Phil Taylor marches into World Darts Championship last 16 after win over Justin Pipe
Brilliant Barney beat Kyle Anderson but world No 4 Daryl Gurney becomes highest seed to crash out after defeat to John Henderson
Sunday 24 December 2017 11:07, UK
Phil Taylor will be back at the World Darts Championship after Christmas to continue his dream of a fairytale finish to his professional career after beating Justin Pipe 4-0 to reach the last 16.
Taylor, the 16-time world champion, announced at the start of the year that 2017 would be his last on the professional circuit and, after a memorable triumph at the World Matchplay, came to Alexandra Palace with high hopes of the ultimate finish.
Pipe played the role of pantomime villain after his coughing antics against Bernie Smith in the previous round, and having received a raucous welcome from a pumped-up Ally Pally crowd, he proved no match for Taylor.
Roared on at every opportunity by almost everyone in attendance, 'The Power' reeled off a blistering run of 11 successive legs to cruise through the contest.
Pipe's arrival to the stage was eagerly awaited after he had appeared to cough during Smith's throwing action but a novel approach of hamming up the crowd looked to be reaping rewards early on.
The Force had two darts for the first set but having wasted the opportunity, he saw Taylor pinch a scrappy opening stanza before rolling back the years to go through the gears
Averaging over 115, Taylor claimed the second set including a brilliant 10-darter as Pipe slipped quietly into the background.
Taylor wrapped up the next two sets with ease as he sealed a spot in the third round and a date with Keegan Brown after the three-day break for Christmas and admitted afterwards the atmosphere had played it's part.
"I've got 30 years experience but I've never played in a game like that, trust me, it wasn't nice," Taylor told Dave Clark in the Sky Sports studio.
"I didn't feel sorry for him, I felt sorry for his family. It was very difficult to concentrate. Russ Bray was the star of the show! It was hard work."
Another man on a quest is Raymond van Barneveld who came through a tough test against Kyle Anderson with flying colours to take a step closer to world title number six.
Barney has reached the semi-final in each of the last three years at Alexandra Palace and averaged 102.78 in a 4-1 win over Anderson to advance to a mouthwatering all-Dutch showdown with Vincent van der Voort.
Van Barneveld averaged 121 in reeling off the first three legs to land the opening set against Anderson and while his average dipped, Barney was able to keep his cool to claim the second, battling back from two legs behind to pin three in succession and take a vice-like grip on the contest.
Anderson was only marginally below Barney in the scoring and it was no surprise to see him take out the third set of a high-quality contest - a brilliant 114 check-out got him into the match before Van Barneveld motored away with the match.
In the night's opening second-round match, No 4 seed and World Grand Prix champion Daryl Gurney crashed out after a shock 4-2 defeat to 29th seed John Henderson, who he had beaten in his way to the title in Dublin.
Gurney was considered a major contender for the title having reached at least the last eight of every major televised tournament over the past year, starting with his run to the last eight at Alexandra Palace but Heno's scoring power and crucial finishing was enough to account for the man from Derry.
The Highlander stormed to a two-set lead, pinching each after Gurney had missed a dart at tops to claim them.
Back-to-back 100+ check-outs gave Henderson the second set before Gurney mounted his comeback and reeled off the next two to level the contest but there was to be no more for Superchin.
Henderson halted Gurney's run by taking the third set and despite Gurney taking the opening leg of the sixth set he was unable to force a decider as Henderson stayed rock solid on his doubling to seal a date with Rob Cross who knocked out Michael Smith earlier in the day.
But in its 25th edition, the night belonged to Taylor as he chalked up another victory at the event where he has reigned supreme, losing just 12 matches in 29 years of World Championship competition he looked capable of keeping that figure at just a dozen after a dominant display.
Live World Darts Championship
The 2018 World Championship from Alexandra Palace continues after the three-day Christmas break with a double session on December 27, coverage is underway from 12.30pm on Sky Sports Darts with the evening session beginning at 7pm
Live World Darts Championship
Keep up to date with the news right through to the final on New Year's Day as the PDC celebrates 25 years on Sky Sports. So get all the latest at www.skysports.com/darts and join in the conversation @SkySportsDarts- don't forget to use #LoveTheDarts
