Gary Anderson suffers shock exit from World Matchplay after losing 11-9 to Daryl Gurney
Wins for Peter Wright, Mensur Suljovic and Darren Webster in Blackpool
Thursday 27 July 2017 18:06, UK
Gary Anderson suffered a shock second-round exit at the hands of Daryl Gurney in a pulsating game the World Matchplay.
Anderson hit the ground running and went 3-0 up after punishing Gurney's miss at a double to hold his own throw in the second leg. The Northern Irishman steadied the ship and held his throw to get himself off the mark before then breaking back after the Scot had missed four darts at a double to take a 4-1 lead.
The No 2 seed hit a 12-dart leg against the throw to get back on track after the break but his opponent was standing strong and hit a 10-dart leg to repay the compliment. The high-quality darts continued as Gurney took out 121 to hold throw, leaving it 5-5 heading into the second break.
Gurney went ahead for the first time in the game after producing an 11-dart leg this time to break the Anderson throw. Anderson stayed in contention with a 104 checkout to hold throw but Gurney was holding his nerve as he went 8-6 up.
Anderson continued to put the pressure on his opponent by holding his throw and came within a whisker of levelling the game but missed double 16 for a 152 checkout as Gurney returned to take out 40 and go 10-8 up, one leg away from victory. The Flying Scotsman then held his throw again as both players continued to produce some stunning darts but SuperChin held his nerve one final time to take a memorable victory and set up a clash with Mensur Suljovic in the next round.
Peter Wright took a comfortable 11-4 win over Cristo Reyes to set up a quarter-final tie with Darren Webster. Wright broke Reyes early on to ease into a 4-1 lead and was in total control of the match. The Spaniard was not doing too much wrong but Snakebite was in top form and broke again to go into a commanding 7-3 lead.
The Spartan did get a break back but Wright dampened hopes of a comeback in the following leg to cancel it out before taking out 101 to hold his throw and go 9-4 up. The Scot broke again on the way to sealing victory as he finished with a checkout percentage of 78.57.
Mensur Suljovic progressed to the last eight with a 11-6 win over Justin Pipe. The Austrian broke his opponent in the opening leg and was throwing some confident darts in the opening stages, recording a 100 per cent checkout success as he went 4-2 up.
The no 7 seed missed his first dart at a double in the game to break again and go 5-2 up but he made no mistake when presented with the chance to break again as he took out 52 in clinical fashion to go 6-3 up. Just as the game looked to be getting away from Pipe, he instantly broke back to give him hope of a comeback.
However, he couldn't back it up by holding his throw and Suljovic broke to take command of the game again. The Englishman kept battling away but it was The Gentle who was always in control of the tie and booked his passage to the quarter-final.
Darren Webster defeated Steve West 11-7 to continue his run in the competition. The Demolition Man was the first man to break as he hit a 12 darter to go 3-2 up heading into the first break. However, West broke back in style taking out 135 for an immediate response.
Both players were struggling to hold throw and three further breaks followed before Webster eventually held to go 6-4 up. West stayed in the hunt throughout but Webster kept his opponent at bay and took out 133 on the way to victory.
Watch all the action from the World Matchplay Darts at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool from 7pm on Sky Sports Action on Wednesday night, or watch for £6.99 without a contract on NOW TV. The arrows run right through until the final on Sunday, July 30.
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