What a match!
And what a win for Paul Nicholson, as he came from 5-1 down to snatch a famous victory over Gary Anderson in the 4th Round of the UK Open.
It was a thrilling all Unicorn clash, but the Scot only has himself to blame……as well as being 5-1 in front, he also led 7-4 and then proceeded to miss 10 darts at doubles to move 8-4 ahead. He never recovered, as Nicholson battled brilliantly to win that last leg decider.
“Even when I was 5-1 down, I was telling myself that I have been here before and don’t panic,” said ‘The Asset’. “I have a chance, that’s for sure. The heat doesn’t bother me either. I am one of the fitter guys on the circuit and that helped me a lot in the final stretch.”
To be honest, Anderson was totally in control at 5-1….and even when Nicholson got it back to 5-4 with finishes of 106 and 130 on the bull, the Premier League champion was still in the driving seat.
But that 12th leg when he blew all those chances affected his concentration and Nicholson stepped in…..a 124 finish, followed by 88 on the bull and he was ahead 8-7! Anderson levelled, but in the decider, Nicholson dominated and D9 for a 83 check-out sealed the win.
In the end, the finishing was the difference…..Nicholson hit 9 from 19 attempts, while Anderson nailed 8 from 29 shots at doubles.
And it’s Nicholson against Phil Taylor in the last 16! What a match that should be!
Taylor’s challenge for a third consecutive UK Open title showed no signs of stalling…..he followed his 9-3 win over Mark Frost – beating Dennis Priestley by the same score.
It was steady from Taylor, who never really got out of 2nd gear, but he still managed to average 105. From establishing a 5-1 advantage, he was never in any trouble.
Priestley got going with four 180s in four legs in the latter stages, but Taylor hit three of his own and an 87 check-out took him through to the last 16
James Wade looks bang in form…..remember he started the event in the 1st Round, but was a convincing 9-6 winner over Unicorn stablemate Terry Jenkins.
Wade led 4-1 and 7-3 thanks to some impressive finishing and although ‘The Bull’ pulled a couple of legs back, he just couldn’t reproduce the form that accounted for Adrian Lewis in round three.
Jenkins only managed to average 89, while Wade had a 98 average and a near 50 per cent check-out success rate and ‘The Machine’ won the match on his favourite ‘tops’.
And Wade will fancy his chances of progressing to the quarter-finals after being paired with Richie Burnett in the 5th Round.
Wes Newton was impressive….he averaged over 100 in demolishing Michael van Gerwen 9-3, while Raymond van Barneveld’s bid for a third crown at Bolton is gathering pace.
The Dutchman put in a controlled performance to beat youngster Michael Smith 9-4 with some power scoring….
And would you believe, it’s Newton against Barney in the 5th Round!
Another fabulous match on the cards…..
Meanwhile, Colin Osborne prevailed in the third all Unicorn 4th Round clash with Kirk Shepherd.
Osborne is desperately searching for some form and consistency and this will certainly help, as he came from 6-5 down to pip Shepherd 9-7…….Osborne will face Robert Thornton in the next round.
Joe Cullen’s tournament came to an end in disappointing fashion…..the Unicorn youngster had such high hopes against Peter Wright and was right in the match at 5-5.
But Cullen couldn’t capitalise and Wright won four consecutive legs to win.
Elsewhere on a dramatic afternoon, Mark Webster came from 6-0 down to beat Co Stompe 9-8…..John Part blew it against Robert Thornton. The Canadian missed five match darts and lost in a last leg decider…..and Andy Smith held off a spirited fightback to beat teenager Reece Robinson in another last leg decider.
4th Round results:
Paul Nicholson 9-8 Gary Anderson
Dennis Priestley 3-9 Phil Taylor
Terry Jenkins 6-9 James Wade
Dave Chisnall 9-7 Ronnie Baxter
Michael van Gerwen 3-9 Wes Newton
Andy Smith 9-8 Reece Robinson
Michael Smith 4-9 Raymond van Barneveld
Mark Webster 9-8 Co Stompe
Richie Burnett 9-6 Joe Murnan
Denis Ovens 9-4 Mark Walsh
Robert Thornton 9-8 John Part
Colin Osborne 9-7 Kirk Shepherd
Matthew Edgar 5-9 Andy Boulton
Mark Hylton 9-2 Andrew Gilding
Steve Beaton 8-9 John Bowles
Joe Cullen 5-9 Peter Wright
5th Round draw (best of 17 legs):
Phil Taylor v Paul Nicholson
Peter Wright v Mark Hylton
Raymond van Barneveld v Wes Newton
Andy Smith v Denis Ovens
Richie Burnett v James Wade
Robert Thornton v Colin Osborne
John Bowles v Dave Chisnall
Andy Boulton v Mark Webster
By STUART PYKE at the Reebok Stadium
Photo courtesy Lawrence Lustig / PDC