LATEST NEWS from the semi-finals of the William Hill Grand Slam of Darts on Sunday afternoon.
The Wolverhampton Civic Hall hosts the tournament's last four players across two sessions as Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis, Gary Anderson and Mark Walsh compete for the £100,000 title.
Play in the semi-finals begins at 2.30pm, with the final to follow at 8pm on Sunday evening, and all games are the best of 31 legs.
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William Hill Grand Slam of Darts
Semi-Finals
Sunday November 20 (2.30pm)
Phil Taylor 16-9 Adrian Lewis
Mark Walsh 11-16 Gary Anderson
Best of 31 legs
PHIL TAYLOR 16-9 ADRIAN LEWIS
PHIL TAYLOR produced a darting masterclass to defeat Stoke rival Adrian Lewis 16-9 and win through to the William Hill Grand Slam of Darts final.
The world number one remains on course to win his fourth Grand Slam title on Sunday night following another stunning display which left World Champion Lewis applauding his display.
Taylor averaged 107.76 in the game, but finishes of 119, 111 and 108 proved crucial in keeping Lewis at bay as he swept into the final.
Lewis opened the game well by hitting a 180 in the first leg, but Taylor replied in kind as he hit a 13-darter which he followed with a 12-dart finished, including a second maximum and an 89 finish to break.
A second 180 from Lewis gave him the chance to break back in the third, but he missed two darts at double 18 as Taylor pinned 87 on the bull for a 3-0 lead.
Lewis finally got off the mark in the fourth leg, although he missed double 12 for a break in the fifth before Taylor landed double 16 for a 4-1 cushion.
The World Champion took out a brilliant ten-darter to win the sixth, although the leg was technically a nine-darter with one bounce-out as he hit a 180, 120, 177 and double 12.
After trading the next two legs with Lewis, Taylor punished a missed bull from his younger opponent - for a 167 checkout - to hit tops before landing the same bed to break throw in 12 darts and lead 7-3.
Taylor posted another maximum in the next, but when he missed two darts at double 12 Lewis stepped in to follow a 174 score with a fine 131 checkout to break in 12 darts before he notched his fifth maximum in a 13-dart finish to halve the deficit.
Taylor hit a 180 to set up an 84 finish in the 13th as he moved 8-5 up, but Lewis replied with another maximum and tops to win his sixth leg of the contest.
Lewis also left 24 with a superb 177 in the next as he sought to cut the gap to one leg, but in perhaps the game's most crucial moment Taylor finished 119 on tops to deny him and take a 9-6 lead into the break.
He returned with legs of 11 and 12 darts to break throw in a run of three more legs in taking a 12-6 cushion to pull away from Lewis, who finished 70 for the 19th leg.
Taylor then won three more in a row, finishing 108, 80 and 111 to move one leg away from a place in the final.
Lewis hit a 180 and finished 145 to hit back and took out 74 to pull back to 15-9 and threaten a comeback.
Lewis then landed his ninth maximum of the contest to threaten a further fightback, but Taylor replied in kind to leave 24 and finished double 12 for a 13-dart finish which sealed victory.
"It was a brilliant game," said Taylor "We went blow for blow and you don't see those type of games too often.
"Adrian doesn't give in and I had to keep hitting him hard and not miss. I had to take out my doubles and the 119 finish probably won me the game.
"I'll chill out and relax and when I go up for the final my mindset will be the same as it was against Adrian - I don't want to miss a thing."
Lewis admitted: "I was pushing hard early on and at 4-1 down at the first break I'd had chances.
"He took out some massive finishes - I hit the 177 to leave 24 and he took out the 119, and what a shot that was.
"It hurt me and I came back and he did it again on a couple of occasions That's why he's 15-time World Champion.
"It was a brilliant game and the ten-darter with the bounce-out was nice - but not quite enough!"
|
Phil Taylor |
16-9 |
Adrian Lewis |
|
31 |
100+ |
25 |
|
21 |
140+ |
16 |
|
5 |
180 |
9 |
|
35.92 |
Ave1 |
33.70 |
|
107.76 |
Ave3 |
101.10 |
|
119,111,108 |
High Finish |
145,131 |
|
6 |
Breaks of Throw |
3 |
|
16/24 - 67% |
Finishing % |
9/18 - 50% |
GARY ANDERSON 16-11 MARK WALSH
GARY ANDERSON produced a remarkable comeback to defeat Mark Walsh 16-11 and progress to the William Hill Grand Slam of Darts final on Sunday afternoon.
The Scot looked set to suffer semi-final heartbreak at the Wolverhampton Civic for a third time in five years of the event when Walsh punished his misses to take a 10-6 advantage.
But Anderson, who hit 13 maximums in the match to equal the tournament record for 180s in a game, won ten of the game's final 11 legs to set up a tantalising clash with Taylor.
Anderson set the tone for the match in the game's opening leg as he began with a 180 but missed doubles to break as Walsh hit double ten to lead.
The Premier League Darts champion hit back with two more maximums in legs of 13 and 14 darts to move 2-1 up, only for Walsh to finish 80 in the fourth and then punish two misses from the Scot to hit double five to lead 3-2.
Further misses allowed Walsh in to move two legs clear on double five before he traded 180s with Anderson and then finished 102 - with his opponent waiting on 61 - to lead 5-2.
Anderson hit double four to win the eighth leg and then took out 130 to reduce the gap to 5-4 with a fine bullseye checkout as Walsh waited on 24.
Walsh regathered himself to win the tenth with a 95 finish after Anderson missed three darts at double ten, and then moved 7-4 up by hitting double ten.
Anderson landed another 180 and finished 62 to win his fifth leg, and traded maximums with Walsh as the Hertfordshire man took out double 18 for an eighth leg.
The pair both opened the next with 180s as Anderson hit tops to pull back to 8-6, but after posting his tenth maximum the Scot missed the same bed to reduce the gap to one leg as Walsh punished him to move three legs clear.
Further misses from Anderson allowed Walsh to lead 10-6 courtesy of double two, but the Scot's relentless scoring continued as he chipped away at the former UK Open finalist.
Misses at tops allowed Anderson in to win two successive legs before he hit a 75 finish to trail only 10-9 before slotting in another 180 to set up a 103 checkout as he levelled.
Walsh then burst his score on 65 in the 21st leg as Anderson finished 101 to lead for the first time since the opening exchanges.
Anderson could also have led 12-10 but missed five darts at a double before Walsh hit double 15 to level.
Anderson, though, broke with a 13-darter and then took out 85 and 70 in the next two legs as Walsh faltered, putting himself 14-11 up.
Double 16 moved Anderson a leg away from the win, and he sealed the comeback on double four.
"It was a struggle for me but I scraped home at the end," said Anderson. "Mark was hitting 180s at the right time and took his chances, and I began to wonder if it was going to be his day.
"Phil won't exactly have been shaking in his boots after seeing that but I'll have a couple of coffees and get back on the practice board to prepare for the final."
Walsh claims a career-best £25,000 in prize money in his best performance in a major since he reached the 2005 UK Open final.
"It's a disappointing but I'm proud to have shared the stage in the semi-finals with three brilliant players," said Walsh. "I was the dark horse but if I'd hit all my doubles it might have been a different story.
"Gary's a fantastic player and he turned it on at the end there. When he hits his finishes he's a very dangerous player and he deserved the victory.
"I'll take a lot of confidence from this week and it's been a great tournament for me. It's one of the best weeks of my life and I can't wait to come back in 2012."
|
Mark Walsh |
11-16 |
Gary Anderson |
|
40 |
100+ |
37 |
|
17 |
140+ |
12 |
|
5 |
180 |
13 |
|
29.60 |
Ave1 |
31.59 |
|
88.81 |
Ave3 |
94.77 |
|
102 |
High Finish |
130,103,101 |
|
5 |
Breaks of Throw |
8 |
|
11/35 - 31% |
Finishing % |
16/47 - 34% |