Snakey sneaks through in Ally Pally classic

Visits: 4

Raz Mirza

Comment & Analysis @RazMirza

Peter Wright overcomes illness on stage to win; Gerwyn Price wins ugly while Glen Durrant takes derby day honours

Last Updated: 28/12/19 11:42pm

Peter Wright repelled a phenomenal fightback from Jeffrey de Zwaan to make progress Peter Wright repelled a phenomenal fightback from Jeffrey de Zwaan to make progress

Peter Wright repelled a phenomenal fightback from Jeffrey de Zwaan to make progress

Peter Wright shook off a bout of dizziness on stage to survive a furious fightback from Jeffrey de Zwaan and reach the quarter-finals of the World Darts Championship along with Gerwyn Price and Glen Durrant on Saturday night.

Wright admitted he was “walking around like a zombie” after winning a tie-break to claim a thrilling 4-3 victory and move into the quarter-finals.

Price reached the last eight at Alexandra Palace for the first time in his career despite an under-par performance against Simon Whitlock.

The Tyne-Tees derby went the way of Glen Durrant as the three-time BDO champion saw off his rival and good friend Chris Dobey in a gritty tungsten arm-wrestle.

PDC World Championship: Saturday’s fourth round results

Evening
Peter Wright 4-3 Jeffrey de Zwaan (R4)
Glen Durrant 4-3 Chris Dobey (R4)
Gerwyn Price 4-2 Simon Whitlock (R4)

Snakey stumbles past De Zwaan

Wright held on to defeat De Zwaan and reach the quarter-finals Wright held on to defeat De Zwaan and reach the quarter-finals

Wright held on to defeat De Zwaan and reach the quarter-finals

Wright crushed any hopes De Zwaan had of progress with a tension-filled victory to set up a meeting with ‘Cool Hand’ Luke Humphries.

Wright went into the match with yet another change of darts but it didn’t seem to affect his early prowess around the board as two 15-dart legs handed him the advantage before the Dutchman quickly levelled to send the opener into a deciding leg. ‘Snakebite’ wrapped it up though, thanks to a 72 checkout.

0:28
Wright nailed this spectacular 149 checkout in the early stages of his match with De Zwaan

Wright nailed this spectacular 149 checkout in the early stages of his match with De Zwaan

Some precision darts were being thrown from both players, but a spectacular 149 shot from seventh-seeded Wright handed him a break in the second set before sealing it with double eight. The 2014 finalist was stamping his superiority over his opponent by now and it wasn’t long before he swept through the third set.

0:33
‘Snakebite’ hit the ‘Baby Fish’ at the start of the fourth set

‘Snakebite’ hit the ‘Baby Fish’ at the start of the fourth set

A ‘Baby Fish’ 130 from Scotsman Wright handed him an immediate breakthrough in set four, but former World Matchplay semi-finalist De Zwaan then mounted an epic fightback, firstly winning three legs on the trot to get on the board.

0:29
Mystic Wayne ‘Hawaii 501’ Mardle was on point predicting Wright’s visit to the oche!

Mystic Wayne ‘Hawaii 501’ Mardle was on point predicting Wright’s visit to the oche!

He won the next two of set five to make it five in a row before Wright held throw. However, ‘The Black Cobra’ hit tops to make it 3-2. A fourth ton-plus finish of the match from Wright – a 122 – set up a deciding leg in the sixth set but the Dutch ace held throw to restore parity and send the contest into an unlikely final set.

At 2-2 the match went into a tie-break situation. Wright missed one match dart at the bullseye in the eighth leg, but he returned to land double eight and stumble over the line.

2:13
Wright told Sky Sports’ Stuart Pyke that he felt faint during his win over De Zwaan

Wright told Sky Sports’ Stuart Pyke that he felt faint during his win over De Zwaan

Save over 40% with NOW TV

Grab a NOW TV Sky Sports Month Pass for just £16.99 p/m for two months

The Iceman shakes off Whitlock

Gerwyn Price shook off Simon Whitlock to make it through Gerwyn Price shook off Simon Whitlock to make it through

Gerwyn Price shook off Simon Whitlock to make it through

One of the favourites for the title, Price managed to pull off a routine win over 2010 finalist Whitlock.

Whitlock paid the price for three missed darts for the set in the deciding leg of the opening set as two-time Grand Slam of Darts champion Price snatched it on double 10.

0:43
A clinical 108 from Price helped him seal the second set in style

A clinical 108 from Price helped him seal the second set in style

Price then found his range and rounded off the second set with a brilliant 108 checkout before Whitlock took advantage of the Welshman’s profligacy around the outer ring to sweep through the third set.

Third-ranked Price reversed the trend to establish his two-set cushion with a modest 92.75 average, but ‘The Wizard’ wasn’t going away and he close the gap to 3-2 thanks to a clean sweep.

0:19
Price pulled off this superb 112 at the start of the sixth set

Price pulled off this superb 112 at the start of the sixth set

But Price avoided the upset by opening the sixth set with a 112 checkout before pinning tops and double 12 to seal a darting date with Glen Durrant on Sunday night.

1:44
Price wasn’t happy with Whitlock’s slow tactics against hime

Price wasn’t happy with Whitlock’s slow tactics against hime

Duzza takes derby day honours

It's been 1451 days since Glen Durrant lost a world championship darts match It's been 1451 days since Glen Durrant lost a world championship darts match

It’s been 1451 days since Glen Durrant lost a world championship darts match

Durrant took on Fallon Sherrock’s conqueror Dobey in the much-anticipated Tyne-Tees derby and the Newcastle player made a quick start to send out an early message.

0:40
Duzza showed tremendous resilience to seal the fourth set with this 109 out

Duzza showed tremendous resilience to seal the fourth set with this 109 out

But Dobey lost his focus in the second set to hand Duzza an opening which he was not going to relinquish as he levelled things up before the Middlesbrough thrower fought back from 2-0 down to win three legs on the bounce and move 2-1 up.

The fourth set went the distance and it was Durrant who nailed a 109 checkout to extend his advantage. ‘Hollywood’ clinched the fifth set to keep his hopes alive before an 11-dart leg sent the clash into a deciding set.

0:33
Durrant ended Dobey’s hopes with this magnificent 146 checkout to seal victory

Durrant ended Dobey’s hopes with this magnificent 146 checkout to seal victory

Durrant, who is the current holder of the BDO men’s title, kept his hopes alive of becoming undisputed champion of the world by finishing the match with a stunning 146 checkout to win 4-3.

1:24
Boro thrower Durrant claimed that he is not worried about who he takes on at Ally Pally

Boro thrower Durrant claimed that he is not worried about who he takes on at Ally Pally

Sunday, December 29

Afternoon Session (1230 GMT)
Nathan Aspinall vs Dimitri Van den Bergh (QF)
Luke Humphries vs Peter Wright (QF)
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Michael van Gerwen vs Darius Labanauskas (QF)
Glen Durrant vs Gerwyn Price (QF)

Check out daily Darts news on skysports.com/darts, our app for mobile devices and our Twitter account @skysportsdarts. Coverage of the World Darts Championship continues on Sky Sports Darts with the quarter-finals getting underway at 12.30pm and 7pm on Sunday.

Darts updates straight to your phone

How to receive all the latest darts news straight to your mobile

Read More Go To Source