Grand Slam of Darts: Peter Wright to meet Gary Anderson in the semi-finals
Peter Wright ended the hopes of BDO world champion Glen Durrant in the Grand Slam of Darts quarter-finals and he'll next meet Gary Anderson, who saw off Mensur Suljovic in a gruelling battle.
Snakebite was beaten 5-2 by an impressive Durrant in the group stages on Saturday but the PDC's number two gained revenge at the business end of the tournament with a 16-10 triumph at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall.
Wright (9/1 for the title with Sky Bet) emphatically punished Durrant's poor finishing during the early stages of the match, with the Scotsman only spurning darts at doubles in one of the opening 10 legs as he stormed 7-3 up from 3-3.
The UK Open champion, who has won 11 events on the PDC circuit in 2017, continued to maintain the momentum by taking six of the next eight legs to extend his lead to 13-5.
It may have been too little too late but the BDO star then suddenly sprung into life with a 124 checkout on a bullseye while the 180s began to flow as he embarked on a revival which culminated in a stirring attempt at a nine-dart finish, which agonisingly ended on double 12 following back-to-back maximums, a treble 20 and treble 19.
The Lakeside champion did return for a 10-darter to cut the deficit to 15-10 but that would be his last double of the tournament, with Wright completing the job on double five after the Teesider narrowly missed bullseye for a 99 checkout.
Durrant will now focus his preparations for the defence of his BDO world title in January but the level of ability and quality he's shown over the past week proves he's more than ready for a switch to the PDC.
Wright, who finished the match with an average of 94.16, seven 180s and a high finish of 95, is now all set for a semi-final showdown with Gary Anderson (7/2 for the title with Sky Bet), who came through a war of attrition with his nemesis Mensur Suljovic.
The Flying Scotsman openly admits how much he hates playing the much-slower playing Austrian, who had defeated him in four of their previous six meetings including twice at September's Champions League of Darts, but he managed to edge a mentally draining battle 16-12.
Suljovic opened the match in style with 100 checkout but Anderson responded with back-to-back 14-darters and then a 12-darter to take the early initiative.
Typically, the Gentle was not about to lie down and hauled himself back on level terms at 5-5, with the help of a match high checkout of 113, although he'd soon fall well behind as Anderson won four legs on the trot.
The two-time world champion couldn't shake him off, however, and when his scoring went off the boil, Suljovic closed to within one leg at 11-10 down, punishing Anderson for a missed dart at double seven.
It's the closest the Serbian-born Austrian came as he crucially missed a dart at double 12 to level, allowing the PDC number three, who averaged 101.79 and hit nine 180s, to regain his lost momentum and take five of the next seven legs for victory.
Anderson, who has never won this title, is 4/7 favourite with Sky Bet to see off his Scottish rival while you can back Wright at 11/8.
Friday's Grand Slam of Darts results & weekend schedule
Friday November 17
Quarter-Finals (Best of 31 legs)
- Glen Durrant (BDO) 10-16 Peter Wright
- Mensur Suljovic 12-16 Gary Anderson
Saturday November 18
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Action (8pm)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 31 legs)
SATURDAY'S ODDS, PREDICTIONS & DOUBLE
- Phil Taylor v Daryl Gurney (QF)
- Michael van Gerwen v Rob Cross
Sunday November 18
Afternoon Session (1pm)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Action
Semi-finals (Best of 31 legs)
- MVG/Cross v Taylor/Gurney
- Peter Wright v Gary Anderson
Evening Session (7pm)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports Main Event/Arena
Final (Best of 31 legs)
- Winner SF 1 v Winner SF 2
CLICK HERE FOR FULL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE, RESULTS & GROUP STANDINGS
Sky Bet tournament odds
Sky Bet have Price Boosted the title odds of all the eight remaining players...
- Michael van Gerwen - 4/5 (was 8/11)
- Gary Anderson - 7/2 (was 100/30)
- Phil Taylor - 8/1 (was 7/1)
- Peter Wright - 9/1 (was 8/1)
- Rob Cross - 14/1 (was 12/1)
- Daryl Gurney - 20/1 (was 16/1)