BRILLIANT LEWIS POWERS INTO GIBRALTAR DARTS TROPHY LAST EIGHT
ADRIAN LEWIS laid down the gauntlet to his rivals in the Gibraltar Darts Trophy with a stunning whitewash of Robert Thornton on Sunday afternoon, as he was joined by rivals James Wade, Gary Anderson and Simon Whitlock in the quarter-finals of the event.
Lewis produced the highest average so far in this year's tournament of 108.65 in a ruthless demolition of the former UK Open champion, needing only 11 minutes to book his place in Sunday night's final stages at the Victoria Stadium.
Lewis opened the game with a ten-dart finish and also added an 11-darter as well as posting two 180s, two 174 scores and a 171 tally in a brilliant performance.
He now meeets Michael Smith - who followed up Saturday's victory over Phil Taylor with a 6-3 defeat of Jamie Caven - in the quarter-finals on Sunday night, as he bids to pick up the £20,000 first prize.
"I love Gibraltar and I always look forward to playing here," said Lewis, who had seen off Dean Winstanley in Saturday's second round. "Robert didn't play badly but I didn't leave him much.
"I scored heavily and got the job done, and I think I've got a great chance now. I'm building up to the World Matchplay at the moment and the hard work I've been putting in during practice is showing on stage."
Gary Anderson was another big winner on Sunday afternoon as he came from a leg down to win six successive legs in a 6-1 demolition of Justin Pipe, hitting four 180s, a 177 score and finishes of 112 and 170 in a big win.
Anderson now takes on Steve Beaton after the former World Champion punished Johnny Haines for missed match darts in their 11-leg tussle.
Dave Chisnall was also made to pay for missing match darts - 14 in total - as he lost out narrowly to Adam Hunt as the former PDC Unicorn Youth Tour event winner reached his first European Tour quarter-final.
Hunt now meets Australian ace Simon whitlock, who was a 6-3 winner against Brendan Dolan as he hit a 142 finish at a key time in taking the game's final three legs.
World number six James Wade was another narrow 6-5 winner as he ended Benito van de Pas' fine run, with the young Dutchman - who eliminated Michael van Gerwen on Saturday - hitting six 180s but missing three match darts in the deciding leg.
Wade now faces Kim Huybrechts in the quarter-finals, with the Belgian star averaging an impressive 104 in a high-quality 6-4 third round win over Ian White, who hit a 121 finish and shared six maximums with his opponent before falling to defeat.
The £100,000 tournament concludes on Sunday night with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in one decisive session at the Victoria Stadium.
Coverage of the tournament will be streamed live through the Bet365, Coral, Ladbrokes, Unibet and William Hill websites, and outside of the UK & Ireland through www.LIVEPDC.TV.
A highlights package will be broadcast on Sky Sports on July 15 & 16.
Live Coverage
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Live Scores will be available through the PDC Live Scores Website, http://live.dartsdata.com.
Gibraltar Darts Trophy
Sunday June 29
Afternoon Session
Third Round
Brendan Dolan 3-6 Simon Whitlock
Dave Chisnall 5-6 Adam Hunt
Johnny Haines 5-6 Steve Beaton
Gary Anderson 6-1 Justin Pipe
Robert Thornton 0-6 Adrian Lewis
Michael Smith 6-3 Jamie Caven
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Ian White
Benito van de Pas 5-6 James Wade
Evening Session (5.30pm-9.30pm, 4.30pm-8.30pm BST)
Quarter-Finals
Simon Whitlock v Adam Hunt
Steve Beaton v Gary Anderson
Adrian Lewis v Michael Smith
Kim Huybrechts v James Wade
Semi-Finals
Whitlock/Hunt v Beaton/Anderson
Lewis/M Smith v Huybrechts/Wade
Final
v
All games are the best of 11 legs
THIRD ROUND MATCH INFORMATION
Simon Whitlock made a superb start to the third round with a clinical 6-3 win over Brendan Dolan, who hit back from going 2-0 down to level the game - hitting two 180s in leg four and a 114 finish in leg six - only for the Australian to break the deadlock with a 142 checkout before taking the next two legs to secure a quarter-final spot.
Adam Hunt completed a remarkable escape as he hit back from 5-3 down to defeat Dave Chisnall in a dramatic deciding leg.
Chisnall, aided by three 180s, opened up a 4-1 lead before the youngster cut the gap to just one leg - only for a superb 11-darter, featuring another maximum, to move the Premier League star a leg away from the win.
Chisnall, though, missed one match dart at tops in the ninth leg and a further five darts at double 18 in the next as Hunt took the game into a decider - and when the St Helens ace missed eight more match darts, Hunt recovered from four misses of his own to land double ten to snatch victory and reach his first ever European Tour quarter-final.
Steve Beaton was another 6-5 winner as he made Johnny Haines pay for missing match darts in a see-saw contest, with the former World Champion leading 4-1 before the Swindon ace hit back with finishes of 91 and 101 in a run of four straight legs to move 5-4 up.
Haines missed one match dart, at double 15, in the tenth leg as Beaton forced a decider, and though the qualifier hit a 180 he was made to pay for more misses across two visits as Beaton landed double eight to edge into the last eight.
Gary Anderson swept into the Gibraltar Darts Trophy quarter-finals with a brilliant 6-1 win over Justin Pipe, who led after landing a 180 in the opening leg only to see his opponent post four 180s, a 177 score and a 112 checkout before sealing victory with a stunning 170 checkout, ending the game with a 100.47 average.
Adrian Lewis produced the performance of the tournament so far as he averaged 108.65 in an 11-minute whitewash of Robert Thornton, opening with a ten-dart leg, hitting an 11-dart finish and landing two 180s, two 174 scores and a 171 total in a brilliant display.
Michael Smith set up a tasty Gibraltar Darts Trophy quarter-final tie with Adrian Lewis as he defeated Jamie Caven 6-3, pulling clear in mid-game to move from two-all to lead 5-2 - hitting a showpiece 100 finish which included two double tops - before securing the win.
Kim Huybrechts hit a 104 average to defeat Ian White 6-4 as he moved into the Gibraltar Darts Trophy quarter-finals, coming from 2-1 down to win three successive legs as he moved ahead, and though White shared six 180s and hit a 121 finish, the Belgian proved too strong as he progressed.
James Wade edged out Benito van de Pas in another 11-leg thriller at the Gibraltar Darts Trophy as he secured a quarter-final spot, despite the Dutch youngster hitting six 180s to his opponent's four.
Wade made a brilliant start, hitting one maximum in the opening leg and two more in an 11-darter to double his advantage only for van de Pas to hit a 147 checkout as he levelled at three-all.
Van de Pas hit two 180s in the eighth leg and another maximum and an 80 finish as he moved 5-4 up, but Wade finished 66 to force a decider before punishing three misses at tops from the Dutchman in the final leg to hit double seven and move into the last eight.