Sunday 20 November 2016 17:21, UK
Gary Anderson reached the semi-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts after staging a late charge to seal a 16-13 victory over Raymond van Barneveld on Saturday night.
The world champion looked to be in a precarious position when he trailed 13-12, but reeled off four legs in a row to secure a last-four match with James Wade on Sunday in Wolverhampton.
Wade had earlier shown his superior class in a comfortable 16-5 win over Chris Dobey.
The eagerly anticipated encounter between Anderson and Van Barneveld, world champions of past and present, started in scrappy fashion and the 'Flying Scotsman' pulled into a 4-1 lead.
But the current PDC king began to fumble with his finishing, allowing 'Barney' to level at 5-5 on double 16, much to the delight of his raucous supporters.
Van Barneveld then rattled off a finish of 164, ending on the bull, and Anderson then answered with a 121 checkout of his own as the match caught fire.
Both men continued to trade legs, with Barney edging into a slender lead, but Anderson's timely spell of heavy scoring turned the match in his favour.
The Scot produced six 180s in five legs while breaking for a 15-13 lead and then sealed a memorable victory with double 20.
In the opening quarter-final, Wade had ended Dobey's impressive run in the tournament with a ruthless display of finishing.
The gulf of experience between Wade and the 26-year-old, who was playing in his first televised quarter-final, soon became evident as 'The Machine' motored into a 6-1 lead.
Wade was hitting the double 20 with unerring accuracy, while Dobey flailed at this finishing, and the 2010 runner-up found his favourite target yet again to complete an emphatic victory.
Watch the Grand Slam of Darts semi-finals from 1pm on Sky Sports 2 HD on Sunday, and the final from 7pm on Sky Sports 1 HD.
