VINCENT VAN DER VOORT and Colin Osborne set up a semi-final clash at the Blue Square UK Open with wins over Terry Jenkins and Alan Green.
Van der Voort came from 5-0 down against Jenkins to edge out the Holsten Premier League Darts finalist in a deciding leg.
Jenkins began the match in superb fashion, winning the first five legs with flawless finishing - including a 125 checkout on double top in the first leg.
Van der Voort hit back to win all five legs in the next session and level the contest, before a 150 finish put Jenkins back ahead.
A game of cat and mouse ensued, with van der Voort leading 7-6 and 9-8.
A 76 finish in the 20th leg saw Jenkins send the match into a decider, but a superb 177 score from the Dutchman left him 101, which he duly took out to win a place in his first major semi-final.
"Being 5-0 down, you feel bad and I said to myself to relax and take it leg by leg," said van der Voort. "It would be great to perhaps play a fellow Dutchman in the final but I have to get past Colin first."
Osborne, meanwhile, reached his first major semi-final with an 11-6 victory over Liverpool's Green.
The Derby man was always in command after taking a 5-1 advantage early on, hitting back from Green taking the opening leg by landing two maximums in the second and the next five in a row.
That was extended to 10-3 before Green landed a 139 finish - with Osborne sat on 20 - to stay in the match.
He then won the next two legs to leave Osborne jittery, but the World Championship quarter-finalist regained his composure to hit double 12 for the win.
"It feels great but the job's not done," said Osborne. "I've put a lot of hard work in to practice for this with Adrian Lewis and Andy Hamilton, and it's all paying off.
"Alan's a beteter player than that and he missed doubles early on, but I swooped on that and eventually got the double 2 to win."
Second set of games
Raymond van Barneveld continued his bid for a second successive UK Open title with a resounding 11-4 win over Phil Taylor.
The Dutchman was an 11-10 winner against Taylor at the same stage 12 months ago, but was a comfortable victor this time around.
Both landed maximums in the opening leg as Taylor took the lead and then landed a 126 finish in leg four, but van Barneveld hit back to lead 3-2 at the break.
The reigning champion took four successive legs to move 6-2 up, and then moved 9-3 up before a 14-darter from Taylor - with a seventh 180 of the game leaving him a double one finish! - kept him in the contest.
But van Barneveld took advantage of uncharacteristic missed doubles to win the next two legs and take a comprehensive triumph.
"It's an unbelievable win," said van Barneveld. "I never expected to beat him 11-4.
"Phil didn't play his best game and I was a bit surprised but my doubles were good and I put the pressure on him.
"It's great because I'm proud to play in the same time as Phil. He's hit five nine-darters on television now and what he has done is unbelievable."
Colin Lloyd produced a remarkable display to see off Steve Hine 11-6 and reach the UK Open semi-finals for the first time.
Lloyd trailed 4-0 after suffering for early missed doubles, but stormed back to win six in a row to take the lead.
Hine won leg 11, but that merely slowed Lloyd's progress as the former world number one moved clear at 10-5, including a 141 finish.
Hine landed double eight to stay in the contest, but a 170 score left Lloyd a double four finish, and he landed it to move into the last four.
"It was a tough game," said Lloyd. "Steve's a good player and when you go 4-0 down against him it's hard but I gave myself a talking to when we went into the first break at 4-1.
"I wanted to be 5-all going into the next break, but I was 6-4 up. I've not let anything go all weekend, I've been fighting tooth and nail.
"I've been lazy recently but I'm back practising well, getting stuck in and trying to be more consistent. I've got a bit of hate and aggression - controlled aggression - back."
Match Stats
|
Vincent van der Voort |
11-10 |
Terry Jenkins |
|
28 |
100+ |
33 |
|
9 |
140+ |
15 |
|
0 |
180 |
2 |
|
26.89 |
Ave1 |
28.75 |
|
80.68 |
Ave3 |
86.25 |
|
101 |
High Finish |
150,125 |
|
6 |
Legs Against Throw |
5 |
|
Colin Osborne |
11-6 |
Alan Green |
|
16 |
100+ |
24 |
|
10 |
140+ |
12 |
|
5 |
180 |
2 |
|
29.95 |
Ave1 |
28.46 |
|
89.86 |
Ave3 |
85.39 |
|
117 |
High Finish |
139 |
|
6 |
Legs Against Throw |
3 |
|
Raymond van Barneveld |
11-4 |
Phil Taylor |
|
20 |
100+ |
20 |
|
9 |
140+ |
4 |
|
5 |
180 |
7 |
|
32.03 |
Ave1 |
33.79 |
|
96.08 |
Ave3 |
101.37 |
|
91 |
High Finish |
126 |
|
5 |
Legs Against Throw |
1 |
|
Colin Lloyd |
11-6 |
Steve Hine |
|
21 |
100+ |
15 |
|
9 |
140+ |
7 |
|
5 |
180 |
2 |
|
31.63 |
Ave1 |
28.27 |
|
94.90 |
Ave3 |
84.82 |
|
141 |
High Finish |
106 |
|
5 |
Legs Against Throw |
3 |
Blue Square UK Open
Quarter-Finals onwards to be played in bracket format in the following order:
Board One
Vincent van der Voort 11-10 Terry Jenkins
Raymond van Barneveld 11-4 Phil Taylor
Board Two
Colin Osborne 11-6 Alan Green
Colin Lloyd 11-6 Steve Hine
Semi-Finals (Main Stage)
Vincent van der Voort v Colin Osborne
Raymond van Barneveld v Colin Lloyd
Best of 21 legs
Final
Best of 31 legs