Gary Anderson and Andy Hamilton both came up tungsten trumps to race into the World Championship quarter-finals.
Hamilton was simply terrific! ‘The Hammer’ walloped Dave Chisnall 4-0, while Anderson finally came good – trouncing Colin Lloyd 4-1.
The Scot stuttered and stumbled through the first set, but after that, he produced some of the best darts seen in the tournament.
“I finally began to enjoy it,” he said.
“I feel like I have opened up and relaxed and that’s what I can do…..one game at a time though, and let’s see what happens.”
Anderson will now face Simon Whitlock in the quarter-finals after the Australian survived a terrific fightback from Michael van Gerwen….the Dutchman came from 0-3 to force a decider before Whitlock finally prevailed.
But we had been waiting for Anderson to deliver and this time, he didn’t disappoint.
After that scrappy opening set, he started setting all kinds of records……the Unicorn star won the second set in just four minutes and 13 seconds – one of the quickest in the history of the event!
He averaged over 125 in that set with three 180s, a 171, a 10 dart leg and an 11 darter thrown in!
He also raced into a three set lead and was a leg to the good in set four – winning seven consecutive legs in a little over ten minutes playing time!
And although Lloyd won a set back, Anderson was a man in a hurry….he took his 180s total to 10 and his average to 100.65 and he won the match impressively with another 11 darter, finishing 82 with the bull and D16.
That was the real Gary Anderson!
And we also saw the real Andy Hamilton stand up and be counted….
Dave Chisnall was a shadow of the player who knocked Phil Taylor out of the World Championship, but take nothing away from Hamilton, because he hardly put a foot, or for that matter, a hand wrong!
And it was a supremely confident Hamilton that hammered out a message after his win.
“I can win this,” he said. “I am focused, relaxed and playing well. It would mean everything to me, because I have dreamt of playing in a World Championship Final since I was a kid.”
He added: “Dave joins the list of players who struggle after beating Phil Taylor but I feel that I outplayed him and I am going to pile the pressure on Kim Huybrechts in the quarter-finals!”
Hamilton averaged 99 with a 50 per cent check-out success rate and that will win you most matches.
In the opening set, Chisnall missed and Hamilton didn’t….simple as that…..but the Unicorn man won a game changing second set with a brilliant 120 finish in the deciding leg and it was just about all over.
Chisnall’s head dropped….Hamilton nailed 88 on the bull to move 3-0 ahead and a sixth 180 set up the victory….he nearly won it with a 170 finish but just missed the bull…..he made no mistake on D8 and it was job done!
On Thursday afternoon, James Wade moved effortlessly into the quarter-finals with a 4-0 demolition of Steve Farmer…..and he will now face John Part, who came from behind to take out Unicorn star Kevin Painter 4-2.
And there was also huge disappointment for Paul Nicholson, who slumped to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Belgium’s Kim Huybrechts…..the qualifier lost the first set, but then won 12 of the next 14 legs to sprint to victory.
Thursday 3rd Round results:
Simon Whitlock 4-3 Michael van Gerwen
Dave Chisnall 0-4 Andy Hamilton
Gary Anderson 4-1 Colin Lloyd
John Part 4-2 Kevin Painter
James Wade 4-0 Steve Farmer
Kim Huybrechts 4-1 Paul Nicholson
Friday Quarter-Final schedule – 2pm:
Andy Hamilton v Kim Huybrechts
John Part v James Wade
7.30pm:
Simon Whitlock v Gary Anderson
Adrian Lewis v Terry Jenkins
By STUART PYKE at the World Championship
Photos courtesy Lawrence Lustig / PDC