Sporting Life
Richie Burnett (ITV Sport)
Richie Burnett (ITV Sport)

Darts results: Richie Burnett beats Peter Wright to reach quarter-finals

By Sporting Life
22:49 · SAT March 04, 2023

Former BDO champion Richie Burnett rolled back the years to beat Peter Wright 10-8 and reach the quarter-finals of the UK Open.

The pair faced each other at the Lakeside in 1995 and were back sharing a stage in Minehead, where Burnett raced clear at 7-3 but looked to have missed the boat when Wright levelled at 8-8.

With the throw in his favour, Wright was back as odds-on favourite to avoid an upset, but a sloppy 17th leg saw Burnett break, meaning he would throw for the match.

A slow start again looked set to be costly for Burnett, but Wright missed two darts at double 12 and in stepped the Welshman, taking out 88 in two perfect darts to ensure he's in the hat for Sunday.

As big as 400/1 pre-tournament, he's not the only longshot to advance after Adam Gawlas, quoted at the same price with some firms on Thursday, secured a 10-3 win against William O'Connor.

And there's potential for a big-priced winner for Sporting Life followers, too, after 100/1 tip Martin Schindler got the better of Jonny Clayton, winning 10-8 to move within one more victory of an each-way payout.

Andrew Gidling joins them to make a quartet of surprise names after he got the better of Brendan Dolan, winning 10-8. Gilding will face Schindler for a semi-final spot.

There are though several big names still standing, with Nathan Aspinall having thumped Joe Cullen 10-2, Dimitri Van den Bergh edging out Gary Anderson 10-8 in a high-class match, and Rob Cross ending the run of Jeffrey de Zwaan in a 10-7 win.

Michael van Gerwen then rounded off proceedings against Luke Humphries and threw a 170 finish to storm into a 3-0 lead early on. From there he was always in command, eventually winning 10-4 to remain the man to beat.

Van Gerwen will face Aspinall in the quarter-finals with Burnett rewarded for his fine run with a meeting with Van den Bergh.

QUARTER-FINALS

  • Andrew Gilding v Martin Schindler
  • Michael van Gerwen v Nathan Aspinall
  • Rob Cross v Adam Gawlas
  • Richie Burnett v Dimitri Van den Bergh

Afternoon action

Reigning champion Danny Noppert and Premier League stars Michael Smith, Gerwyn Price and Chris Dobey exited the Cazoo UK Open on Saturday afternoon.

Noppert was edged out 10-9 in a deciding leg by William O'Connor as his bid to retain the title was ended, with the Irish star coming from 3-1 down to lead 6-4 in mid-game before progressing.

World champion Smith also went down in a deciding leg as Luke Humphries - the 2021 runner-up - claimed victory in a sensational contest which saw the pair share 20 maximum 180s.

Price, a two-time UK Open finalist, saw Jeffrey de Zwaan come from 4-0 down to win 10-8 in a sensational display, with the Dutchman reeling off seven successive legs at one stage, averaging 105.20, hitting ten 180s and landing ten doubles from 17 attempts.

Three-time UK Open champion Michael van Gerwen also hit back from behind with seven straight legs, coming from 6-3 down against Martijn Kleermaker to win 10-6.

Dimitri Van den Bergh came from 6-5 down to defeat Mervyn King 10-8 as he booked a last 16 spot, while Peter Wright, the 2017 winner, defeated Callan Rydz by the same scoreline.

Nathan Aspinall overturned an early 3-1 deficit before winning 10-8 against Dirk van Duijvenbode to keep alive his hopes of a second Minehead triumph, while Premier League rival Jonny Clayton swept past Jose de Sousa with a 10-3 success.

Masters champion Chris Dobey went down 10-6 to Brendan Dolan, while 2014 UK Open winner Adrian Lewis also exited as he lost 10-5 to Germany's Martin Schindler, who averaged over 101.

Rob Cross was a 10-3 winner against UK Open ever-present Steve Beaton, but another veteran campaigner - Richie Burnett - delighted the Welsh support with a 10-9 win over Ted Evetts.

Gary Anderson dropped just two legs as he defeated Kim Huybrechts, 2022 Masters champion Joe Cullen defeated Karel Sedlacek, Andrew Gilding was a 10-5 winner over Luke Woodhouse and Czech youngster Adam Gawlas was a 10-8 winner in his tie with Kevin Doets.

UK Open: Saturday's results & Sunday schedule

QUARTER-FINALS

  • Andrew Gilding v Martin Schindler
  • Michael van Gerwen v Nathan Aspinall
  • Rob Cross v Adam Gawlas
  • Richie Burnett v Dimitri Van den Bergh

SIXTH ROUND

  • Michael van Gerwen 10-4 Luke Humphries
  • Peter Wright 8-10 Richie Burnett
  • Jonny Clayton 8-10 Martin Schindler
  • Jeffrey de Zwaan 7-10 Rob Cross
  • Gary Anderson 8-10 Dimitri Van den Bergh
  • Brendan Dolan 8-10 Andrew Gilding
  • William O'Connor 3-10 Adam Gawlas
  • Nathan Aspinall 10-2 Joe Cullen

FIFTH ROUND

  • Gerwyn Price 8-10 Jeffrey de Zwaan
  • Michael Smith 9-10 Luke Humphries
  • Martijn Kleermaker 6-10 Michael van Gerwen
  • Peter Wright 10-8 Callan Rydz
  • William O'Connor 10-9 Danny Noppert
  • Kim Huybrechts 2-10 Gary Anderson
  • Dirk van Duijvenbode 8-10 Nathan Aspinall
  • Mervyn King 8-10 Dimitri Van den Bergh
  • Richie Burnett 10-9 Ted Evetts
  • Adrian Lewis 5-10 Martin Schindler
  • Joe Cullen 10-5 Karel Sedlacek
  • Jonny Clayton 10-3 Jose de Sousa
  • Adam Gawlas 10-8 Kevin Doets
  • Luke Woodhouse 5-10 Andrew Gilding
  • Chris Dobey 6-10 Brendan Dolan
  • Steve Beaton 3-10 Rob Cross

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