World Champion Peter Wright was knocked out of the Betfred World Matchplay on Wednesday as Glen Durrant secured his place in the last eight at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.
Night Five of the £700,000 tournament also saw Vincent van der Voort, Dimitri Van den Bergh and Adrian Lewis complete the quarter-final line-up.
The story of the evening belonged to Durrant as the 49-year-old saw off the challenge from world number two Wright, securing an impressive 11-8 victory.
Wright began the match the stronger of the pair, winning the opening session 4-1 to take a commanding hold of the encounter.
The scheduled break allowed Durrant to compose himself and he returned to the stage rejuvenated, winning the second session 5-0 to move in to a 6-4 lead.
With a 7-4 lead, the current Premier League table-topper missed four darts to open up a four-leg advantage, allowing Wright to step in and reduce the deficit to two.
Back-to-back bullseye finishes followed for the Scot, first an 86 and then a 121 checkout to level the score, before tying the match up again at 8-8.
Durrant, who after his previous victory had claimed that ‘if he could reach 8-8 could beat anyone in the world’, proved his point as he reeled off the next three legs to progress to the quarter-finals.
“I feel great, I would be over the moon if I could win this.”@Duzza180 has just knocked out the World Champion.
— BETFRED (@Betfred) July 22, 2020
The field is wide open, could the 3x BDO World Champion lift the World Matchplay title?#WorldMatchplay #BetfredDarts | @OfficialPDC pic.twitter.com/tzkxyJVNXV
“I’m so proud to have won that game, I’ve got so much respect for our World Champion and to beat him means the world,” said Durrant, competing in his second World Matchplay.
The loss for Wright means that none of the world’s top four players will appear in the quarter-finals after earlier defeats for Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price and Rob Cross.
Durrant, the world number 19, will now face Van der Voort in the quarter-finals after the Dutchman defeated Daryl Gurney 11-5, but the Middlesborough ace will not be taking his opponent lightly.
“Of course if you looked at the draw you would expect to face Daryl but take nothing away from Vincent, he is playing as well as anyone and these conditions suit him more than Blackpool,” said Durrant.
“I won’t take my eye off the ball, I know I need to play well to beat him.”
Dutchman Van der Voort progressed to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2009.
The world number 33 raced out of the blocks powering his way to a 5-0 lead at the first break with an average of 103, punishing four misses at doubles from Gurney.
Despite a comeback of sorts from former World Grand Prix champion, Gurney, the 44-year-old Dutchman dispatched his opponent, securing a first World Matchplay quarter-final for 11 years.
What a performance from @VvdV180!
— BETFRED (@Betfred) July 22, 2020
He stunned Daryl Gurney beating him 11-5 in the last 16 of the Betfred World Matchplay. The Dutch Destroyer looked unstoppable and will face either Wright or Durrant in the QFs.#WorldMatchplay #BetfredDarts | @OfficialPDC pic.twitter.com/AAnHewsN1h
“I can’t tell you how good it feels to win this game, the four month break has helped me a lot and I am playing well,” said Van der Voort after the match.
“I’m not used to being 5-0 and 8-2 up so it was a little awkward for me finishing the game off but it was good to get the win.
“When I am playing one game a day I can beat anybody, things just have to go my way. I just try and take one leg at a time and I feel great, so bring on the next match.”
Dimitri Van den Bergh booked his spot in the last eight of the Betfred World Matchplay in his first year at the tournament, defeating Joe Cullen 11-9 in a scrappy encounter.
The match began with Cullen, who had match darts to defeat Gary Anderson in the 2018 World Matchplay quarter-final, taking a 3-2 lead in to the opening break despite two ton plus finishes from his opponent.
A further break of throw followed for Cullen as he moved 5-2 ahead before a magical 138 finish from the Belgian closed the gap to two once again.
The 26-year-old former World Youth Champion, retrieved one of the breaks of throw before going on to level the match at 8-8, punishing Culled for missing three at a double to go 9-7 up.
The pair then traded breaks of throw until a scrappy 20th leg eventually saw Van den Bergh break throw and get over the line on double one.
“You know what, let’s get arrogant. It’s time to be the player I want to be. I have dreams, time to make them come true.”@VandenBerghDimi is ready to make his dreams come true.#WorldMatchplay #BetfredDarts | @OfficialPDC pic.twitter.com/wSt3Z4moYu
— BETFRED (@Betfred) July 22, 2020
“It wasn’t easy today but I’m so happy to say I am starting to win ugly games, this is very important,” said the Belgian.
Van den Bergh, who reached the quarter-final stage of the UK Open in March, went on to conclude that the time feels right to make a major step in his career.
“It is time to start being a bit more arrogant on stage," he added. "I have dreams and now it’s time to go out and get them, no more excuses.”
Van den Bergh will face two-time World Champion Adrian Lewis in the last eight after the 35-year-old defeated debutant Danny Noppert 11-7.
An animated Lewis struggled to pull away from his opponent who stuck with him until the 13th leg, where the 2013 World Matchplay runner-up broke the throw to go 7-6 up.
Three more consecutive legs followed as Lewis moved to within a leg of the match. The curtain came down on the contest two legs later with the world number 13 taking out 86 to seal an important win.
“I’m feeling fitter and I’m feeling a lot more positive. I know I can be better but these are good signs,” said Lewis.
“I tried to get myself going but Danny is a top player and doesn’t give you much back, I had to work hard for that.”
Dimitri Van den Bergh awaits in the quarter-final, a match Lewis is relishing.
“Dimi is a great young player and is getting better," said the two-time World Champion. "I’m going to have to use my experience and battle hard to make the semis”.
The quarter-final stages of the 2020 Betfred World Matchplay get underway on Thursday with Krzysztof Ratajski taking on last year’s beaten finalist, Michael Smith. 2018 Champion Gary Anderson will then take to the stage to take on Michael van Gerwen’s conqueror, Simon Whitlock.
2020 Betfred World Matchplay
Wednesday July 22
4x Second Round Matches
Vincent van der Voort 11-5 Daryl Gurney
Dimitri Van den Bergh 11-9 Joe Cullen
Glen Durrant 11-8 Peter Wright
Adrian Lewis 11-7 Danny Noppert
Thursday July 23 (1900)
2x Quarter-Finals
Krzysztof Ratajski v Michael Smith
Simon Whitlock v Gary Anderson
Friday July 24 (1900)
2x Quarter-Finals
Adrian Lewis v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Glen Durrant v Vincent van der Voort
Format
Quarter-Finals - Best of 31 legs
Each game must be won by two clear legs, with up to a maximum of five additional legs being played before the sixth additional leg is sudden-death. For example, should a Quarter-Final (best of 31 legs) reach 18-18, then the 37th leg would be the final and deciding leg.
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