GARY ANDERSON produced a spectacular comeback on day two of the TABtouch Perth Darts Masters as he defeated Adrian Lewis to reach the semi-finals at the HBF Stadium.
The World Champion recovered from 6-1 down to defeat Lewis 8-7 in a dramatic deciding leg and set up a clash with defending Perth Darts Masters champion Phil Taylor in Sunday’s semi-finals.
Anderson struggled to get going as Lewis capitalised on a lethargic start from the Scot to race into a 6-1 lead, before Anderson found his form in spectacular fashion, taking the next five legs on the spin to level up the match at six-all.
Lewis would stop the rot with a stunning 124 checkout on the bull, but Anderson would level again in the following leg to force a decider, where he capitalised on two missed match darts from the two-time World Champion to land tops and secure the win.
"Adrian made a mess of some doubles and really let me back in," said Anderson. "I live to fight another day but I think I might have used up all of my luck after that match!"
Anderson’s semi-final opponent Taylor booked his spot in the last four as he silenced the home crowd to defeat Perth's Kyle Anderson 8-3 and keep the defence of his title alive.
Taylor started strongly, breaking in the third leg before checking out 101 to head into the first break with a 4-2 lead.
Taylor would maintain his form after the interval, breaking again before landing another ton-plus checkout, 106, and then completing the comfortable victory with a 13-dart leg.
"It was steady tonight," said Taylor. "I've got a bit of a sweat on which I don't normally do and Kyle put me under pressure.
"Kyle is a great player; he's a little bit up and down at the moment but he will get that consistency and will be a top player."
2014 Masters champion James Wade became the evening’s first semi-finalist as he comfortably defeated a below-par Peter Wright 8-2 in the opening game of the quarter-finals.
World Matchplay runner-up Wade broke throw in the fourth leg en route to opening up a 4-1 lead before Wright hit back with a superb 12-darter as he checked out 126 on the bullseye.
That would be as good as it would get for June's Japan Darts Masters runner-up though, as Wade reeled off the next four legs, finishing with a 100 checkout to wrap up the win.
"I thought I was ready to put in a really strong performance tonight but it didn't really happen and Peter didn't play anywhere near his best," said Wade. "I couldn't really believe the darts he was throwing and it's never nice to beat a man when they are not playing well.
"I'm happy with the win though, onwards and upwards from here."
Michael van Gerwen will be Wade's opponent on Sunday in a rematch of the Blackpool final, after he averaged 105.94 in a stunning 8-4 win over Dutch counterpart Raymond van Barneveld in a high-quality encounter.
With the pair level at 3-3, van Gerwen turned on the style after the interval as he recorded two 12-dart legs and an 11-darter to move 6-4 ahead before swiftly securing the victory with a 47 checkout.
"It started off 50/50 and we were both playing well but after the break I really turned it on, kept putting him under pressure and wasn't missing much at all," said van Gerwen.
"I have to keep it going now, there's a long way to go and I'm only in the semi-finals, it will be another tough day on Sunday."
The 2015 TABtouch Perth Darts Masters draws to a conclusion on Sunday with the semi-finals and final of the PDC World Series of Darts event taking place at the HBF Stadium.
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TABtouch Perth Darts Masters
Television Coverage (Live unless stated)
Fox Sports - Australia
Sky Sport - New Zealand
ITV4 - UK (delayed, coverage from 8pm BST)
Fox Asia
RTL7 – Netherlands (delayed, highlights from 10pm Dutch time)
OSN - Middle East & North Africa
Setanta - Ireland
PPTV - China
www.LIVEPDC.TV for International Pass Subscribers outside of UK, Ireland & Netherlands.
Live Scores
Follow live scores throughout the Perth Darts Masters at the PDC Live Scores Website, http://live.dartsdata.com .
Broadcast Times
TABtouch Perth Darts Masters
Saturday August 15
Quarter-Finals - 7pm-11pm local time
Fox Sports 2 from 10pm Sydney Time (9pm-10pm via Red Button)
ITV4 Delayed Coverage 8pm-12am UK time
RTL7 highlights from 10pm Dutch time
TABtouch Perth Darts Masters
Saturday August 15
Quarter-Finals
James Wade 8-2 Peter Wright
Michael van Gerwen 8-4 Raymond van Barneveld
Phil Taylor 8-3 Kyle Anderson
Gary Anderson 8-7 Adrian Lewis
Best of 15 legs
Sunday August 16 (7pm-10.30pm local)
Semi-Finals
Phil Taylor v Gary Anderson
Michael van Gerwen v James Wade
Best of 19 legs
Final
Taylor/Anderson v van Gerwen/Wade
Best of 21 legs