiting for, but it was not the show piece that everyone was hoping for, thanks to the actions of a minority of mindless fans. It was fully expected that Gary Anderson would receive raucous support and Adrian Lewis would be on the wrong end of some boos, but what unfolded was unexpected and completely un-called for.
As early as Jackpot’s walk-on the trouble began as beer and other missiles were thrown at the world champ as he headed for the stage. The atmosphere clearly affecting both men as the first leg was a shocker, but the most shocking of all was when Lewis was hit by something whilst on the oche about to throw. Unsurprisingly he missed double tops and Anderson took the leg.
The Scot seemed to be harnessing the crowd’s support as he then took the second and third legs but this again was shrouded in controversy as Lewis again was forced to stop mid-throw after being hit by missiles.
The barrage, both verbal and physical didn’t halt in the fourth leg, but Lewis seemed to finally have got to grips with it as he impressively eliminated 111 to put his first leg on the board. He then finished on the bull to break for the first time and cut the deficit to one before holding his throw comfortably to bring it back to 3-3.
It was anybody’s guess what would happen when the two men returned but it was Lewis who continued to prosper in the face of adversity immediately breaking again to go into the lead for the first time. By this point it seemed Anderson was the one to crumble under the pressure from the crowd as he missed five darts at a double in the eighth leg to let Lewis, again after a lengthy pause, hit double 4 to move 5-3 up.
If the match hadn’t been affected by it already the turning point came in the ninth leg when again Lewis had to stop as objects were thrown. Anderson by this point had had enough as well as he himself refused to throw, then went and picked up the coin that was thrown and pocketed it whilst remonstrating with the crowd. He then missed 3 darts at tops, arguably on purpose, to let Jackpot back in for another leg.
By this point the Scot was so disgusted with the crowd he was barely trying in the last two legs and duly lost them both.
The match, in the end, was completely overshadowed by the outrageous behaviour of some members of the crowd who embarrassed themselves, their city and Scotland as a whole with their shocking display. Full credit has to go to both players who battled on regardless, and I do feel extremely sorry for Gary Anderson who will be completely disillusioned with things now as what will have been his most eagerly anticipated event has been completely ruined.
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