Coral UK Open Quarter-Finals

VAN GERWEN, LEWIS, JENKINS & KING REACH CORAL UK OPEN SEMIS
 

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN, Adrian Lewis, Terry Jenkins and Mervyn King won through to the Coral UK Open Semi-Finals with fine victories in the tournament's last eight at the Butlins Minehead Resort on Sunday afternoon.

The £250,000 tournament's decisive final day kicked off with four superb Quarter-Finals, as a quartet of players all reached the UK Open's last four for the first time in their careers.

World Champion van Gerwen held off a gutsy display from Ian White before claiming a 10-8 victory, with the Stoke ace taking out 141 early on only to see the Dutchman follow checkouts of 124 and 113 by sealing the win with a 109 finish.

"In some moments there I felt great, maybe too good, but Ian did well," said van Gerwen, who now plays Jenkins in the Semi-Finals.

"Terry's done well this weekend and has a lot of experience, so I need to improve my game to beat him. It will be a cracking game against Terry but it's not going to be easy tonight because there are four top players left in the tournament."

Jenkins continued his fine run of form with a 10-4 defeat of Brendan Dolan, hitting five 180s and a 126 checkout in moving towards the eighth major final of his career.

"Brendan's a tough player to play against but I put him under pressure throughout the game," said Jenkins. "I was really relaxed and kept my cool - I usually let the other bloke back in when I get ahead but I did a good job here.

"Fingers crossed I can make the final tonight because this is one of the few majors where I haven't reached the final yet - and it would be great to win it."

Two-time World Champion Adrian Lewis was in scintillating form as he followed up Saturday night's big win over Raymond van Barneveld with a 10-3 defeat of Austria's Mensur Suljovic.

"I've reached a couple of quarter-finals before in this event but never the semi-finals so it's a new step for me," said Lewis. "I feel good and my form's fantastic, so I want to go on and win the tournament now."

Lewis now plays Mervyn King, who continued to defy the pain of sciatica in his back with a 10-6 win over Kevin Painter as he remains in the hunt for his first PDC major title.

Painter won the game's opening two legs and hit four 180s, but was unable to match his opponent's consistency as King moved into the last four.

"Kevin started well but I got into a rhythm and took my chances well," said King. "I'll have a rest before the semi-finals and I'm looking forward to tonight.

"My back has been giving me a lot of grief for 18 months but it's getting sorted now, and although I'm stiff now it's more a 'getting better' pain, not a 'hurt' pain.

"Colin Lloyd put me in touch with his physio and I thank him for that because I'm going in the right direction and it might even be helping me slightly because I'm not moving while I throw."

Sunday evening sees the tournament conclude, with the Semi-Finals followed by the Final at the Butlins Minehead Resort, with coverage live on ITV4.

Tournament sponsors Coral make van Gerwen the 8/13 favourite to lift the Coral UK Open trophy on Sunday night, with Lewis the 7/4 second favourite, King 10/1 to take the title and Jenkins the 12/1 outsider to lift his first major crown.

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2014 Coral UK Open
Quarter-Finals
Kevin Painter 6-10 Mervyn King
Terry Jenkins 10-4 Brendan Dolan
Adrian Lewis 10-3 Mensur Suljovic
Michael van Gerwen 10-8 Ian White
Best of 19 legs

Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
Semi-Finals
Terry Jenkins v Michael van Gerwen
Mervyn King v Adrian Lewis
Best of 19 legs

Final
Jenkins/van Gerwen v King/Lewis
Best of 21 legs

Match Information
Mervyn King 10-6 Kevin Painter
Mervyn King became the first player into the 2014 Coral UK Open Semi-Finals with a 10-6 win over Kevin Painter. Painter had opened superbly with a 13-dart leg before doubling his lead by taking out 86 to break - only for King to match that finish in the third leg with a break on the bull. King hit a 180 as he levelled, before winning the next four legs to take a 6-2 cushion. Painter finished 96 and double eight to win two of the next three legs, before King fired in a 180 to move 8-4 up. Tops saw Painter reply to win a fifth leg, with King moving 9-5 up before missing a match dart to allow his opponent to take out 72 on double 12 to stay in the hunt. Painter landed a fourth 180 of the game in the next, but was unable to take out 140 to continue his fightback, and King finished double 16 to complete the victory.
Mervyn King: "Kevin started well but I got into a rhythm and took my chances well. I'll have a rest before the semi-finals and I'm looking forward to tonight. My back has been giving me a lot of grief for 18 months but it's getting sorted now, and although I'm stiff now it's more a 'getting better' pain, not a 'hurt' pain. Colin Lloyd put me in touch with his physio and I thank him for that because I'm going in the right direction and it might even be helping me slightly because I'm not moving while I throw."

Match Stats

Terry Jenkins 10-4 Brendan Dolan
Terry Jenkins won through to his first Coral UK Open Semi-Final with a 10-4 win over Brendan Dolan in the last eight. The Ledbury ace continued his strong run of form with another fine display, despite Dolan holding an early advantage as the opening three legs went against the throw with 13-dart finishes. Jenkins levelled in the fourth with a 13-darter before finishing a 14-dart leg to hold throw and move 3-2 up, and he then won the next three to take a 6-2 lead. Dolan broke back on double 16 to win his third leg, only to see Jenkins hit back immediately on double ten before taking out 126 for an 8-3 lead. He also missed the bull for a 127 checkout in the nxt as Dolan finished double eight, but he landed a 180 in an 11-darter to lead 9-4 before sealing victory in 14 darts.
Terry Jenkins: "Brendan's a tough player to play against but I put him under pressure throughout the game. I was really relaxed and kept my cool - I usually let the other bloke back in when I get ahead but I did a good job here. Fingers crossed I can make the final tonight because this is one of the few majors where I haven't reached the final yet - and it would be great to win it."

Match Stats

Adrian Lewis 10-3 Mensur Suljovic
Adrian Lewis powered past Mensur Suljovic to reach his first Coral UK Open Semi-Final. Lewis continued the for which had seen him take a 9-2 win over Raymond van Barneveld in Saturday night's Fifth Round with another impressive display of heavy scoring. He won the game's opening five legs without reply in under ten minutes, kicking off the game with a 13-darter and adding another 14-dart finish as he took command. Double 14 gave Suljovic the sixth leg, but Lewis took out 91 to regain his cushion, punished a miss at double five - for a 90 finish - from the Austrian by taking out 48 to lead 7-1, before an effortless 121 checkout, for a 12-darter, moved him seven legs clear. Suljovic hit back with a 105 checkout, but Lewis finished tops to move a leg away from the win at 9-2. He then missed the same bed to complete a 160 checkout for the match as double 14 continued Suljovic's fightback, but double nine saw Lewis seal his semi-final spot.
Adrian Lewis: "Mensur scored well and seemed to take his shots when he had the chance, but I kept well on top of him. I've reached a couple of quarter-finals before in this event but never the semi-finals so it's a new step for me, but I feel good and my form's fantastic, so I want to go on and win the tournament now."

Match Stats

Michael van Gerwen v Ian White
World Champion Michael van Gerwen completed the Coral UK Open Semi-Final line-up with a 10-8 win over battling Ian White, who almost forced a deciding leg against the Dutch star. After double 18 gave van Gerwen the opening leg, White levelled by landing a 180 and double four before moving ahead with a superb 141 checkout in leg three. van Gerwen, though, posted double 16 to level before hitting a 180 in leg five, and though he wired the bullseye for a 170 finish, he returned on double eight to move 3-2 up. The Dutchman then hit tops to win the next three legs, including a 113 finish in the run, as he moved 6-2 up, only for White to reply by taking out 83 on the bullseye and double six as he cut the gap to two legs before taking the next to pull back to 6-5. Van Gerwen, though, secured a key 12th leg with a 124 bullseye finish before adding a 180 and double 16 in moving 8-5 up and tops to edge to the brink of victory. He missed double 16 for the match on a showpiece 132 checkout in the next - hitting two bullseyes before wiring the double - as White hit tops to rally, and when the Dutch ace missed the bull for a 127 finish in the next the Stoke ace pulled back to 9-7 by finishing 81 and then took out 110 to reduce the gap to one leg. Van Gerwen, though, took out 109 in the next as he secured his place in the last four.
Michael van Gerwen: "In some moments there I felt great, maybe too good, but Ian did well. I've got Terry in the semi-finals and he's done well this weekend and has a lot of experience, so I need to improve my game to beat him. It will be a cracking game against Terry but it's not going to be easy tonight because there are four top players left in the tournament."

Match Stats