Wes Newton recorded a nine-dart finish against Justin Pipe at the World Matchplay on Thursday and still suffered a 13-10 defeat.
Hamilton, Pipe, Taylor and Baxter secure quarter-final places
Wes Newton recorded a nine-dart finish against Justin Pipe at the World Matchplay on Thursday night and still suffered a 13-10 defeat.
Fleetwood's Newton delighted a capacity crowd at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool with a nine-darter for the second successive night, following Michael van Gerwen in achieving a perfect leg.
With the scores tied at five-all, the world number five hit 180 and 177 to start the 11th leg of the game, and finished 144 on double 12 to land his first televised nine-dart finish.
Newton went on to move into a 10-8 lead, only for rising star Pipe to win five successive legs and win through to his first major quarter-final, where he will play Ronnie Baxter on Friday.
Cruise
Phil Taylor was short of his best despite easing into the quarter-finals with a 13-3 crushing of Ian White.
The defending champion, bidding for his 13th title in this event, needed only a three-dart average of 91.71 to see off his Stoke rival.
White had made a solid start and stayed in touch in the early stages, trailing 3-2 at the first break.
But Taylor overcame his inconsistent scoring to win 10 of the next 11 legs, although there were flashes of brilliance en route to booking a clash with Andy Hamilton.
The world number one was on course for the third nine-dart leg in two days when he opened the ninth leg with 180 and 174 only to miss the treble 20 with his seventh dart.
He atoned with a superb 170 checkout in the 13th leg before sealing an emphatic victory on double top.
Progress
Earlier, Stoke's Andy Hamilton won through to the quarter-finals for a second successive year in Blackpool with a 13-6 win over Mark Webster, winning the final seven legs without reply after breaking a six-all deadlock.
And in the final match of the last 16, Ronnie Baxter continued his recent good form with a 13-8 victory over Dean Winstanley, who failed to reproduce the darts that ousted Gary Anderson.
Winstanley landed nine 180s and nailed a 10-darter to win the 19th leg, but Baxter finished the evening off in style as he took out 116.
