Gary Anderson is the first man through to finals day of 2011 Championship League Darts!
He swept to an emphatic 6-1 victory in an all Unicorn Final against Wes Newton at Crondon Park in Essex – but only after Newton had beaten Phil Taylor is sensational style in the semi-finals!
It was Newton’s first ever victory over ‘The Power’ but it clearly took a lot out of him….15 minutes later with all the emotion and adrenalin, Newton had to play the final and couldn’t reach the same dizzy heights.
But take nothing away from Anderson…..his only defeat of the day came against Taylor in the group stages, but once he got the bit between his teeth, there was no stopping him!
From 4-2 down against Simon Whitlock, the Scot got angry with himself and reeled off four consecutive legs to win 6-4 and in the final itself, he averaged 105 and Newton had no answers.
Anderson won £3,100 on the day but to get through at the first time of asking will mean a lot to the World No.4
In the final, he was 4-0 up and there was no coming back for Newton….it included a 98 two-dart finish to take the opening leg against the throw, two 12 darters and two 180s!
Newton actually missed five darts to break back in the fourth leg and after that, it was all over….a 96 finish (20, D18, D20) took Anderson to 5-1 and he won it on D12.
“I felt tired towards the end of the group stage,” he said. “But I found something extra when it mattered and I was generally pretty pleased with the way I played because four of my group wins came in last leg deciders, so I showed a lot of character….job done!”
Newton’s big moment came in the semi-final of course…..Taylor had won all seven games in the group but he hadn’t bargained for a brilliant Newton display.
Wes wasn’t intimidated and produced some golden tungsten!
He led 2-1 and was sat on 52 to extend that lead, only for Taylor to nail 1 brilliant 131…..it looked like his moment had gone when he missed two darts to go 5-3 in front and a 121 bull finish from Taylor edged him ahead 5-4.
But Newton was simply sensational…..A fourth 180 and D3 levelled the game, but only after Taylor just missed the bull for a 164 to win the match!
And in the decider, Newton saved the best for last….Taylor threw first but Newton dug deep for from somewhere came up with a magical 140 finish to win it!
Newton really does belong in the top echelons of world darts!
Well, 2010 Championship League Darts winner James Wade survived by the skin of his teeth, after putting in a decidedly average performance on day one.
In the end, his 6-4 win over Adrian Lewis in the group stages was the victory that kept him in the tournament…..he will hope for much better on day two on Wednesday.
And it was a nightmare day for Team Unicorn’s Terry Jenkins, as he lost all seven of his matches to pick up the wooden spoon and he was eliminated from the tournament along with World Champion Lewis.
It’s a struggle at the moment for ‘The Bull’ and he can only hope that he can go to Dublin for the World Grand Prix with a clean slate and build up his confidence, which is at rock bottom.
He managed to win only 19 legs in seven games and missed countless doubles throughout the day and his 6-0 defeat at the hands of Lewis in the last match summed up his day in Essex.
The Unicorn duo of Paul Nicholson and Andy Hamilton are joined by Mervyn King for day two of CL Darts.
Results – Final:
Gary Anderson 6-1 Wes Newton
Semi-Finals:
Phil Taylor 5-6 Wes Newton
Gary Anderson 6-4 Simon Whitlock
Group one results:
Phil Taylor 6-3 Adrian Lewis
Mark Webster 6-1 Terry Jenkins
Simon Whitlock 6-5 Wes Newton
James Wade 2-6 Gary Anderson
Terry Jenkins 2-6 Phil Taylor
Adrian Lewis 5-6 Mark Webster
Gary Anderson 6-5 Simon Whitlock
Wes Newton 6-4 James Wade
Terry Jenkins 5-6 James Wade
Phil Taylor 6-3 Wes Newton
Gary Anderson 6-5 Mark Webster
Adrian Lewis 3-6 Simon Whitlock
James Wade 2-6 Phil Taylor
Terry Jenkins 5-6 Wes Newton
Adrian Lewis 2-6 Gary Anderson
Mark Webster 1-6 Simon Whitlock
Mark Webster 6-3 James Wade
Simon Whitlock 3-6 Phil Taylor
Wes Newton 6-2 Adrian Lewis
Gary Anderson 6-5 Terry Jenkins
Simon Whitlock 6-1 Terry Jenkins
Adrian Lewis 4-6 James Wade
Wes Newton 6-4 Mark Webster
Phil Taylor 6-2 Gary Anderson
Gary Anderson 6-5 Wes Newton
James Wade 1-6 Simon Whitlock
Mark Webster 1-6 Phil Taylor
Terry Jenkins 0-6 Adrian Lewis
Group one table: (day one prize money in brackets):
1 – Phil Taylor – 14pts (£2,600)
2 – Gary Anderson – 12pts (£3,100)
3 – Simon Whitlock – 10pts (£2,300)
4 – Wes Newton – 8pts (£2,550)
5 – Mark Webster – 6pts (£1,450)
6 – James Wade – 4pts (£1,200)
7 – Adrian Lewis – 2pts £1,250)
8 – Terry Jenkins – 0pts (£950)
By STUART PYKE at Crondon Park
Photo courtesy Lawrence Lustig / PDC