BARNEY COMEBACK FLOORS LEWIS IN GERMAN DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP
BRILLIANT Raymond van Barneveld came from 2-0 down to win six successive legs as he swept past Adrian Lewis 6-2 to reach the German Darts Championship quarter-finals on Sunday afternoon, where he is joined by Michael van Gerwen, John Part and in-form Gary Anderson.
Van Barneveld continued his fine start to the year's European Tour series of events with victory over the two-time World Champion.
Lewis made a fine start to their third round encounter by winning the opening leg with a 76 finish and hitting a 180 as he broke with a 12-darter in the second.
Van Barneveld took the third on double 16, and made his move with an 11-darter to level, trading 180s with Lewis in the process, before finishes of 13 and 14 darts put him 4-2 up.
He added two 140s before finishing double seven for a three-leg cushion, before adding another 180 and double ten to secure the win, ending the game with five 180s and an average of 102.35.
"In the first two legs Adrian was brilliant and he deserved to be 2-0 up, but the third leg was crucial and after that I played some magnificent darts," said the Dutchman.
"Coming here to qualify on Thursday to qualiy has made me more focused, but I know what I can do and hopefully I can have a shot at the title tonight."
Van Barneveld now plays Ronnie Baxter, who won through to his first European Tour quarter-final with a narrow win over Mervyn King, a two-time runner-up in 2013.
World Champion Michael van Gerwen was another narrow winner as he edged out Terry Jenkins 6-5, with the Ledbury ace missing one dart at double 15 for a 110 finish in the game's deciding leg before the Dutchman finally sealed the win.
Van Gerwen now takes on Dutch rival Jelle Klaasen in the last eight, after the former Lakeside Champion was a 6-4 winner against Wes Newton.
Three-time World Champion John Part was a clinical 6-2 winner against Belgium's Kim Huybrechts, and now meets Justin Pipe after the Taunton ace came from 2-0 down to win 6-4 against Paul Nicholson.
Gary Anderson's strong weekend continued as he hit a 161 finish on his way to a 6-4 win over Wayne Jones, which set up a quarter-final with Stoke's rising star Ian White, who impressed with a 104.30 average and seven 180s in a 6-3 win over Robert Thornton.
The £100,000 event concludes on Sunday night, with the quarter-finals followed by the semi-finals and final at Halle 39 in Hildesheim.
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German Darts Championship
2014 European Tour Event 1
Sunday February 2
Afternoon Session
Third Round
Michael van Gerwen 6-5 Terry Jenkins
Jelle Klaasen 6-4 Wes Newton
Kim Huybrechts 2-6 John Part
Justin Pipe 6-4 Paul Nicholson
Raymond van Barneveld 6-2 Adrian Lewis
Ronnie Baxter 6-5 Mervyn King
Robert Thornton 3-6 Ian White
Wayne Jones 4-6 Gary Anderson
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm GMT)
Quarter-Finals
Michael van Gerwen v Jelle Klaasen
John Part v Justin Pipe
Raymond van Barneveld v Ronnie Baxter
Ian White v Gary Anderson
Semi-Finals
van Gerwen/Klaasen v Part/Pipe
van Barneveld/Baxter v White/Anderson
Final
v
All games are the best of 11 legs.
Sunday's games will be played in draw bracket order.
For all event information, visit the German Darts Championship NetZone
Third Round Match Information
World Champion Michael van Gerwen sneaked into the German Darts Championship quarter-finals with a narrow 6-5 win over Terry Jenkins, who missed one match dart in a dramatic deciding leg. Legs of 15 and 14 darts put van Gerwen in command early on, only for Jenkins to produce back-to-back 14-dart legs to level. The Englishman then took out 124 on the bull to break and move 3-2 up, with van Gerwen taking out 106 to break back before an 11-darter put him 4-3 ahead. The Dutchman then finished 90 on the bull, but was punished for failing to kill off the game in the next two legs as Jenkins hit back to force a decider. Van Gerwen was first to a finish, but a miss at tops allowed Jenkins in on 110, only for him to miss double 15 for the win as the World Champion returned to land double five with his third dart as he finally claimed the win.
Michael van Gerwen: "It was a very close game and Terry showed why he's still a top player. I'm full of confidence at the moment and it would be great now to go all the way tonight."
Jelle Klaasen won through to an all-Dutch quarter-final against Michael van Gerwen at the German Darts Championship with a 6-4 win over number nine seed Wes Newton. Newton took the opening leg on tops, before Klaasen hit back with a fine 12-darter before breaking in 14 darts with a 71 finish on double ten.Newton broke back in kind with a 14-darter to level, but Klaasen took the next two as he moved into a key 4-2 lead. Newton took two of the next three as he battled back, but after the pair traded 180s to open the tenth leg, the Fleetwood ace's missed doubles to force a decider allowed Klaasen in to land double 18.
Jelle Klaasen: "I played very well in the first few legs, and if I'd hit my doubles it could have been a better scoreline, but I'm very happy with how I played. Michael's the number one and the best player in the world at the moment, so I know it will be tough, but if I can play like I did at the start of this game and hit my doubles, then I've got a good chance."
John Part's bid to open up a second successive year with European Tour glory continued with a 6-2 win over Kim Huybrechts, October's Dutch Darts Masters winner who misses out this time around. Part, last March's UK Masters champion, took out double eight to win the game's opening two legs before the Belgian got off the mark in the third with a superb 11-darter. Part took the fourth in 15 darts and then capitalised on missed doubles from Huybrechts to move 5-1 up. Huybrechts replied with a 13-darter, which he opened with back-to-back 180s only to see a possible nine-dart finish slip away - and despite adding another maximum in the next the game also slipped away as Part took out 68 on tops to seal a clinical win.
John Part: "I'm not expecting too much of myself but I know I can do things, and I'm letting my experience be a plus for me. When I'm playing well, I'll take out my doubles and punish a guy who gives me chances. Kim never got his consistency and I played a good, solid game, and I'll look forward to the next game tonight now."
Justin Pipe set up a German Darts Championship quarter-final with John Part thanks to a 6-4 comeback win over Paul Nicholson in Hildesheim. Nicholson made a superb start, taking out 124 on the bull to win the opening leg before scoring 180, 140 and 140 in an 11-darter as he doubled his lead. Pipe took out 116 to break back in leg three, finished 68 to level and then hit two 13-darters and a 14-dart finish as he took a 5-2 lead. Nicholson finished 100 to win the eighth leg, and double one kept his hopes alive, only for Pipe to be first to a finish in the next as double seven secured the win.
Justin Pipe: "I'm really happy to beat a great player like Paul is fantastic. I'm feeling confident and playing pretty well."
Brilliant Raymond van Barneveld came from 2-0 down to win six successive legs as he swept past Adrian Lewis 6-2 to reach the German Darts Championship quarter-finals, hitting five 180s and averaging 102.35. Lewis made a fine start by winning the opening leg with a 76 finish and hitting a 180 as he broke with a 12-darter in the second. Van Barneveld took the third on double 16, and made his move with an 11-darter to level, trading 180s with Lewis in the process, before finishes of 13 and 14 darts put him 4-2 up. He added two 140s before finishing double seven for a three-leg cushion, before adding another 180 and double ten to secure the win.
Raymond van Barneveld: "In the first two legs Adrian was brilliant and he deserved to be 2-0 up, but the third leg was crucial and after that I played some magnificent darts. Coming here to qualify on Thursday to qualiy has made me more focused, but I know what I can do and hopefully I can have a shot at the title tonight."
Ronnie Baxter edged out Mervyn King in a deciding leg as he won through to his first European Tour quarter-final, where he will play Raymond van Barneveld in the German Darts Championship on Sunday evening. The pair shared the first two legs before King broke with a 14-darter in the third and repeated the feat with the aid of a 180 in moving 3-1 up. Baxter hit back in the fifth before a third 14-dart finish from King saw him restore his two-leg cushion, only for Baxter to reply with a 180 in the seventh before breaking with a 13-dart leg to level. Double four moved the Blackpool ace 5-4 up, with King hitting a 120 finish to force a decider only to see Baxter first to a finish in the final leg courtesy of two 140s, as he posted tops for a 13-darter to seal his last eight spot.
Ronnie Baxter: "This was a see-saw game but I found the extra there at the end and it got me through."
Ian White landed seven 180s and averaged 104.30 in a superb 6-3 German Darts Championship victory over Robert Thornton, who also topped the 100 average mark in a high-scoring game. White landed a 180 as he took the opening leg before Thornton levelled and then held throw to lead 2-1. White levelled with a 14-darter, and the pair then traded 12-darters to leave the scores locked at three-all, the sixth leg seeing White take out 130 on the bull. The Stoke thrower then opened the seventh with two 180s and added a seventh treble 20 before seeing his hopes of a nine-darter ended when he missed the treble 19 of the 141 combination - but he returned to land double eight for a break to lead 4-3. Thornton then missed the bull for a 161 finish in the next as White moved to the brink of victory on double 16, and he then hit a seventh 180 of the game before finishing 97 on tops to complete the win.
Ian White: "I played well but you have to do that against Robert; he's in the Premier League and you've got to produce your A-Game against him. I was feeling good and I hit plenty of 180s."
Gary Anderson completed the German Darts Championship quarter-final line-up with a 6-4 win over Wayne Jones in the final third round fixture. The pair shared the opening four legs before Anderson made his move, taking the fifth with the aid of a 180 before defying a 180 from Jones to break in the next for a 4-2 lead. Two misses at tops from Anderson in the next allowed Jones to break back, before the Wolverhampton ace hit another 180 as he levelled, but the Scot found another gear by taking out 161 for a 12-darter to move 5-4 up and then hit a 14-darter to seal the win.