PDC World Darts Championship day 10: No problems from Justin Pipe for Phil Taylor
A review of the action on the 10th day of the PDC World Darts Championship as Phil Taylor hammered Justin Pipe but Daryl Gurney is out.
EVENING SESSION
No problems for Power
Phil Taylor's dream of winning a final world title before he retires remains alive after he destroyed Justin Pipe 4-0.
Pipe received a hostile reception onto the stage following his "Coughgate" incident in the previous round but he seemed to rise to the occasion and pushed Taylor in the opening set.
The Power just managed to sneak it 3-2 before really starting to turn the screw from that point and never looked under any threat as Pipe struggled to keep up with his heavy scoring and accurate finishes.
Such was Taylor's domination, Pipe did not even manage to claim another leg as the Stoke legend cruised into Christmas with a dominating performance.
Taylor averaged just under 100, managed a high finish of 119 and made just shy of 55% of his doubles.
Gurney ousted in round two
There was a hefty shock to kick-off Saturday's evening action as fourth seed Daryl Gurney was dumped out 4-2 by John Henderson.
There was an inkling of a potential upset on the cards as Highlander stormed into a 2-0 advantage on the Ally Pally stage.
The Scot's finishing ability started to desert him though and Gurney hauled himself back level but never really looked entirely comfortable as Henderson re-focused and pressed on.
It was nip and tuck down the stretch but the Ulsterman had the air of a beaten man in the sixth set and Henderson took his opportunity to book a showdown in round three with Rob Cross.
Barney breezes into round three
Phil Taylor's old sparring partner down the years, Raymond van Barneveld, will join The Power in the third round next week after a comfortable 4-1 success over Kyle Anderson.
The Dutchman was out of the blocks quickly and took the opening set with the minimum of fuss before being made to fight a bit harder by the Australian to double his advantage.
The latter then found his best form of the showdown to cut the deficit to 2-1 but it only stirred Barney into further action and he showed his class to pull away and prevail in the final match before Christmas.
Afternoon session
Cross shows battling qualities
Rob Cross showed tremendous determination to book his place in the next round of the William Hill World Championship with a spirited fightback to defeat Michael Smith 4-3.
Cross looked in big trouble as Smith powered into a 3-2 lead with some relentless high scoring and clinical finishing but the number 20 seed dug deep to haul himself back level and take the match to a deciding set.
Smith still had two more chances to win but squandered both and Cross took advantage as he closed out proceedings with one dart at double eight to take the final set 3-1.
Smith ended the match with a higher average (103.3 v 102.7) and a higher checkout percentage (41.0 v 38.7) but Cross showed greater composure at the end to ensure his progress.
West comes out best
Steve West ran out a 4-1 winner over Jermaine Wattimena in the final action of the afternoon session.
The latter got off to a fast start and took the opening two legs with a real flourish but his form suddenly deserted him to let West right back into the contest.
West somehow scrambled back to take that first set and then never really looked back against a shell-shocked rival, who gave himself a glimmer of hope in the fourth set to make the scoreline 3-1.
Wattimena's optimism did not last long though and West wrapped things up by reeling off three legs to progress in the tournament.
Brown makes progress
In the opening match of the afternoon session, Keegan Brown booked his place in the last 16 with a 4-2 victory over Zoran Lerchbacher on Saturday afternoon.
In what was always a tight contest which saw both men average below 88, Brown took the first set 3-1 before 11 legs in a row went with the throw.
By the time that was over Brown led 2-1 but his Austrian opponent stormed though the fourth set 3-0 to level the match.
A 13-dart leg saw Brown, who beat James Wade in round one, take the fifth set and despite Lerchbacher coming from 2-0 down in the sixth to level at 2-2, Brown held his nerve in the following leg, taking out 108 to seal his progress.
Saturday's results
Afternoon Session
Second Round (Best of 7 sets)
Keegan Brown 4-2 Zoran Lerchbacher
Michael Smith 3-4 Rob Cross
Steve West 4-1 Jermaine Wattimena
Evening Session
Second Round (Best of 7 sets)
Daryl Gurney 2-4 John Henderson
Phil Taylor 4-0 Justin Pipe
Raymond van Barneveld 4-1 Kyle Anderson