World Champion Adrian Lewis is out of the UK Open!
On a dramatic night, he only just managed to register in the nick of time to play in the event and he was beaten in a brilliant match by Terry Jenkins.
‘The Bull’ will now face James Wade in the 4th Round, while Gary Anderson takes on Paul Nicholson in another all Unicorn clash, and there is certainly no love lost there….remember the Scot beat Nicholson here at the Reebok last year!
A lot of people reckon Nicholson is a good bet this weekend at Bolton.
Well, new darts and new look and a big win…..Nicholson has had his eyes lasered, so now has 20/20 vision and he was hitting the treble and D20s as he beat qualifier Graham Hollis.
‘The Asset’ actually went 3-2 down, before reeling off seven consecutive legs to clinch a comfortable win in the end.
Anderson was using his new Unicorn darts for the first time and ran out a comfortable 9-4 winner against Ian White…..but expect fireworks when Anderson and Nicholson clash on the main stage on Saturday afternoon. You won’t want to miss it ‘live’ on Sky Sports!
Phil Taylor cruised through – beating Mark Frost 9-3 and he will now play old adversary Dennis Priestley in the 4th Round, as he looks for that history-making third consecutive UK Open triumph!
Raymond van Barneveld’s quest for a third Bolton title started with a 9-5 victory over Steve Brown….Barney had to do it tough, but won six out of eight legs to cross the finishing line.
And the Dutchman now plays St Helens youngster Michael Smith.
But the Lewis/Jenkins match stole the show on day two….
Jenkins was sensational, as he led 4-1 and 7-3 before Lewis mounted a fightback…..the World Champion crucially missed three darts to get back to 7-5 and Jenkins stretched his lead to 8-4.
But it still wasn’t over!
Four 180s and a 120 finish and Lewis was in the game at 8-7 after winning three straight legs….Jenkins held his nerve despite a seventh maximum from Lewis and ‘The Bull’ won it with an 11 darter and an average of 102!
“If I carry on playing like that, I have got a chance,” said Jenkins. “But I know I have to be consistent for the rest of the weekend.”
Wade will look forward to another big clash with Jenkins. ‘The Machine’ trounced Mickey Mansell 9-2 with a commanding display.
Wes Newton is another fancied runner this weekend and he hit top form to beat Scotland’s John Henderson 9-3, to earn a clash with Michael van Gerwen in the 4th Round.
Meanwhile Colin Osborne and Kirk Shepherd will feature in another all Unicorn 4th Round showdown.
Osborne was a comfortable 9-4 winner over Mark Jones, while Shepherd beat Darren Johnson 9-6.
Joe Cullen held his nerve to reach the 4th Round….after missing three darts to win 9-6, he finally sealed victory in a last leg decider against qualifier Stuart Monaghan…..dramatic stuff!
“I was annoyed at myself for making it so difficult but to see that winning double go in was still a great feeling!” Cullen said.
He plays Peter Wright in the last 32
Andy Hamilton will be kicking himself all the way back to Derby…..the Unicorn man simply couldn’t get going at all, as he was beaten by unknown qualifier Andrew Gilding.
He came from 0-2 down to lead 3-2, with the help of a 134 finish and it looked like he was on his way against the qualifier from Suffolk, but Hamilton failed to fire and lost 9-6 in one of the big shocks of the tournament so far.
And Jamie Caven is also heading home to Derby….his preparation was disrupted when he was only given the green light to compete at the 11th hour at the Reebok…..he and Lewis suffered a mix up when clocking in to register and it affected Caven’s concentration, as he lost 9-2 against Steve Beaton.
And sadly, Kevin Painter’s indifferent form continued, as he was well beaten 9-4 by Denis Ovens.
Big name casualties in the 3rd Round included Mervyn King, Simon Whitlock, Mark Dudbridge and Colin Lloyd….
4th Round draw:
Board One:
Paul Nicholson v Gary Anderson
Dennis Priestley v Phil Taylor
Terry Jenkins v James Wade
Dave Chisnall v Ronnie Baxter
Board Two:
Michael van Gerwen v Wes Newton
Andy Smith v Reece Robinson
Michael Smith v Raymond van Barneveld
Mark Webster v Co Stompe
Board Three:
Richie Burnett v Joe Murnan
Denis Ovens v Mark Walsh
Robert Thornton v John Part
Colin Osborne v Kirk Shepherd
Board Four:
Matthew Edgar v Andy Boulton
Mark Hylton v Andrew Gilding
Steve Beaton v John Bowles
Joe Cullen v Peter Wright
All 4th Round games are the best of 17 legs
By STUART PYKE in Bolton at the UK Open
Photo courtesy Lawrence Lustig / PDC