Defending Champion John Part held his nerve to edge through to the last eight in Vegas – but he so nearly blew it against Mark Dudbridge.
We saw the best and worst of the Canadian star…..three brilliant finishes and then he missed seven darts for the match, before finally nailing double 15 and you could see the relief etched all over his face!
Adrian Lewis produced the performance of the 2nd Round – beating PDC newcomer Mervyn King in a thriller. The youngster showed just why he is now classed as a ‘Maestro’ by Team Unicorn….and former Desert Classic champion Peter Manley stayed on course, with a professional performance to account for Colin Osborne in the all-Unicorn 2nd Round clash.
And incredibly, it’s Lewis v Manley in the quarter-finals, while Part will face Dennis Smith.
But Wes Newton, who has reached the semi-finals for the last two years in Vegas, is out – after losing a nail-biting last leg decider against Terry Jenkins.
And Raymond Van Barneveld breezed past Wayne Mardle, despite seven 180s from ‘Hawaii 501’. Barney will now take on Roland Scholten.
Part started superbly, with a magnificent 160 finish to take the first leg against Phil Taylor’s conqueror and he was lethal on the doubles and the big finishes. He stormed into a 6-4 lead after checking out 124, 93 and 105. It was Part at his brilliant best.
But he couldn’t finish Dudbridge off! In all, he missed seven darts to win, as ‘Flash’ forced the decider and Dudbridge was throwing first. Part though, started the leg with his 5th maximum and double 15 took him across the finishing line.
Lewis was in irresistible form against King…..four 180s and three terrific ton-plus finishes……146 and 124 saw him into a 4-3 lead. He topped that with a sensational 155 check-out and King didn’t have an answer, as Lewis hit his own ‘Jackpot’ in Vegas.
Manley lived up to his ‘One Dart’ nickname against Osborne….he was 6-2 up after checking out 86, 74 and 93 and although Osborne threatened a brief comeback, there was no stopping Manley.
Wes Newton will be kicking himself….he wasted a glorious opportunity against Terry Jenkins and lost another last-leg decider. The Lancashire Lad was 7-6 in front and in a dramatic finale, Jenkins missed five darts for victory and Newton then had two chances at double top, before the World No.5 hit double four. It was certainly one that got away for the Unicorn star.
Newton knows he has to step up to the next level and his next big challenge comes against Phil Taylor at the World Matchplay later this month.
2nd Round results:
Roland Scholten 8-5 Steve Beaton
Wes Newton 7-8 Terry Jenkins
Peter Manley 8-4 Colin Osborne
Raymond Van Barneveld 8-1 Wayne Mardle
Adrian Lewis 8-6 Mervyn King
Mark Dudbridge 7-8 John Part
Darin Young 7-8 Dennis Smith
Gary Mawson 8-6 Alan Tabern
Quarter-final line-up:
Adrian Lewis v Peter Manley
Dennis Smith v John Part
Gary Mawson v Terry Jenkins
Raymond Van Barneveld v Roland Scholten
BY STUART PYKE