Gary Anderson beat Simon Whitlock in a Euro Championship thriller
Saturday 31 October 2015 23:48, UK
World champion Gary Anderson has reached the Unibet European Championship quarter-finals for only the second time after a hard-fought 10-8 win over Simon Whitlock in Belgium.
Whitlock was the 2012 European Champion and twice led by two legs but Anderson won four legs in a row in the middle of the match to move into a 7-5 lead.
Anderson then conjured up late finishes of 101 and 136 to seal the win and set up a quarter-final against Jelle Klaasen, who beat James Wade 10-5.
"It was a scrap, so I'm glad I came out with the win," said Anderson. "It wasn't the game I was expecting but my form's going well and it's good to still be in the hunt here.
Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen are also through to the last eight after comfortable second round wins.
Taylor defeated Michael Smith 10-5 while Van Gerwen cruised to a 10-3 victory over Cristo Reyes.
Van Gerwen is likely to be given a tougher test on Sunday when he will take on Dave Chisnall, who produced a brilliant display to defeat St Helens rival Stephen Bunting 10-6.
Chisnall landed 10 maximums and averaged almost 104 in a high-quality contest which saw the former Lakeside Champion reply with seven 180s of his own.
Chisnall said: "We both played well and it was a good game.
"I'm feeling good and I'm looking forward to the quarter-finals now. I'm playing well but having a few snatchy moments, and I've been working on that, but it's a part of my game and sometimes they go in!"
The 2013 champion Adrian Lewis held off a strong challenge from Justin Pipe, prevailing 10-7 to set up a clash with Taylor, while Peter Wright will take on John Henderson in the other quarter-final.
Unibet European Championship
Second Round Results
Afternoon Session:
John Henderson 10-2 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Stephen Bunting 6-10 Dave Chisnall
Adrian Lewis 10-7 Justin Pipe
Gary Anderson 10-8 Simon Whitlock
Evening Session:
Peter Wright 10-8 Kim Huybrechts
Phil Taylor 10-5 Michael Smith
Michael van Gerwen 10-3 Cristo Reyes
James Wade 5-10 Jelle Klaasen
Sunday 1 November
Quarter-Finals:
John Henderson v Peter WrightMichael van Gerwen v Dave Chisnall
Gary Anderson v Jelle Klaasen
Adrian Lewis v Phil Taylor