Raymond van Barneveld and Gary Anderson into World Grand Prix last four
Van Gerwen also through after Whitlock scare; Chisnall advances
Friday 7 October 2016 06:02, UK
Raymond van Barneveld continued his return to form at the World Grand Prix with victory over Benito van de Pas, setting up a semi-final with Gary Anderson .
The Dutch darting legend came out on top in a battle with his fellow countryman to seal a first World Grand Prix last four spot since 2010.
Barney is a two-time runner-up in Dublin, losing to Phil Taylor in 2008 and 2009, but he remains on course for a maiden triumph in the tournament having lost just one leg against Van de Pas who seemed overawed by the nature of a major quarter-final.
Van Barneveld, who is yet to drop a set in his three matches this week, raced through the first set before Van de Pas stirred in the second only for Barney to put his foot on the accelerator and seal a semi-final spot with a dominant display.
Up next for RVB will be Gary Anderson, the two-time world champion is another who is yet to triumph in the event but he matched his best-ever performance in the unique double-to-start tournament with a win over Kim Huybrechts.
The Flying Scotsman reached the last four in 2014 and he will hope to go one better this year, but he will need to improve on a sloppy display against Belgium's Huybrechts, who raced through the opening set 3-0 to seize the initiative.
But Anderson has learnt to win despite not being at his best and he reeled off eight of the next ten legs to move to the brink of the match, a run that included brilliant 124 and 141 check-outs.
Also into the last four is world number one Michael van Gerwen and he remains on course to add to the Premier League, UK Open and World Matchplay titles he has already won this year.
MVG lost to Robert Thornton in last year's final in Dublin, his third final in the last four years at the Citywest hotel, having claimed the title in 2012 and 2014.
And he looks good value to add a third Grand Prix crown to his ever-growing list having averaged a tournament-best 103 to come through a high-quality match against a resurgent Simon Whitlock.
Live World Grand Prix Darts
The Aussie hit back to claim the second set having seen Van Gerwen take the opener and despite levelling the match, Whitlock could not quite match Mighty Mike's scoring power and the Dutchman moved into a semi-final clash with Dave Chisnall.
'Chizzy' kicked off the evening's action with an impressive performance to end the hopes of Northern Ireland's Daryl Gurney.
Chisnall proved too strong for Gurney, who gave a decent account of himself in his second major quarter-final, and having lost the opening two sets, hit back to claim the third set.
But Chisnall, Grand Prix runner-up in 2013, kept his cool and eased through the fourth set to move into the last four of a major tournament for the first time this year.
You can follow all the action from Friday's semi-finals with our live blog and on Sky Sports 1 from 7pm.
