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JAMES WADE 13 – 9 Gary Anderson
James Wade moved into the quarter-finals of the World Matchplay with a late surge against Gary Anderson, taking eight of the last nine legs to seal a 13-9 victory late on Tuesday night.
‘The Machine’ had trailed 8-5 before taking seven legs on the spin at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens. He will now face Simon Whitlock on Thursday.
“I’m not playing as well as I can,” admitted Wade, the 2007 winner. “But I think it was a fair result.
“I’m looking forward to the quarter-finals now and it will be good to take on Simon in the ashes of darts.
“I’ll have to up my game though because he is a great player.”
Anderson kicked off with an eleven-darter to break but Wade responded with two 180s as he levelled on double top.
A third consecutive break followed when Anderson took out 121 on the bull before ‘The Machine’ took the next two legs, which included another three 180s, as he took a 3-2 lead into the first break.
However, Anderson won the next three legs to take apparent control. Wade grabbed a potentially crucial break of throw though, taking out 90 despite the first of his three dart combination hitting treble one.
The world number four then pegged double five to move within a leg of his opponent, who took out 90 before breaking with a 99 finish.
But a seventh maximum from Wade helped him break back immediatley and a fine 110 checkout reduced Anderson’s lead to 8-7.
And he continued a fine run to turn the match around, winning five more legs in a row for a 12-8 lead. Anderson pulled back one more but ‘The Machine’ finished the job on double six, setting up a quarter-final clash against Whitlock.
By Chris Murphy
