ANDERSON & VAN GERWEN SNEAK THROUGH IN GERMAN DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP
GARY ANDERSON and Michael van Gerwen overcame tricky opponents as they won through to the German Darts Championship third round on Saturday, as Adrian Lewis and Stephen Bunting enjoyed whitewashes in Hildesheim.
World Champion Anderson overcame a major scare before edging past Ricky Williams 6-5 in a deciding 11th leg, as the Portsmouth ace fought back to cause the top seed some nervous moments.
Anderson - the 2014 German Darts Championship winner - started superbly by taking the first three legs, and after Williams cut the gap to 3-2, the Scot took the next two to move to the brink of victory - only to miss five darts as the qualifier hit back to force a decider.
The number one seed's experience showed, though, in the 11th leg as he moved through to a third round meeting on Sunday afternoon against Steve Beaton in his bid to retain the title in Hildesheim.
"Ricky stuck in and did what he needed to do, and he put the pressure on so I'm glad to get through that," said Anderson. "I'm glad for the match practice and it would be great to do well on Sunday."
Michael van Gerwen overcame Jelle Klaasen with a 6-3 win from their all-Dutch clash to remain on course for a third successive ranking victory and a fourth tournament win of the month.
After Klaasen took the opening leg against the throw, van Gerwen won the next five - including a 130 checkout - to take command, and though the former Lakeside Champion took out 81 in the next two legs the in-form star went on to seal the win.
"I'm pleased to get the win but I didn't play as well as I wanted to," said van Gerwen. "I want to play well game after game but I have to focus round by round because you can't afford any mistakes now."
Van Gerwen now meets another former Lakeside Champion, Stephen Bunting, after the number 15 seed swept aside Stuart Kellett 6-0, with the qualifier missing seven darts at doubles during the contest.
World number four Lewis turned on the style with a superb whitewash of Dutch teenager Jeffrey De Zwaan, who had defeated Devon Petersen on Friday but had no answer to the reigning UK Open champion.
Lewis opened the first two legs with 180s and added a 14-darter to lead 3-0, and punished missed doubles from the youngster before sealing his victory with an effortless 140 checkout.
Lewis will meet Peter Wright in the third round, with the 2014 World Championship finalist surviving a missed match dart from plucky Ross Smith in the deciding leg of a close contest.
Wright took a 4-1 lead before Smith hit back to level at four-all, with the youngster sharing the next two to send the game into a decider - but a miss at double 16 allowed the Premier League star back in to post double eight for the win.
World number six James Wade impressed with an average of 99.95 in his 6-2 win over Peter Wright which sets up a third round meeting with Vincent van der Voort, who overcame European Tour debutant James Wilson 6-1.
Australian star Simon Whitlock also enjoyed a 6-1 victory as he swept aside Austrian World Cup representative Maik Langendorf, earning him a last 16 meeting with Robert Thornton.
Thornton defied the discomfort of a chest infection to see off the challenge of Bristol's Andy Parsons, who was in touch throughout a close contest only for a break of throw in leg eight from the Scot to prove crucial as he won 6-4.
Number three seed Michael Smith overcame a scare against qualifier Pete Dyos as he came from 3-1 down to win 6-4 in their clash..
Smith, who won the last European Tour event of 2014, landed five 180s in the game but missed 22 darts at a double before he finally booked his place in the third round against Mensur Suljovic.
Austrian star Suljovic enjoyed a strong performance as he defeated Belgian ace Kim Huybrechts 6-4, pulling away with three of the final four legs as he moved into the last 16.
Mervyn King edged out Andy Smith 6-5 after the Studley thrower hit back from 5-2 down to force a deciding leg of their clash, and he now meets Justin Pipe after the former Austrian Darts Open winner's 6-2 defeat of Andy Boulton, for whom a 143 finish was not enough.
Northern Ireland's Brendan Dolan swept aside Belgian Ronny Huybrechts and now faces qualifier Joe Murnan, who impressed with a 6-4 win over Ian White, while Steve Beaton overcame John Bowles 6-3 to book his last 16 place.
The £115,000 PDC European Tour event concludes on Sunday at Halle 39 in Hildesheim, with the afternoon's third round followed by the decisive evening session which will feature the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.
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German Darts Championship
Saturday February 14
Afternoon Session
Second Round
Steve Beaton 6-3 John Bowles
Mervyn King 6-5 Andy Smith
Justin Pipe 6-2 Andy Boulton
Brendan Dolan 6-2 Ronny Huybrechts
Ian White 4-6 Joe Murnan
Robert Thornton 6-4 Andy Parsons
Simon Whitlock 6-1 Maik Langendorf
Michael Smith 6-4 Pete Dyos
Evening Session
Second Round
Vincent van der Voort 6-1 James Wilson
James Wade 6-3 Terry Jenkins
Peter Wright 6-5 Ross Smith
Gary Anderson 6-5 Ricky Williams
Adrian Lewis 6-0 Jeffrey De Zwaan
Michael van Gerwen 6-3 Jelle Klaasen
Stephen Bunting 6-0 Stuart Kellett
Kim Huybrechts 4-6 Mensur Suljovic
Sunday February 15
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm GMT)
Third Round
Gary Anderson v Steve Beaton
Mervyn King v Justin Pipe
James Wade v Vincent van der Voort
Peter Wright v Adrian Lewis
Michael van Gerwen v Stephen Bunting
Brendan Dolan v Joe Murnan
Robert Thornton v Simon Whitlock
Michael Smith v Mensur Suljovic
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm GMT)
Quarter-Finals
Anderson/Beaton v King/Pipe
Wade/van der Voort v Wright/Lewis
Van Gerwen/Bunting v Dolan/Murnan
Thornton/Whitlock v Smith/Suljovic
Semi-Finals
Final
All games are the best of 11 legs.
Match Stats
| Ave | 180s | High Finish | Ave | 180s | High Finish | |||
| 91.97 | 4 | 101 | Steve Beaton | 6-3 | John Bowles | 87.33 | 1 | 76 |
| 94.15 | 2 | 81 | Mervyn King | 6-5 | Andy Smith | 90.49 | 3 | 106 |
| 87.35 | 2 | 40 | Justin Pipe | 6-2 | Andy Boulton | 85.67 | 0 | 143 |
| 97.67 | 1 | 81 | Brendan Dolan | 6-2 | Ronny Huybrechts | 88.76 | 3 | 102 |
| 98.94 | 2 | 167 | Ian White | 4-6 | Joe Murnan | 99.72 | 2 | 125 |
| 85.12 | 3 | 68 | Robert Thornton | 6-4 | Andy Parsons | 85.47 | 2 | 40 |
| 87.82 | 3 | 82 | Simon Whitlock | 6-1 | Maik Langendorf | 82.47 | 1 | 70 |
| 92.75 | 5 | 40 | Michael Smith | 6-4 | Pete Dyos | 85.92 | 1 | 90 |
| 95.42 | 2 | 79 | Vincent van der Voort | 6-1 | James Wilson | 90.93 | 0 | 40 |
| 99.95 | 3 | 81 | James Wade | 6-3 | Terry Jenkins | 92.65 | 3 | 98 |
| 91.96 | 1 | 78 | Peter Wright | 6-5 | Ross Smith | 95.59 | 4 | 85 |
| 98.37 | 4 | 85 | Gary Anderson | 6-5 | Ricky Williams | 91.24 | 0 | 109 |
| 98.02 | 2 | 140 | Adrian Lewis | 6-0 | Jeffrey De Zwaan | 83.62 | 1 | - |
| 94.45 | 1 | 130 | Michael van Gerwen | 6-3 | Jelle Klaasen | 89.00 | 0 | 81 |
| 86.71 | 3 | 72 | Stephen Bunting | 6-0 | Stuart Kellett | 84.82 | 0 | - |
| 98.11 | 4 | 84 | Kim Huybrechts | 4-6 | Mensur Suljovic | 96.85 | 1 | 99 |
Second Round - Draw Bracket Order
Gary Anderson v Ricky Williams
Steve Beaton v John Bowles
Mervyn King v Andy Smith
Justin Pipe v Andy Boulton
James Wade v Terry Jenkins
Vincent van der Voort v James Wilson
Peter Wright v Ross Smith
Adrian Lewis v Jeffrey De Zwaan
Michael van Gerwen v Jelle Klaasen
Stephen Bunting v Stuart Kellett
Brendan Dolan v Ronny Huybrechts
Ian White v Joe Murnan
Robert Thornton v Andy Parsons
Simon Whitlock v Maik Langendorf
Michael Smith v Pete Dyos
Kim Huybrechts v Mensur Suljovic
Third Round - Draw Bracket & Sunday Afternoon Order of Play
Gary Anderson v Steve Beaton
Mervyn King v Justin Pipe
James Wade v Vincent van der Voort
Peter Wright v Adrian Lewis
Michael van Gerwen v Stephen Bunting
Brendan Dolan v Joe Murnan
Robert Thornton v Simon Whitlock
Michael Smith v Mensur Suljovic